Bandhavgarh - more than tigers?

mindi · Oct 20th, 2004, 02:50

I have been to a couple of parks in South India and was pretty uninspired - a lot of vehicles charging around looking for tigers/elephants - with screaming, camera-toting tourists freaking out the animals when they did find them. I am more interested in looking at the park as a whole - animals nice, but incidental to the scenery and environment in general. Is this possible, or will it always be the mad "tiger chase"?

pkalra · Oct 20th, 2004, 05:12

Mindi

when i went to Bandhavgarh I spotted tigers and tigers and tigers . After few jeep trips inside the park I asked my driver to show me the park and the natural scenery. and he did, we were all alone in the remotes of the park enjoying the virgin jungles on our own.
So basically u get what u ask for.
Corbett, Kanha, Ranthambore , periyar are all very good for scenery

Apana · Oct 20th, 2004, 06:49

To begin with, in which South Indian park did you go chasing tigers???

The look and feel of Bandhavgarh is completely different from South Indian parks. Bandhavgarh is a sal forest. You can walk up to the fort, or visit one of the ancient caves, or park by one of the larger meadows, Rajbahera or Sehra, and just watch the chital graze.

Apana

bearable · Oct 20th, 2004, 08:45

What you described appears to be a problem with visitors and not the park itself. May I ask if you have watched PBS's: Living Edens: Temple of the Tigers? If you have and still do not like Bandhavgarh; well, we disagree. Yes, I believe the park has problems; poaching , funding etc but which park doesn't?

mindi · Oct 20th, 2004, 14:05

Thank you for your feedback. Apana, I visited Periyar and was very uncomfortable with the "elephant chase" where a group with a baby elephant were chased mercilessly until the adults became very agitated. They made runs at the boats and tried to shelter the baby between them as they ran from the water (pity about the drink they were having). I also went to a park near Mysore (about 50k) where we went rushing around looking for tigers. There was no time to appreciate the natural scenery. I was very disappointed with both these experiences, but will take the advice to hire our own jeep (hope this is easy) and ask for a different experience.

cyberhippie · Oct 21st, 2004, 04:49

Mindi in Bandhavgarh hire your own jeep it costs around 2000 with driver park fees etc.
The driver we had was great his name is Salim and he gave us a very special time in the park including a sighting of a mother and four adolescent cubs crossing the road in front of us. This was no lucky break he spotted the pug marks leading off of a low road took a 5 km diversion and boom just like he said. An amazing experience made all the more magical as dusk was falling and we were the only jeep for miles around!! (and the only jeep that caught a sighting that evening)
On subsequent trips to the park we just sauntered around in the jeep to see caves, temples, talk to the villagers inside the park boundaries and a highlight for me, we took a drive down to the camp where the working elephants stayed. For me this was even better than the tigers and I got so close!! There were even a couple of babies!! Amazing the camp chappatis the mahouts were cooking up for their elepahants were equally Jumbo in proportions!!
Salim works out of the Kum Kum lodge, be warned some drivers just take you one or two places and sit and wait, a waste of time, just tell them you want to see the park not just the tigers and be firm!!
Same goes for the park guides some are along for the ride some love nature with a passion and are very knowledgable, since allotment works on a lottery system I'm afraid it's all down to luck here..
The park itself is amazing, wonderfull scenery, plenty of large mammels, loads of birds and we never had the feeling it was crowded.
There are 4 routes and a number of jeeps are assigned to each route so there's no feeling of sitting in a convoy!! To avoid this I'd say avoid the elephant "safari" it take 5 minutes and it's a circus!!
Check out the hornbills as you enter the park on the right.
Have fun we loved it and Tala the village outside the gates is a peacful little
place!!

Happy Traveling

crvlvr · Oct 21st, 2004, 06:59

mindi,

I agree.. most of the jungle tours are hurried fociused on giving the tourists a photo opportunity.. the guides might have learned that their tip amount depended on the number of animals their clients saw..

I recommend that you spend a night (or two) in a jungle resort which will allow you to enjoy the scenery and wild life from your room.. I can't recommend anything specific, but some of the other IM'ers might be able to..

ad0712 · Oct 23rd, 2004, 03:02

y dont u try tadoba np in maharashtra. you can check out the details in tigertrailsindia.com

indiaguide · Oct 23rd, 2004, 08:59

Drivers and Guides always want to show you the Tiger, Elephant or main attracation of the park.You have to tell them about your main interest.Bandhavgarh is a nice park.
If possible take Rajesh or Jagatnarayan as a guide.
Bandhavgarh jeep rates are fixed for a trip.Where as at Kanha Jeep rates are depends on per Km. basis.At Kanha drivers try to run the jeep as much as possible.

Oct 20th, 2004, 02:50	#1
mindi Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 55	Bandhavgarh - more than tigers? I have been to a couple of parks in South India and was pretty uninspired - a lot of vehicles charging around looking for tigers/elephants - with screaming, camera-toting tourists freaking out the animals when they did find them. I am more interested in looking at the park as a whole - animals nice, but incidental to the scenery and environment in general. Is this possible, or will it always be the mad "tiger chase"?

Oct 20th, 2004, 05:12	#2
pkalra Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 160	Mindi when i went to Bandhavgarh I spotted tigers and tigers and tigers . After few jeep trips inside the park I asked my driver to show me the park and the natural scenery. and he did, we were all alone in the remotes of the park enjoying the virgin jungles on our own. So basically u get what u ask for. Corbett, Kanha, Ranthambore , periyar are all very good for scenery Last edited by pkalra : Oct 20th, 2004 at 06:58.

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Oct 20th, 2004, 06:49	#3
Apana Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Hyderabad, India Posts: 147	To begin with, in which South Indian park did you go chasing tigers??? The look and feel of Bandhavgarh is completely different from South Indian parks. Bandhavgarh is a sal forest. You can walk up to the fort, or visit one of the ancient caves, or park by one of the larger meadows, Rajbahera or Sehra, and just watch the chital graze. Apana

Oct 20th, 2004, 08:45	#4
bearable Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: San Jose Posts: 44	What you described appears to be a problem with visitors and not the park itself. May I ask if you have watched PBS's: Living Edens: Temple of the Tigers? If you have and still do not like Bandhavgarh; well, we disagree. Yes, I believe the park has problems; poaching , funding etc but which park doesn't?

Oct 20th, 2004, 14:05	#5
mindi Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 55	Thank you for your feedback. Apana, I visited Periyar and was very uncomfortable with the "elephant chase" where a group with a baby elephant were chased mercilessly until the adults became very agitated. They made runs at the boats and tried to shelter the baby between them as they ran from the water (pity about the drink they were having). I also went to a park near Mysore (about 50k) where we went rushing around looking for tigers. There was no time to appreciate the natural scenery. I was very disappointed with both these experiences, but will take the advice to hire our own jeep (hope this is easy) and ask for a different experience.

Oct 21st, 2004, 04:49	#6
cyberhippie Account Closed by User's Request Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 6,012	Mindi in Bandhavgarh hire your own jeep it costs around 2000 with driver park fees etc. The driver we had was great his name is Salim and he gave us a very special time in the park including a sighting of a mother and four adolescent cubs crossing the road in front of us. This was no lucky break he spotted the pug marks leading off of a low road took a 5 km diversion and boom just like he said. An amazing experience made all the more magical as dusk was falling and we were the only jeep for miles around!! (and the only jeep that caught a sighting that evening) On subsequent trips to the park we just sauntered around in the jeep to see caves, temples, talk to the villagers inside the park boundaries and a highlight for me, we took a drive down to the camp where the working elephants stayed. For me this was even better than the tigers and I got so close!! There were even a couple of babies!! Amazing the camp chappatis the mahouts were cooking up for their elepahants were equally Jumbo in proportions!! Salim works out of the Kum Kum lodge, be warned some drivers just take you one or two places and sit and wait, a waste of time, just tell them you want to see the park not just the tigers and be firm!! Same goes for the park guides some are along for the ride some love nature with a passion and are very knowledgable, since allotment works on a lottery system I'm afraid it's all down to luck here.. The park itself is amazing, wonderfull scenery, plenty of large mammels, loads of birds and we never had the feeling it was crowded. There are 4 routes and a number of jeeps are assigned to each route so there's no feeling of sitting in a convoy!! To avoid this I'd say avoid the elephant "safari" it take 5 minutes and it's a circus!! Check out the hornbills as you enter the park on the right. Have fun we loved it and Tala the village outside the gates is a peacful little place!! Happy Traveling

Oct 21st, 2004, 06:59	#7
crvlvr Guru Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Hollywood Posts: 4,474	mindi, I agree.. most of the jungle tours are hurried fociused on giving the tourists a photo opportunity.. the guides might have learned that their tip amount depended on the number of animals their clients saw.. I recommend that you spend a night (or two) in a jungle resort which will allow you to enjoy the scenery and wild life from your room.. I can't recommend anything specific, but some of the other IM'ers might be able to..

Oct 23rd, 2004, 03:02	#8
ad0712 Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: india Posts: 8	y dont u try tadoba np in maharashtra. you can check out the details in tigertrailsindia.com

Oct 23rd, 2004, 08:59	#9
indiaguide Account Closed Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Calcutta(Kolkata) Posts: 331	Drivers and Guides always want to show you the Tiger, Elephant or main attracation of the park.You have to tell them about your main interest.Bandhavgarh is a nice park. If possible take Rajesh or Jagatnarayan as a guide. Bandhavgarh jeep rates are fixed for a trip.Where as at Kanha Jeep rates are depends on per Km. basis.At Kanha drivers try to run the jeep as much as possible.

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