TATR - (Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve) - A Trip Report

Foreword

I admit I badly need a respite from this monotnous routine life for a few days, at least, but 3 months without any outing (unbelievable!!) combined with a prolonged hectic schedule at office had perhaps made me a bit more garrulous than I am, and hence I am opening up this thread before I actually complete my trip!!

Well, I am reaching Tadoba tomorrow afternoon and the safaris are scheduled to begin from the day after. All the booking formalities are complete (phew..that's a relief!!)

I will continue with this thread once I am back from my adventures and complete my trip account with obviously, a few photos from the trip.

The nature beacons...I am off to TATR!! Hope to complete a grand 'Jungle Lore' this time.

Wow !!!

What a News !! reaching tomorrow in Tadoba.... wow!!!


Have a nice trip, saugata.


We are here in a queue to welcome you after completion of the trip and of course to have a GREAT TR.

GOOD LUCK Saugata....waiting for some roaring photos....

Kunal.

Thanks DJ for the wish, I have really been ooking forward to this trip since long!!

Thanks Kunal, I am taking a couple of cameras, hopefully I will be able to bring some great memories through the photos, but let's see

Now I am gonna have to check here more often. Waiting for a trip report and wish you have a really great trip.

I wish I could have made it to India around this time but looks like I am gonna be stuck here for a few months...

Share a load of pictures

Cheers,
Kartik

Hi Saugata,

Wish you a great trip...

Waiting for your TL

@saugata41, Tiger sightings are excellent (Did 11 safaris in Tadoba some days back) right now in Tadoba. Good luck with sightings. Teliya cubs are not afraid of gypsies & will come on the road providing excellent opportunities for sightings.

Ronak.

Hi All,

I am just back from my Tadoba trip today. It was an awesome trip and it feels like being in a dreamland really.

We took 7 safaris - 4 morning and 3 afternoon ones and tiger sightings were beyond my imagination. Apart from one morning safari, we saw the King of the jungle in all of them!!

To see a tiger in its wilderness really surpasses all lively experiences.

I shall post the TR, will just need to start working to sort out the photos - 12 GB of 'em!!!

shahronakm, if I'd have known, perhaps we could have met!

Regards
Saugata

Ahem.. (insert impatient sounds here)... I saw your name as last poster and I was like yippie... first installment of TR... alas...


Kidding aside... glad you had a great trip :-) hope you got some cubs in action.

Cheers,
Kartik

Good you had great sightings of the king. Out timings were different in Tadoba, I was there in Tadoba from 18 th April to 23 rd April. You must have seen Teliya Cubs with their mother & father. Very frequent sightings of them & the sightings most of the time happened on the / near the main road.

Ronak.

A little more patience my friend

We did see the Teliya cubs but we didn't see them from close, but we saw them from a distance, but we saw others

Here is the news!!!!

Prologue

Day 0 (30th April 2012) and Day 1 (1st May 2012)

We boarded the Maharashtra Express (11039) at 11 pm from Pune, the train actually came before time The train reached on time at Wardha, our scheduled destination at 2.55 pm. Our car reached Wardha at 3.15 pm and we started our journey towards Moharli immediately.

Wardha is a small town and it took us just 15 minutes to reach the outskirts of this town. The road through NH7 was as smooth as it can be. There is a place called Jam from where one would need to take a right turn towards Chadrapur if he/she is coming from Wardha.

There was a shortcut from Shegaon towards Moharli and one does not need to go via Chandrapur actually, one has to turn right from the Shegaon market. Once we crossed Shegaon, the road became narrow and through some villages - and they were as rural as a village can be. The road was good with a few small rough patches. Once we started closing in on Moharli, the forest started to appear at a distance which was a fantastic relief to see after a 3 months lean period, confined inside the concrete skyscrapers.

The journey lasted around 3 hours and we reached at Moharli MTDC, where we pre-booked ourselves, around 6.30 pm. One thing to remember here is that Moharli is just a little village so one should expect all the urban luxuries, but still the MTDC rooms were superb. The Moharli gate was just 1 km from the MTDC, which won’t be of any problem if one has booked his/her safaris in advance – the gypsies can pick him/her up and drop him/her there.

The village itself is devoid of serious commercialization due to which one can enjoy the rustic ambience, only if one wants to, but if one wants everything that a city can offer, Moharli may not be the place for that person.Though I have seen quite a few number of resorts there apart from the MTDC one, such as Royal Tiger Resort, Tadoba Tiger Resort, Tiger Trails Resort, Saras Resort etc. I think the village will catch up with the modern facilities (I sincerely wish it doesn’t) within a couple of years, going by the exponentially increasing popularity of TATR.

Anyway, we checked in to our rooms and contacted Ravi through which we booked our safaris (I shall provide the logistics details later) and all of us were all set for the safaris starting from the next morning – we booked 7 safaris overall – 4 morning and 3 afternoon ones.

Information/Tips:

1. If one is hiring a car on a 'per kilometer' basis, try to emphasize to take the shortcut route which will save you around 30 kms of journey.

2. The taxis will also charge the return fare. For example, our car was from Chandrapur so it charged us for Chandrapur – Wardha – Moharli – Chandrapur route. So negotiate the amount beforehand. Always pre-book your taxis.

3. Morning safaris – 5.30 am to 9.30 am (normally the gate closes around 9.45 am)
Afternoon safaris – 2.45 pm to 6.45 pm (gate remains open till 7.00 pm)

4. Try to pre-book in MTDC if possible, as it is the most economic and decent of all accommodations.

5. Always pre-book your safaris, since at the gate there is always a long queue during the season and on the spot booking will take some time. And there is also a limitation on number of cars that can enter through each gate, so better pre-book the safaris to save hassles and disappointment.

6. Private cars are allowed inside the forest, but go for the gypsies since these are the best to view the animals and taking photographs.

7. A guide is a must on the safaris. And obey whatever he advises.

8. Take full head cover to get some protection from the sun and the dust. And also, protection/cover for your camera is necessary.

9. The boys who work at most of the hotels are from the local villages and hence they are no professionals. So have some patience and kindly don't be too demanding. They will serve you properly, but you just have to give them some time, they are all some fantastic smiling lads.

10. Inside the forest, the animals have the rights so you have to abide by their rules of the jungle. Respect the jungle and its residents.

Special Thanks to (in no partocular order):

Duronto Jajabar
kartikp
Safique
indrajit
paglaghora
shahronakm
venkat273
didindia7
abheekg (the great DR Abheek Ghosh)

Without your precious inputs, this trip might well have not taken place at all. So a huge THANKS to you all.

I shall post the day 1 experiences with photos soon.

And here begins our journey ! Saugata, thanks for starting it soon!!

Thanks Naveena. Though I have started it soon, as usual I am not sure by when I will be able to complete it