[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by FlashMustang

Between Pench and Tadoba, any recommendations for a first time safari visit, based on your experience?

Tadoba!!! for sure. Tadoba has always had wonderful sightings. I saw a tiger killing a wild boar in my first safari in Tadoba many years back.

However, my recommendation would be to split the safaris, do some in Tadoba and some in Pench. they are both so close together.

[Stryker]

Very good travelogue. Very lucky indeed to see the two tigers fighting!

I'm never convinced about the night safari from a photography perspective. I feel we are unnecessarily disturbing the animals, even if they are quite used to the vehicles. And what is the point? You can hardly see anything anyway, forget about taking good photos.

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Very good travelogue. Very lucky indeed to see the two tigers fighting!

I'm never convinced about the night safari from a photography perspective. I feel we are unnecessarily disturbing the animals, even if they are quite used to the vehicles. And what is the point? You can hardly see anything anyway, forget about taking good photos.

Thanks Stryker for your kind words!

I am also not very convinced about the night safari, I booked it as an afterthought later. I have a forest connection & during my education days had spent a few nights in Forest Rest Houses deep inside the jungles of Gujarat during a one month attachment with them. The sounds & the feel are entirely different & wanted my wife to have a taste of it, so booked it later. But the night Safari stuck mostly to main roads & did not venture deep inside the forest.

There was a researcher ahead of us in a Gypsy who spotted the Leopard first. Soon one more Gypsy reached there & all three of them had high strength torches, so we were able to see pretty clearly. However, this constant showering of lights made me feel as an unwarranted intruder & guilty, so after sometime I asked to be driven off much against the wishes of others.

During this night Safari, we also realised that the Mah Forest Department had built a room above a forest guard room inside the forest where you could actually spend the night. I was not aware of it before but people interested can do it, not sure of booking modalities. Infact, we crossed that place in our night Safari. There is a water body right next to that room. The guard posted there told us that a Tiger had come to drink water there just a little while back & then went after a Sambhar. We could not spot the tiger though. Think the place may be worth a stay sometime in the future.

[sach.sri]

Can you also share the booking and other logistics details - how to book the Safaris online and the stay in MTDC.

When I went there online booking facility was not there and I had to rely on a agent.

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by sach.sri

Can you also share the booking and other logistics details - how to book the Safaris online and the stay in MTDC.

This is the link for booking safaris-

https://booking.mytadoba.org/safari/

And this one is for booking the MTDC resort-

https://mtdcrrs.maharashtratourism.g...unt/Login.aspx

[trahul4]

Excellent Travelogue Abhishek and looks like you had a great trip. I did an extensive road trip across MP from Bangalore in Dec last year and did few safaris at Bandhavgarh and Kanha.

I do agree with your point that JLR in Karnataka has made safaris a kind of elite entertainment and not easily accessible for all. Although they have excellent services, but I always find it so difficult to do safaris in Karnataka which apparently has larger population of Tigers.

Your pics of Tadoba have certainly got me ticking again and I am inching to go for it this summer. Thanks for sharing such intricate details and links for booking safaris. Very helpful.

Meanwhile, can you tell me what made you take the longer Karnaji-Wani route from Hyd whereas GMaps suggests another shorter one (Via Jainad, Loni)? Also, what's your view on safety on this route - does it pass through any disturbed areas?

Thanks.

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by trahul4

I do agree with your point that JLR in Karnataka has made safaris a kind of elite entertainment and not easily accessible for all. Although they have excellent services, but I always find it so difficult to do safaris in Karnataka which apparently has larger population of Tigers.

Meanwhile, can you tell me what made you take the longer Karnaji-Wani route from Hyd whereas GMaps suggests another shorter one (Via Jainad, Loni)? Also, what's your view on safety on this route - does it pass through any disturbed areas?

Thanks.

Thanks for your kind words Rahul.

Never could get my head around to the charges of Kabini though tempted & prodded a few times. It was not about the expense but it just seems so so unfair & ethically wrong. Unaffordable for large masses & also depriving the local community of a thriving economic ecosystem that prevails around Tadoba, Pench etc. These communities are affected the most by conservation efforts & deserve to be supported in the best way. Also holidays in the wild are a bit transformative I believe - make you more aware of responsibilities to fellow occupants of the planet. By depriving large masses of this opportunity, it's a great disservice to the community at large. With Pench having more tigers than Kabini now, they can't even lay claim to better management via all this!

I saw a couple of YouTube videos where the travellers had a harrowing time to Tadoba after getting off the NH44 early. Also I wanted to stick to 4 lanes as much as possible because a lot of coal dumpers ply in this area, so this was the best route.

And after doing so much research, I took Google Maps directions for the last 20 KMs & suffice it to say that was fortunate to get away with body, belongings & the vehicle intact. Also drove around a bit on routes suggested by Google Maps earlier while travelling from one gate to another & they also had many bad patches. So for self drivers, I would strongly reccomend to stick to route & Google Map suggestions as provided in the original thread.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by abhishek_hch

Hyderabad Diaries

We had decided to try as many Biryanis as possible in Hyderabad. In all we tried three while in Hyderabad (Shah Ghouse, Bawarchi & Meridian), while packed and carried 2 back to Bangalore (Shadab & Bahar). All of them were Mutton Biryanis.


The next Biryani we tried was from Bawarchis. I had Biryani from here on a visit as a student 15 years ago and was simply blown away. However, the one this day felt bland and a bit tasteless. I would prefer to keep the taste of the earlier one I had here in my memories.
Attachment 2129104

The original Bawarchi restaurant doesn't have any branches and is located in RTC X Roads. Over the last few years many restaurants with some alteration of that name cropped up, especially Green Bawarchi franchise. If it is the one at RTC X roads then fine, but if you had at anyother place then you might have been mistaken by the name.

A very lucky trip as far as sightings go.

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

The original Bawarchi restaurant doesn't have any branches and is located in RTC X Roads.

Yes Vamsi, I had the Biryani from the RTC X Roads outlet only. I guess Bawarchi is better (& claim to be specialists at) Chicken Biryani, which is what I had on my last visit there long back but not this time. I had Mutton Biryani from all the outlets, so I guess the comparison was biased against Bawarchi to start with.

[Akshay2010]

This is such a wonderful write up. You were so lucky for such amazing sightings. Hailing from the same place as yourself, I can fully relate to the foodie inside you, from having fish in the jungle to the famous biryanis from Hyderabad. I have visited Corbett a couple of times but never sighted a tiger, so my takeaway from your blog is to book multiple jungle safaris. Last, you have perhaps the best handling cars under 10L that even Ford India has forgotten how to make. Wish you many miles of happy motoring!

[manmohanmaan]

Man That was some trip with all sorts of action and a superb rendition of the same. Liked the way you broke it into various segments, though I still miss the previously allowed 'live posting' of a T log instead of this 'single episode' of the whole trip.
But they say well begun is half done, so when you started with that 'breakfast of champions' comprising of Mutton Curry and Parothas this was all set to be a Great Trip from there on. Cheers.

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by Akshay2010

This is such a wonderful write up. You were so lucky for such amazing sightings. Hailing from the same place as yourself, I can fully relate to the foodie inside you, from having fish in the jungle to the famous biryanis from Hyderabad. I have visited Corbett a couple of times but never sighted a tiger, so my takeaway from your blog is to book multiple jungle safaris.

Thanks Akshay, luck was on our side this time.
Yes the love for fish is BR32+BR07 effect. I recommend the focus be on safari & treat sightings as being peripheral. Over time I guess the sighting index would be 25-35% of all safaris done. All the best.

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

But they say well begun is half done, so when you started with that 'breakfast of champions' comprising of Mutton Curry and Parothas this was all set to be a Great Trip from there on. Cheers.

Never thought of this. The first meal for all future road trips is now fixed

[Sandy Damodaran]

Originally Posted by abhishek_hch

How mistaken I was! Much like the road tax in Karnataka, the safari cost here turned out to be exorbitantly high. I realized that you could do Jeep safaris in Kabini only if you stayed in Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR). JLR doesn’t charge on a per room per night rather per person per night basis. They quoted a figure of approx. Rs. 55,000 per night for two rooms for two couples and a kid. I was startled to say the least.

The nearby resorts also had the same story to tell – around Rs. 15,000 per night per room and Rs. 4,000 per person per Safari. The sad part was that with such monopolistic practice, the Karnataka government had made the Jeep safari a luxury for the elite. The story being completely different in other states.

I totally agree with you, Karnataka has made doing safaris in Kabini a either-or game. If you want to do a jeep/gypsy safari, it is possible only by staying in JLR and pay through your nose or do the canter safaris, which are pretty dicey, specially during covid times.
To add to it, there is NO online booking possible for Canter and getting a ticket is a matter of luck, perseverance and standing in a queue. It is totally opaque and heavily in favor of the resort cabal. Great sightings of Tigers though!
I'm currently in Kerala and was trying all permutations to go to Kabini without parting with my kidney, finally managed to get a deal through a online aggregator for JLR Kings Sanctuary @3.5K/Night only for the room + Safari's for ~12K for 3 Safaris for 3 persons. This was in Nagarhole Forest from Hunsur Side which was great!
Also did one safari from Kabini in Canter, which was pretty underwhelming, although the forest itself is stunning, there is no option of just stand & stare in a canter and the duration is also pretty small at 1.5 hours.

On a related point, I'm in all probability travelling to Tadoba in May and doing the Night Stay in Machan, I had done this earlier once during the Buddh Purnima Night census, they haven ow made it a activity avilable on its own through the season. Will update once done!
A few pics from this trip to Kabini

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by Sandy Damodaran

I'm currently in Kerala and was trying all permutations to go to Kabini without parting with my kidney, finally managed to get a deal through a online aggregator for JLR Kings Sanctuary @3.5K/Night only for the room + Safari's for ~12K for 3 Safaris for 3 persons. This was in Nagarhole Forest from Hunsur Side which was great!

On a related point, I'm in all probability travelling to Tadoba in May and doing the Night Stay in Machan, I had done this earlier once during the Buddh Purnima Night census, they haven ow made it a activity avilable on its own through the season. Will update once done!
A few pics from this trip to Kabini

Hi Sandy, very good sightings & nice pictures!

Could you please drop in the details of the online aggregator & how to book the night stay in Machan in Tadoba?

[Sandy Damodaran]

Originally Posted by abhishek_hch

Hi Sandy, very good sightings & nice pictures!

Could you please drop in the details of the online aggregator & how to book the night stay in Machan in Tadoba?

I got the rooms from Makemytrip.com, The manager in JLR Kings Sanctuary was one Mr.Nipun (9591139114) who was extremely helpful. You could also have a word with him and based on occupancy, there might be lower rates available. The Safari Rates were ~1300/person/safari.

For Tadoba Machan stay, its this site.

https://booking.mytadoba.org/activity/

As it stands, i've googled for a few weeks, but there is absolutely no review of this activity, having said that, I spoke to the Tadoba Office (07172277116) and got the details out, and they sound too good to be true. The Stay is from 5.30PM to 6.30 AM, Cameras are allowed, 2 people per machan + guide (Costed ~4600) which includes the gypsy fare to the watch tower. Also for any emergencies (Natures call etc) The gypsy would be available to take you from Machan to the toilet etc. You would have to take your own food and water.
Hopefully there are no lockdowns and I can post a nice review of this post the trip in May.

P.S: I'm in now way affiliated to any of the organizations mentioned above, except as a user