12 Nights/13 Days
This is one of our popular programs for those who want to experience India in about 2 weeks’ time. So, it is a perfect mix of Wildlife and culture.
Bandhavgarh and Kanha are the prime parks of Central India as far as Tiger sightings are concerned. Located about 6-hour drive time from each other, these two parks complement each other well. They are both good with respect to Tiger sightings, yet they are unique. While Bandhavgarh is a star park when it comes to Tiger sightings, Kanha is our flagship park for many reasons. It has been the conservation model to not only parks in India but worldwide. Kanha has the distinction of bringing back a species in the wild from the verge of extinction. Hard Ground Swamp Deer from just 60 in the wild to now more than 800 is an amazing successful conservation story. Kanha on the other hand has also assisted in reintroducing some species that had disappeared from some national parks. Like the Indian Gaur in Bandhavgarh, the Barasingha in Satpura, Tigers in Panna, etc. Kanha also inspired Rudyard Kipling to write the famous ‘The Jungle Book’.
Agra is one of the seven wonders of the world worth seeing. The colors of India are well reflected in the culture of Rajasthan. The pink city of Jaipur is a city of awe, and inspiration. The Forts, the Palaces, the colourful bazaars and some souvenir shopping is what makes Jaipur a must in the itinerary for those wanting to get an idea of quintessential India.
National Parks Covered
Day 1
Arrival in New Delhi
Arrive New Delhi. Overnight stay at the hotel in New Delhi.
Day 2
New Delhi – Agra (by surface – 220 Kms, 4 hours drive)
After relaxed breakfast drive to Agra, 220kms, 4 hours drive. On arrival check into hotel. Evening visit Mehtab Bagh to see Taj Mahal at Sunset. Overnight stay at the hotel in Agra.
Day 3
Agra – Jaipur (by road, 235kms, 5 hours drive)
Sunrise proceed to visit the famous white marble mausoleum, The Taj Mahal, which was built in the middle of the 17th century by the Moghul emperor Shah Jehan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Completed in 1652, skilled craftsmen from Persia, Turkey, France and Italy and some 20,000 labourers worked for 17 years to build this edifice.Â
After relaxed breakfast proceed to visit the red sandstone AGRA FORT which stands like a crescent on the banks of Yamuna River enclosed by forbidding 20-meter high walls, with a 12- meter moat between them. Three successive Mughal emperors – Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jehan – helped create this massive structure which contains Hindu and Muslim architecture. [The Taj is closed on Friday].  Check out from the hotel. Later drive to Jaipur 235 kms/5 hour drive. On arrival check into hotel. Overnight stay at the hotel.   Â
Day 4
In Jaipur
This morning you will drive 11 km in the outskirts of the city stop at Jal Mahal to visit Amber Fort, the ancient capital of the State until 1728. Visit the Temple of Kali, the Hall of Victory or Jai MahalÂ
Later visit the Observatory, the Palace of Winds and the City Palace and Museum. The museum has an interesting textile section, which contains dresses and costumes of the former Maharajas and Maharanis of Jaipur. Jaipur is well known for its beautiful carpets, enamelled ornaments, precious and semi-precious stones, brass ornaments and many other arts and crafts. Spend time in crowded lanes & by lanes of pink city, haggling and souvenir-hunting in the evening. Return to the hotel for overnight stay..
Day 5
Jaipur – New Delhi ( by road 260 kms,5 hrs drive)
After relaxed breakfast drive back to New Delhi 260 kms, 5 hrs drive. On arrival check in to hotel Overnight stay at the hotel in New Delhi.
Day 6
New Delhi – Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh (flight + 200 kms/4 hrs drive)
Early morning transfer to Jaipur airport to board flight (6E 2017J) to Jabalpur at 0740 hrs to arrive Jabalpur at 900 hrs. Met at the airport and transfer to Bandhavgarh National Park. 200kms, 4-hour drive. On arrival check into the resort. Lunch at resort and afternoon jeep safari to the national park.
Day 7 - 8
In Bandhavgarh National Park
Morning and afternoon safaris in the park. All meals and overnight at the resort.
The national park is mainly known for the density of its tiger population. The other wild attractions in the park include Leopards, Blue Bulls, Indian Gaur (Bison) Chausingha (Four Horned Antelopes), Spotted Deers, Sambar Deer, Wild Boar, Sloth Bears Fox, Jackals, Wild Dogs, etc. There are at least 22 mammal species and about 250 bird species in the Park. The other animals found in Bandhavgarh are Ratel, Porcupine, Small Indian Civet, Palm Squirrel, Lesser Bandicoot rat, the Jungle Cat, and the shy Hyenas.Â
The reptile population in the park includes Cobras, Kraits, Vipers, Ratsnakes, Pythons, Monitor Lizards and turtles. The two primate species – the rhesus macaque and the Hanuman langur – inhabit Bandhavgarh.
Day 9
Bandhavgarh – Kanha (280 kms /6 hrs drive)
Morning jeep safari to the national park and drive to Kanha national park 280 kms/ 6 hour drive. Carry packed lunch. On arrival check into the Resort. Dinner and overnight at the resort in Kanha.
Day 10 - 11
In Kanha National Park
Kanha’s sal and bamboo forests, rolling grasslands and meandering streams stretch over 940 sq km in dramatic natural splendor which form the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve created in 1974 under Project Tiger. The park is the only habitat of the rare hardground Barasingha.
This is the original Kipling country of which he wrote so vividly in his Jungle Book. Packed breakfast which comes from the Lodge is served at a designated spot and spread on the bonnet of the Safari vehicle. Enjoy your breakfast in the wilderness of Kanha. The forests of the Banjar valley and Halon valley, respectively forming Kanha’s western and eastern halves.
Since then, a string of stringent conservation programmes have been launched, for the overall protection of the park’s fauna and flora. Kanha boasts of about 38 species of mammals. Some of the inhabitants of this park are the gaur, the largest of the world’s cattle; the sambar, the largest Indian deer; and the chausingha, the only four-horned antelope in the world. Other frequent visitors include the Nilgai antelope, the sloth bear, the dhole, or Indian wild dog, and an occasional Leopard. Some 300 species of birds inhabit the park, that includes the storks, egrets, black ibis, raptors, owls, and the red-wattled lapwings.
Depart for evening jeep safari Kanha National Park. Return at 6pm from safari. Dinner and overnight at the Lodge.
Day 12
Kanha – Raipur- New Delhi (by road 220 kms, 4 hrs drive + Flight)
Morning Jeep drive in the park. After lunch drive to Raipur 220 kms 4 hrs drive to board a flight to New Delhi at 1720 hrs to arrive New Delhi at 1905 hrs. On arrival transfer to hotel. Overnight stay at the hotel in New Delhi.
Day 13
New Delhi Fly back home
Morning free for leisure activities and later transfer to International airport to board a flight back home or onward destination.
51, B-3, Sector-11, Rohini New Delhi -110085 (INDIA)