Ultimate India Safari: http://www.adventure-international.com/trips/safaris/93/ultimate-india-safari/
INDIA PROMO:
India
is a wild place to say the least. Delhi can be overwhelming and
beautiful at the same time. We enjoyed our stay at The Leela Palace New
Delhi: http://www.theleela.com/locations/new-delhi
A very well-appointed hotel in the city, nice rooms, and of course
excellent food. India certainly knows hospitality and that can be felt
all over the country. We were on a trip to explore a few luxury jungle
lodges in the area of Madhya Pradesh with the obvious goal of spotting
tigers. Our first stop was Bandhavgarh National Park, which was a flight
to Jabalpur and then a road transfer of 4 hours. Mahua Kothi Jungle
Lodge: http://www.andbeyondindia.com/luxury_india/india/bandhavgarh_national_park/and_beyond_mahua_kothi_bandhavgarh_jungle_lodge/accommodation/mahua_kothi_jungle_lodge is just 10 minutes away from the entrance into Bandhavgarh. 12
jungle suites or kutiyas give a sense of privacy and seclusion. Simple
sophistication, with earthy tones, wooden shutters, handmade pottery
roof tiles and open rafters with rough hewn beams, envelopes you in a
sense of rustic luxury. Hand woven textiles, cool stone and antique
brass add sensual textures. Each kutiya is accessed through a private
courtyard, where scented incense and fragrant beverages create an
olfactory feast every morning. Large windows open up onto rolling lawns
and brilliant bougainvilla. Mahua Kothi was a perfect homebase from
which to explore Bandahvgarh. Game drives are very similar to Africa,
morning & evening game drives with lunch and a siesta during the
day. We were extremely lucky to see a tigress and her two cubs. Coming
from an Africa background of seeing big game almost every game drive, it
was important to go to India in order to manage future guests'
expectations of how often people see a tiger. My calculations were
roughly once in every four game drives. Therefore, as a suggestion for
tiger safaris, you need at least a week to get good sightings.
From
here it was off to Kanha National Park, a 6 hour road transfer from
Bandhavgarh. (soon there will be a schedule charter circuit, as for now,
private planes are a bit expensive). Banjaar Tola Tented Camp: http://www.andbeyondindia.com/luxury_india/india/kanha_national_park/and_beyond_banjaar_tola_kanha_tented_camp is a great contrast, as the tented camp sits overlooking the Banjaar River in Kanha. Just
18 lightweight tented suites are spread out along the riverbank and
into the sal forest. Contemporary, flowing shapes, canvas walls and
roofs, and immense glass doors that let in the Indian sky create an
atmosphere that is light and ethereal. In the silence of the night,
listen to the jungle sounds floating across the river from the comfort
of your tented suite. Admire stunning river views from the privacy of
your own veranda or share the experiences of the day on dramatic decks
facing the Banjaar River. Banjaar Tola was another great homebase
from which to explore Kanha, a game park from which Disney's jungle book
was inspired from. Again, we were very lucky to get a long sighting of a
tigress. Additionally, we were able to see a leopard, it was too fast
to get a photo, but we definitely saw a good spotting, the leopard
looked at us and walked away. The fur seemed much thicker and richer
colors than its African counterpart. Another great sighting was the
swamp deer, only endemic to Kanha. Here, we also got to see a tiger on
elephant back. We enjoyed cooking classes from the chef, but
unfortunately, my chicken tikka masala is still not that good!
Our
last quick stop was heading to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (highly
recommended). We flew back to Delhi and straight away drove 4 hours to
Agra. We had a great stay at The Oberoi Amarvillas: http://www.oberoihotels.com/oberoi_amarvilas/index.asp
Probably the most strategically placed hotel in the area. In the
morning, we were quickly taken to the entrance of the Taj Mahal by golf
cart and we were in the first 20 people in line to get in. The Taj Mahal
is beautiful, one can easily take hundreds of photographs of this
masterpiece (image set below). We drove back to Delhi and we were on our
way to Bhutan!
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
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