Nothing for sure matches the thrill to face the Royal Bengal Tiger in the wilds.
Just imagine you are sitting in an open Gypsy, and the only weapon in your hand is a camera; you see a tiger and it slowly starts walking towards you; 250kgs, 3.5 m of sheer muscle mass!!! You are definitely within his leap and it keeps coming closer and closer to you. With every single step it takes, you are heart beats ten times faster. The tiger has no business with you and slowly walks past you while you are gasping for breath; you wait and watch it disappear in jungle. At this very moment you are just left overwhelmed!!
I was in the Bandhavgarh National Park (BNP) for seven days. Prologue to this story: A friend of mine Sachin Meerpargar had made reservation with Foliage Outdoors, for a safari to BNP from 4th May to 11th May. It happened so that Sachin was going to be very busy the same week he was traveling and he was not able to get a refund for canceling his trip at the last moment. Guess what? He calls me and asks me to fill in for him instead!!! Now that is why I am guessing people think that the God exists.
A Nikon D70 camera, 18-70mm D, 70-300mmeED lenses, 10GB memory, 4 t-shirts to camouflage in the jungle, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts and I was all set to go. Destiny!
I must say that going with Foliage Outdoors was awesome. The reason of stating this separately is that they get all the credit for the perfect arrangement of the trip (except for the train journey which was way too crowded). We had a schedule to follow: Get up at 4:00 AM. Get ready around 4:30 AM. Enjoy the early morning tea. Get into the respective Gypsy (shared by 6) and reach at the sanctuary by 5:30 AM and here is where you are all set for a wonderful trail in the wild for the next 4 hours.
We would ride all the way through the park and return to our hotel at around 10:00 AM. Freshen up (as one is covered with atleast a ton of dust from the jungle) and have lunch by 12:30 PM. Catching up on the sleep was a must as everyone got up really early.
At 3:30 PM all of us had to be ready for the evening ride. We would get back to hotel at around 7:30 PM. Not to mention taking a shower after every safari was almost a must (an unwritten rule) followed by the dinner at 8:30 PM. After the long tiring safaris (the sun makes it tiring) everyone would turn in without any effort. With AC in the room sleep was a lot more comforting!
We had four incredible days in Bandhavgarh. We did five safaris into the jungle and one nature trail. All of it was very exciting and tiring at the same time. It was a wonderful experience to be with Mother Nature and enjoy its bounty! In these four days we spotted seven different tigers, and the site count was twelve. Twelve Times!!! That’s a jack pot!! We also saw spotted Deer, Sambar, Langur, Mucacs and the beautiful Peacocks dancing!! Bandhavgarh National Park is also rich with a variety of birds, a special mention to the wonderful Indian Roller. Every trip in the jungle offered the wildlife in abundance and no one left the park unsatisfied!!
Our species was born and evolved in the jungles it feels like coming back home. When you are in there, deep in the forest you feel like being an inseparable part of it. Its a marvelous experience to visit what was once a home to our ancestors (your native place as some say). I will definitely recommend folks to go to Bandhavgarh, stay there for a week and experience the nature for yourself a place where you forget everything and feel the jungle, the nature where we truly belong!
Bandhavgarh
niharika
2 years ago
hey suhas, ur photos are just too gud….i jus loved d tiger pics…they are simply magnificient..!! amazing skills……:)…!!!
sunder iyer
2 years ago
awesome shots….my pick is ‘light and shade’…congrats….
KonstantinMiller
2 years ago
Hi. I like the way you write. Will you post some more articles?
suhas
2 years ago
thanks Konstantin , I ll be uploading articles regularly
Kalyan
2 years ago
Fabulous shots….lovely!
Suhas Desale
2 years ago
thanks kalyan !
Jessie
2 years ago
Hi! I am doing some research and was wondering if you could tell me more about this jungle? Was it as big as the park was, or was it even bigger than the park?
I also love the pictures! So awesome! Makes me wish I could go there to see it myself!
Suhas Desale
2 years ago
hi Jessie ,
thanks for the beautiful comment .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandhavgarh , here is the link which might help you . Its a national park . Around 700 sq. Km big .
Kiran
1 year ago
excellent timing & photo for indian roller.
Suhas Desale
1 year ago
Thanks Kiran !
Anshum Mandore (Urban Prowler) : )
1 year ago
Nice site Suhas. I like the simplicity!
Suhas Desale
1 year ago
Thanks Anshum
Gopal Parasnis
1 year ago
Hi Suhas,
Great pics! I was in BNP 4-5 months back and I can relate to your experience. It was awesome! We sighted a couple of tigers – one of which just passed by 10 meters from us. (Not being a good photographer like you is something that I started missing since then…
)
Cheers,
Gopal
Suhas Desale
1 year ago
Thanks Gopal ! soon u ll be a good photographer too , all the best !
Malik
1 year ago
I am looking forward to reach bandhavgarh by December… do you guy have any clue where i will be able to find good and better local agents for safari and stay…
Suhas Desale
1 year ago
I ll ask a friend of mine , he has some details . Hope you have a gr8 tour
sachin
5 months ago
awesome shots…….congrats….
Suhas Desale
5 months ago
Thank you Sachin !