Wildlife Sanctuaries
When people think of wildlife in India,
the tiger is probably the first thing that jumps to
mind. However, the tiger is but one of the highlights
that Indian forests have to offer. Other species that
you can see include pandas, gaur, nilgai, the Asiatic
elephant, the one-horned rhino, hyenas, bears, black
buck, leopard (including snow and cloudy leopards),
Tibetan wild asses, bharal (Himalayan blue sheep),
barasinghas, monkeys, wild dogs, foxes and lots more.
With over 1200 species of birds, birders are well
served too.
With this plethora of wildlife and birdlife,
and a variety of terrains ranging from snowy mountain
lands to arid deserts to grasslands to thick jungles,
every national park or sanctuary in India offer a
unique and extremely rewarding experience to avid
wildlife lovers.
 Depending
on the needs of the photographer, some parks may be
better suited than others - for example, someone interested
in a wildlife photography workshop may be better off
visiting a different park than a pro looking to build
coverage of specific subjects. Also, a park that is
good for game viewing may not necessarily be the best
for wildlife photography.
Our wildlife trips are geared with photography in mind
- we understand the need to be in the park as early
as possible in order to catch the magic light. We know
the best time of the day to shoot the nesting eagles
(from a safe distance, of course!). We're prepared with
extra memory cards, CD/DVD burners, beanbags, tripods,
heads and even spare bodies and lenses.
Some of the benefits of a Photo Safari India tour:
- Expert guides who know photographers and their needs
- Private vehicles
- Best routes for shooting, for the given time of
day and year
- Shooting tips from experienced professionals
- Quality, unhurried game viewing
Not all tours are the same!
The main parks visited by us
are:
Ranthambhore NP
Ranthambhore is probably one of the most popular parks
in India, and with good reason. Located in the eastern
part of Rajasthan, this park offers excellent sightings
of most of its resident species, including tigers, leopards,
raptors, crocodiles, sambar, gazelle, wild boars, jackals,
foxes, sloth bears, chital and more. Th drier, less dense
terrain provides excellent photo opportunities, and 3
lakes and several old ruins inside the park add a sense
of atmosphere and history to the place. A centuries-old
fort stands atop a hill overlooking the park. Today, an
occasional leopard walks where once stood kings and armies,
but the walls and battlements of this magnificent fort
are still capable of evoking visions of those days long
past. With its combination of wildlife, landscapes
and history, it is no wonder that Ranthambhore is a favorite
for film and documentary crews from the world over.
Corbett NP
Nestled in the foothills of the Kumaon
Himalayas, Corbett is one of the oldest, and most beautiful,
national parks in India. Named after Jim Corbett, the
famous hunter, this park has the highest bio-diversity
among all the Indian parks. Tigers, elephants, gaur,
sambar, chital, foxes and many more species can be found
here.
Most visitors rate Corbett as one
of the most scenic parks of India, and if you want to
see the most variety of animal life, this is the park
for you.
Bandhavgarh & Kanha NP
Getting to Bandhavgarh takes a bit
more time than getting to Corbett or Ranthambhore, but
it is time well spent. This small national park has
the highest density of tigers in the country, and if
it is big stripey cats that you want to see, this is
the place for you. Daily, the rangers track & report
the most recent tiger movements, and visitors are then
taken either via jeep or on elephant-back to this area,
thereby maximizing their chances of seeing the big cat.
Not far away is Kanha NP, the largest
national park in India, which also has a very sizeable
number of tigers as well as a wealth of other game.
Together, these two parks make for a very productive
itinerary for wildlife lovers and photographers.
Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary
Regarded as one of the premier bird
sanctuaries in Asia, this small park has a large number
of resident species year-long, but really comes alive
in the winter months as the residents are buttressed
by the arrival of large number of migrants. A single
day of birding can yield as many as 150+ species, includingsuch
rarities as Solitary Lapwing, Indian Courser, Imperial,
White-tailed, Greater and Indian Spotted Eagles, Darters,
Black-necked, Painted and Asian Openbill Storks, Common,
Sarus and Demoiselle Cranes, Dalmatian Pelicans, Black
Bittern, Greater Painted Snipe, Large-tailed, Indian
and Grey Nightjars, Dusky Eagle Owls, Marshall's Iora,
Siberian Rubythroat and Brook's Leaf Warblers
Along with the water birds for which
it is famous, jackals, sambar, chital (spotted deer),
pythons and turtles also sighted regularly, making this
small and laid-back park a really great destination
for photographers.
The best part is that this is one
of the few sanctuaries which can be explored on foot
or on cycle-rickshaw, allowing you to work at your own
pace for as long or as littl time as you want.
Kaziranga NP
Located in the north-eastern state
of Assam, Kaziranga is the last remaining bastion of
the one-horned Indian rhinoceros. This placid animal,
hunted mercilessly for its horn, can be seen regularly
in the tall grass of the park from atop an elephant.
Tigers and elephants can also be spotted, along with
large numbers of water birds, including the rare Bengal
Florican.
Chilka Lake bird sanctuary
(exploratory destination)
Located along the eastern coast of
India in the coastal state of Orissa, Chilka Lake is
the biggest refuge for waterbirds in the southern Asia,
with thousands upon thousands of egrets, herons, cranes,
storks and other waders making it home. We've only started
exploring this area in detail, but have been very impressed
by what we've found, so much so that we've decided to
run exploratory trips to this region.
Some of our more popular itineraries
include:
Note on wildlife photography trips
Do note that our wildlife trips offer just
that: wild subjects. Given the thicker vegetation and
bush of Indian forests, this makes wildlife viewing
a little harder. While we take every measure possible
to ensure tiger sightings, we also try to find the right
balance between trying to get shots of tigers and spending
quality time viewing the myriad other wildlife subjects
out there. If you have any particular preferences, please
let us know. |
