Legend says that Lord Rama gifted the haunting Bandhavgarh Fort to his younger brother, Laxman, to keep a watch over Lanka. While the myth might be a bit too far-stretched, the charm and allure of this fabled jungle is surely not. Here, the tiger reigns supreme for its story is told by the lighthearted stream that flows along Chakradhara, the old Sal that overlooks the Banbei watchtower, the wrinkled forest guard who patrols day and night to protect this iconic wilderness, the ancient pebbles that line the burnt riverbeds and the ephemeral flower that blooms but for a few hours. The tale of this legendary creature is everywhere, and why not!
What to expect?
Bandhavgarh and tiger go together like Mozart and symphony, they are synonyms of each other. Iconic tigers like Charger, Sita, B2 and Bamera have lived and died in this primeval forest, each one leaving their legacy on the land. While these tigers are no more, their descendants are ruling Bandhavgarh with passion and intent, for this last great wilderness in central Madhya Pradesh is theirs to preserve for generations to come. Bandhavgarh is an excellent place to try our luck with leopards and sloth bears too, for these creatures of the night do inhabit the woods in good numbers. Over the last many years, thanks to countless visits, we have developed an extremely potent team of local drivers and guides. Right from positioning the gypsy to get the best possible angles for photography to using their incredible gut instinct to take the jungle byway less beaten are just some of the many path-breaking things that these forest folk do. Their stories and tales about tiger tracking are just about as legendary as the tigers themselves. These six safaris in Bandhavgarh's iconic and mostly hilly Tala zone, the grassier and less dense but the hot and happening Magadhi zone and the many-surprised Khitauli zone would give you a central Indian safari experience like no other. Over the course of these four days, as we try our best to increase our tiger count in this 'Temple of the Tiger', we slowly but surely submit ourselves to the magic and aura of this jungle and its inhabitants. Our many encounters with the vultures, the ungulates, the flycatchers and the iconic meadows would take our breath away. Bandhavgarh would leave you a transformed person, like it has so many times before.