A visit to the Sher khan’s den- Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve.

s@tan2s@int · 15th October 2009, 19:30

Summer was at its peak in Hyderabad with temperature hovering around 44 degrees. It was end of April and the long weekend with May day was just around the corner. Me and 3 friends really wanted to head out to some hill station to take a break from the sweltering Hyd heat. We all came up with a list of different hills stations we could drive down from Hyderabad. We had Araku, Mahabaleshwar, Horsley Hills and Ooty in Mind.

With only 3 days in hand and all these places being 600+ from Hyd, we dropped the idea and started to think about a place that we have never been to before. None of us have ever been to a wildlife sanctuary and we all soon decided that it has to be a place which is 8-9 hours drive from Hyd with greenery in abundance and a sure shot wildlife spotting experience ( The heat now was no longer a deterrent ) . That’s when we heard from one of our friends about Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve. TATR (Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve) is around 400 kms from Hyderabad & Is located in Chandrapur district near Nagpur. From the information I could gather from internet and various different sources, this place guaranteed a sure shot tiger spotting experience.

So everyone in the team convinced with the idea, we all soon started planning for the trip, the route to be taken and the accommodation at Tadoba. We booked our accommodation at Saras resort for 2 AC rooms at Rs 1250 per day. Little did we know what was in store for us…

traveloholic · 15th October 2009, 20:22

I really doubt, do i know the dude in the black sleeveless? Just to cross check, is it Wasim by any chance?

s@tan2s@int · 15th October 2009, 20:30

I really doubt, do i know the dude in the black sleeveless? Just to cross check, is it Wasim by any chance?

Yes. he is. we both work in the same organization. How do you know him ?

idea1979 · 15th October 2009, 20:38

Great ! I was looking for tadoba info/review. roll it on.

s@tan2s@int · 15th October 2009, 20:40

The D day April 30th arrived and we set out on our Journey @ 12:00 midnight from Hitech city in a Mahindra Bolero ( The idea was to avoid the heat and drive in the cool breeze late in the night). The route we took was
Hyderabad (Banjara Hills) –Shamirpet – Siddipet – Karimnagar – Ramagundam – Mancherial – Asifabad – Rajura – Balharshah – Chandrapur – Padmapur – Moharli

As soon as we crossed Shamirpet, we encountered the first problem of our trip. The Bolero’s speedometer and the trip meter stopped functioning and the needle was stuck at 70 kms. This was scary as we really didn’t know the speeds we were doing and we didn’t have a calculation of the distance we were about to cover. We decided to get it checked once we reached Chandrapur in the morning. We crossed Ramagundam thermal station around 5 am in the morning. Stopped for breakfast at Asifabad and reached Chandrapur by 9 am in the morning.

Most of the road is pretty good, but when you enter the towns, the autos and the heavy vehicles make you crawl through, which gets your average speed to around 40 kmph only. The temperature was definitely on the higher side, and I could feel the heat on my hands, while driving. We were all expecting this, and hence, had come aptly prepared with clothing to cover the face, big hats, and full-sleeved shirts and thin cotton pants. [/FONT]

The last leg of journey from Chandrapur to Tadoba was nothing short of a nightmare. The last 11 kms stretch was full of potholes, nonexistent roads and huge craters created by those huge mining trucks. This stretch alone took us 2 hours. We reached Tadoba by 11 am and checked into Saras resorts.
The entry to the tiger reserve is permitted only between 06:00 AM - 09:30 AM and the Return Time is 11:00 AM, the second slot is in the evening between 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM......Return Time: 07:00 PM

So we chose to go for the safari in the second slot. We purchases the tickets for 4 of us and paid the entry fees for the vehicle. Each trip inside the forest cost us Rs 390 ( This includes Rs 60 ticket for 4 adults, Rs 100 for the guide and Rs 50 for the vehicle.

As soon as we entered the forest, we were greeted by the sight of a Great Indian gaur, It was huge in size and were told that it weighs approx 800 Kgs ! The only thing on our mind was to spot a tiger or any such species related to the cat family. We went around in circles for the first one hour without much luck but managed to spot some birds, a sloth bear, peocock, deers and wild boars. We were all very disappointed as it was close to 6 pm and we didn’t have any luck with the majestic Sher Khan. We soon reached a place where we saw lot of gypsy’s parked and people eagerly waiting with their camera’s out for the perfect shot. All of s sudden I could hear the dry leaves rustling behind from where we parked the jeep..a wild call from a Langur started echoing through the forest, Chirping sounds of birds reached a frenzy…

s@tan2s@int · 15th October 2009, 21:08

All the vehicles were parked next to a lake, everyone had their camera’s pulled out, our guide was pointing us to direction in the middle of the lake asking us to concentrate on a small hillock, hidden by thick canopy of trees in the middle of the lake and look out for the majestic beast which was having a nice evening nap. It was highly impossible for us to identify and spot the tiger among the thick bushes with our naked eye. We had carried an Olympus binoculars which proved handy and at last we managed to spot the ever elusive Tiger.

Spotting the ever elusive tiger in its own natural habitat is one great experience. We were all thrilled as this was the first time that we ever saw a tiger in the wild. We were also disappointed that we didn’t get a decent shot of the tiger but managed to capture the moment on our Panasonic handy cam. The time was 6:45 pm, with only 15 mins left for us to exit the tiger reserve, we decided to call it a day and try our luck the next day.

adc · 16th October 2009, 00:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by s@tan2s@int

Spotting the ever elusive tiger in its own natural habitat is one great experience.

Fantastic, I am really following this with interest, hoping equally beautiful posts are coming up!

Tadoba is on my hit list - going over there in middle of summer [May] for maximum sightings. One of my friend went there and they had 6 tiger sightings! Do continue with your story.

s@tan2s@int · 16th October 2009, 02:00

Fantastic, I am really following this with interest, hoping equally beautiful posts are coming up!

Tadoba is on my hit list - going over there in middle of summer [May] for maximum sightings. One of my friend went there and they had 6 tiger sightings! Do continue with your story.

Trust me. the best is yet to come. Mar-may is the best possible time to have maximum tiger sightings. we managed 4 tiger sightings in one single day.will post the details and the pics soon..

traveloholic · 16th October 2009, 11:47

Great post about Tadoba. Would love to visit Tadoba in the coming days. Do you really say would have to wait till Mar-May to enjoy this trip?

Quote:

Originally Posted by s@tan2s@int

Yes. he is. we both work in the same organization. How do you know him?

I know him from a long time, he is one of my friends at Secunderabad

Quote:

Originally Posted by s@tan2s@int

The D day April 30th arrived and we set out on our Journey @ 12:00 midnight from Hitech city in a Mahindra Bolero

Was it Wasim's Bolero, that you travelled in? Love his ride a lot.

mobike008 · 16th October 2009, 13:04

Can't wait for the tiger pictures. Do hurry up !

Btw, if you have to respond to someone, just use the quote button on their post and you can reply to them.

traveloholic · 16th October 2009, 13:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

Can't wait for the tiger pictures. Do hurry up !

Btw, if you have to respond to someone, just use the quote button on their post and you can reply to them.

Avi Bhai, when do we embark on this journey? Any plans, lemme hop in

rajeevn · 16th October 2009, 13:56

Where are the tiger pictures—please do post them ASAP. You must have been really lucky to spot them—it took me 14 trips to Corbett Park before an actual sighting... That was a mother tiger sauntering across the clearning, with two very chubby and chirpy little cubs prancing behind her...

Perhaps Tadoba is more "giving" in terms of Big Cat sightings.

traveloholic · 16th October 2009, 15:30

Let the pics flow my friend, we are eagerly awaiting for the Tiger Pics

s@tan2s@int · 17th October 2009, 14:08

The day started early, we were up and ready by 5 am, paid rs 390 again for the entry, stacked few water bottles and some snacks to munch and were ready for a new experience. This time we chose a new guide to accompany us for the trip and this turned out to be the best decision we could have taken.

Within the first 15 mins, we were lucky to spot fresh pug mark of a tigress and its cub. Our guide started tracking the movement and took us to few watering holes expecting to be the first ones to spot the tigress. Within a short time we could see 10 different vehicles lined up at the watering hole expecting the tigress to come for a dip. In the meanwhile we were able to spot herds of deer and sambar quenching their thirst, many birds of different species. etc

Again, we heard the same kind of wild langur calls echo through the forest, we immediately pulled out our camera's, binoculars and were ready for the spectacle. Lo and behold, we see the majestic animal walk out of the bushes, walk right across the road and take a dip in the watering hole. The sight lasted for some good 10 mins before some ignorant fool in an indica tried to pull up his car too close to the tigress comfort. The tiger just got up, gave a cold stare to the guys in the indica and with such elegant grace walked back into the thick bushes it came from.

kiren · 17th October 2009, 17:39

WOW!!! That was great. You were extremely lucky to spot the majestic beast at Tadoba. Nice pictures.

15th October 2009, 19:30	#1
s@tan2s@int BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 129 Thanked: 130 Times	A visit to the Sher khan’s den- Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve. Summer was at its peak in Hyderabad with temperature hovering around 44 degrees. It was end of April and the long weekend with May day was just around the corner. Me and 3 friends really wanted to head out to some hill station to take a break from the sweltering Hyd heat. We all came up with a list of different hills stations we could drive down from Hyderabad. We had Araku, Mahabaleshwar, Horsley Hills and Ooty in Mind. With only 3 days in hand and all these places being 600+ from Hyd, we dropped the idea and started to think about a place that we have never been to before. None of us have ever been to a wildlife sanctuary and we all soon decided that it has to be a place which is 8-9 hours drive from Hyd with greenery in abundance and a sure shot wildlife spotting experience ( The heat now was no longer a deterrent ) . That’s when we heard from one of our friends about Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve. TATR (Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve) is around 400 kms from Hyderabad & Is located in Chandrapur district near Nagpur. From the information I could gather from internet and various different sources, this place guaranteed a sure shot tiger spotting experience. So everyone in the team convinced with the idea, we all soon started planning for the trip, the route to be taken and the accommodation at Tadoba. We booked our accommodation at Saras resort for 2 AC rooms at Rs 1250 per day. Little did we know what was in store for us… Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

15th October 2009, 20:22	#2
traveloholic BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: TrafficJamaBad earlier known as Hyd Posts: 750 Thanked: 238 Times	I really doubt, do i know the dude in the black sleeveless? Just to cross check, is it Wasim by any chance?
	() Thanks

15th October 2009, 20:30	#3
s@tan2s@int BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 129 Thanked: 130 Times	I really doubt, do i know the dude in the black sleeveless? Just to cross check, is it Wasim by any chance? Yes. he is. we both work in the same organization. How do you know him ?
	() Thanks

15th October 2009, 20:38	#4
idea1979 BANNED Join Date: May 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 234 Thanked: 0 Times	Great ! I was looking for tadoba info/review. roll it on.
	() Thanks

15th October 2009, 20:40	#5
s@tan2s@int BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 129 Thanked: 130 Times	Route taken- 1st day experience The D day April 30th arrived and we set out on our Journey @ 12:00 midnight from Hitech city in a Mahindra Bolero ( The idea was to avoid the heat and drive in the cool breeze late in the night). The route we took was Hyderabad (Banjara Hills) –Shamirpet – Siddipet – Karimnagar – Ramagundam – Mancherial – Asifabad – Rajura – Balharshah – Chandrapur – Padmapur – Moharli As soon as we crossed Shamirpet, we encountered the first problem of our trip. The Bolero’s speedometer and the trip meter stopped functioning and the needle was stuck at 70 kms. This was scary as we really didn’t know the speeds we were doing and we didn’t have a calculation of the distance we were about to cover. We decided to get it checked once we reached Chandrapur in the morning. We crossed Ramagundam thermal station around 5 am in the morning. Stopped for breakfast at Asifabad and reached Chandrapur by 9 am in the morning. Most of the road is pretty good, but when you enter the towns, the autos and the heavy vehicles make you crawl through, which gets your average speed to around 40 kmph only. The temperature was definitely on the higher side, and I could feel the heat on my hands, while driving. We were all expecting this, and hence, had come aptly prepared with clothing to cover the face, big hats, and full-sleeved shirts and thin cotton pants. [/FONT] The last leg of journey from Chandrapur to Tadoba was nothing short of a nightmare. The last 11 kms stretch was full of potholes, nonexistent roads and huge craters created by those huge mining trucks. This stretch alone took us 2 hours. We reached Tadoba by 11 am and checked into Saras resorts. The entry to the tiger reserve is permitted only between 06:00 AM - 09:30 AM and the Return Time is 11:00 AM, the second slot is in the evening between 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM......Return Time: 07:00 PM So we chose to go for the safari in the second slot. We purchases the tickets for 4 of us and paid the entry fees for the vehicle. Each trip inside the forest cost us Rs 390 ( This includes Rs 60 ticket for 4 adults, Rs 100 for the guide and Rs 50 for the vehicle. As soon as we entered the forest, we were greeted by the sight of a Great Indian gaur, It was huge in size and were told that it weighs approx 800 Kgs ! The only thing on our mind was to spot a tiger or any such species related to the cat family. We went around in circles for the first one hour without much luck but managed to spot some birds, a sloth bear, peocock, deers and wild boars. We were all very disappointed as it was close to 6 pm and we didn’t have any luck with the majestic Sher Khan. We soon reached a place where we saw lot of gypsy’s parked and people eagerly waiting with their camera’s out for the perfect shot. All of s sudden I could hear the dry leaves rustling behind from where we parked the jeep..a wild call from a Langur started echoing through the forest, Chirping sounds of birds reached a frenzy… Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

15th October 2009, 21:08	#6
s@tan2s@int BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 129 Thanked: 130 Times	Tiger spotting All the vehicles were parked next to a lake, everyone had their camera’s pulled out, our guide was pointing us to direction in the middle of the lake asking us to concentrate on a small hillock, hidden by thick canopy of trees in the middle of the lake and look out for the majestic beast which was having a nice evening nap. It was highly impossible for us to identify and spot the tiger among the thick bushes with our naked eye. We had carried an Olympus binoculars which proved handy and at last we managed to spot the ever elusive Tiger. Spotting the ever elusive tiger in its own natural habitat is one great experience. We were all thrilled as this was the first time that we ever saw a tiger in the wild. We were also disappointed that we didn’t get a decent shot of the tiger but managed to capture the moment on our Panasonic handy cam. The time was 6:45 pm, with only 15 mins left for us to exit the tiger reserve, we decided to call it a day and try our luck the next day. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

16th October 2009, 02:00	#8
s@tan2s@int BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 129 Thanked: 130 Times	Fantastic, I am really following this with interest, hoping equally beautiful posts are coming up! Tadoba is on my hit list - going over there in middle of summer [May] for maximum sightings. One of my friend went there and they had 6 tiger sightings! Do continue with your story. Trust me. the best is yet to come. Mar-may is the best possible time to have maximum tiger sightings. we managed 4 tiger sightings in one single day.will post the details and the pics soon..
	() Thanks

16th October 2009, 13:04	#10
mobike008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 11,702 Thanked: 14,828 Times View My Garage	Can't wait for the tiger pictures. Do hurry up ! Btw, if you have to respond to someone, just use the quote button on their post and you can reply to them.
	() Thanks

16th October 2009, 13:56	#12
rajeevn BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 156 Thanked: 217 Times	Where are the tiger pictures—please do post them ASAP. You must have been really lucky to spot them—it took me 14 trips to Corbett Park before an actual sighting... That was a mother tiger sauntering across the clearning, with two very chubby and chirpy little cubs prancing behind her... Perhaps Tadoba is more "giving" in terms of Big Cat sightings.
	() Thanks

16th October 2009, 15:30	#13
traveloholic BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: TrafficJamaBad earlier known as Hyd Posts: 750 Thanked: 238 Times	Let the pics flow my friend, we are eagerly awaiting for the Tiger Pics
	() Thanks

17th October 2009, 14:08	#14
s@tan2s@int BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 129 Thanked: 130 Times	Day 2- May 1 The day started early, we were up and ready by 5 am, paid rs 390 again for the entry, stacked few water bottles and some snacks to munch and were ready for a new experience. This time we chose a new guide to accompany us for the trip and this turned out to be the best decision we could have taken. Within the first 15 mins, we were lucky to spot fresh pug mark of a tigress and its cub. Our guide started tracking the movement and took us to few watering holes expecting to be the first ones to spot the tigress. Within a short time we could see 10 different vehicles lined up at the watering hole expecting the tigress to come for a dip. In the meanwhile we were able to spot herds of deer and sambar quenching their thirst, many birds of different species. etc Again, we heard the same kind of wild langur calls echo through the forest, we immediately pulled out our camera's, binoculars and were ready for the spectacle. Lo and behold, we see the majestic animal walk out of the bushes, walk right across the road and take a dip in the watering hole. The sight lasted for some good 10 mins before some ignorant fool in an indica tried to pull up his car too close to the tigress comfort. The tiger just got up, gave a cold stare to the guys in the indica and with such elegant grace walked back into the thick bushes it came from. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

17th October 2009, 17:39	#15
kiren BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: mumbai Posts: 454 Thanked: 33 Times	WOW!!! That was great. You were extremely lucky to spot the majestic beast at Tadoba. Nice pictures.
	() Thanks