Help - which nature reserve am I thinking of?

ambermarie

Hi,
The other day I was in a bookshop looking at India travel guides and a woman who works there got talking to me and said she had been to India in January. She mentioned a nature reserve that I'd not heard of before and said that she saw quite a few tigers when she visited it, which sounds amazing and not something I've thought about doing before, but now I can't stop thinking about it.
The thing is I just cannot remember what it's called and so I can't look up the price of flights ... she said it was a couple of hours away from Delhi by plane, and she flew to a place that starts with J (maybe Jan? or Jab? or Jal?!) and the park/reserve was a shortish drive away. She said there are a couple of reserves in the area but the one she visited was quite small.
I'm sure someone on here must be able to help me work out where it was she went! I feel so stupid for not writing the name down as it sounds like it's really worth visitng if it's not too expensive to reach.
Thank you in advance!

machadinha

Could have been Ranthambore, from Jaipur.

Could have been Kanha, from Jabalpur.

Could have been anything really... Neither are exactly small I think, but there may exist other parks in either area, often they form something of a conglomerate of loosely adjacent parks.* Both are renowned for their tigers; although I think I've been seeing reports here about the Ranthambore population not doing too well. You could look up those reports, certainly that park gets discussed a lot (be aware of possible alternate spellings, e.g., Ranthambhore, etc.)

E.g. Lonely Planet will have a decent listing of various parks, that will help you to make up your mind.

* In the same state as Kanha, so Madhya Pradesh, there would be the no less famous Bandhavgarh (note spelling variations again). Noted for its tigers again I think.

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

n kumar

Is it jimcorbett wild life santuary,

rajered

Would agree with Mach, should be either Bandhavgarh or Kanha from Jamshedpur.

OceanTragic

Or Sariska, from Jaipur, but she must have visited some time ago if she saw lots of tigers here.

But you remember the name of the bookshop right?
Maybe a trip back to see her is the best option.

Mach, I think that the Ranthambhore must be doing quite well as they've shipped at least two of the tigers over to Sariska. Maybe, if they hadn't I might have had a decent sighting at Ranthambhore

__________________
.

OceanTragic

Maybe this wiki page might help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_parks_of_India

machadinha

Aha (and heheh ) It's possible I'm thinking of reports regarding another park yes. Can't say I closely follow it, but one sees stuf pass by.

ambermarie

Hi everyone! Thanks for your help ... I think it's Jabalpur/Kanha ... rings a bell! Definitely wasn't Ranthambore as I've heard of that one before.

I looked up flights to Jabalpur from Delhi but they were really expensive, about £180 return; but I can't remember which airline this was with (I'm really giving a good impression here aren't I!). :-( Is this normal? It seems quite steep for an internal flight in India but then I'm no expert so ...

ambermarie

Oh well I've just looked at that Wikipedia page and it seems the park isn't open during the monsoon ... gutted! Maybe next time. But anyway, do you think the price of that flight seems a bit expensive?

OceanTragic

Unfortunately, I'm not sure many of the parks are open around monsoon time.

If you were travelling from Delhi I suggest an overnight train ride to Jabalpur, that'll cost you about £30 in first class air-con.

wind_chariot

It can be Bandhavgarh. It is quite small compared to kanha...and also accessible from Jabalpur.

Flight between main cities are cheaper than flight to or from a small city as there will be less frequency and less rush. Flights between all seven metro cities are cheaper than what you can get between Delhi-Jabalpur.

__________________
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” - Paul Theroux

machadinha

When I was checking earlier this year, I found internal flying far from cheap no (or to my standards anyway; or not what I'd hoped for in any case). I suppose between major hubs it will work out more cost-effective yes.

Kanha's far from small btw; it's huge as well as famous (and notably, but not just, for its tigers again. Sightings are said to be pretty much guaranteed here; although my usual advice would be to, if you make the effort to go at all, spend a few nights to increase your chances of getting to see what you wanted.) It's also not as cheap to visit as I'd like it to be; but then these parks are often relatively costly. Should certainly be worth it, if you can manage it.

It's further out than you might think, and that entire region isn't so splendidly developed (translating to sometimes slow and arduous travel and so on); on the other hand, would be great to combine with some other destinations in the area. (I've not been yet, but have been about to, and I've been in the wider area just now.) Jabalpur itself is a popular destination.

nb You'll find most parks close for a period of the year yes; I think in the period prior to the monsoon the animals will be breeding, and then during the monsoon maybe it just becomes undoable to keep them open to visitors. Down south, many parks seem to likewise close for their winter monsoon.

Likewise, for animal sightings, you'll want to look into best times to visit; prior to the monsoon (but before they close then) is said to be good for many parks, as the waterholes dry up & so the animals get concentrated around what's left. Many parks will have decent websites to give you such information, as well as on accommodation possibilities, and so on.

Like Ocean said btw, why not look up that woman at the bookstore again?

ambermarie

Thanks for your help, I am almost positive it was Kanha she was talking about. Unfortunately I am leaving for India in three weeks so the park will still be closed, but this is really something I'd like to do in the future - I'd never even considered visiting a nature reserve before, but thinking about it now it does sound like it could be amazing. So, one day, fingers crossed!
It gives me (another) reason to return, anyway!

machadinha

Oh, then you should really check some guidebooks on their listings; there are a vast number of parks, to suit a wide variety of interests and budgets, and some of them quite easily accessible.

Or, check that Wikipedia link above for instance; or IndiaMike itself, of course. Note they'll often get discussed in the appropriate state forums or elsewhere though, so not just in this Wildlife forum.

But bottom line, India offers plenty of opportunities in the field, with a whole range of flora and fauna and geography to be explored.

wind_chariot

There are many amazing parks in India which would be open even during monsoon. so, if you want to just enjoy nature in parks, then there are several opportunities.

If you wait till september end, you can have the opportunity to visit many other parks which remain closed in monsoon. For e.g. Gir national park will reopem from october and you will see majestic Asiatic Lions there. It is the last place on earth where you can see wild Asiatic Lions in their natural habitat. Also the only place where you can see wild Lions in their natural habitat outside Africa.