Jungle main Mangal - Kanha National Park

For years, the only wildlife park I had visited in India was Jim Corbett (barring a few days at Dudhwa). Finally, sometime earlier this year (March) I went to Kanha. The land which allegedly inspired Kipling to write the Jungle Book (along with other surrounding jungles).

First things first - Kanha is the most beautiful forest I have seen in my life (given the fact that I have been to the same park multiple times, you can scoff at the credibility of my claim, but Kanha is amazingly beautiful!).

They tell you "you must visit these parks in November, December". I think thats a load of bull. Its probably the best weather for "you" but the best weather to "spot game" is in the summer heat of April, May and June. We stayed at the Taj property (an amazing place - luxury - yet very identified with the surrounding serenity of nature) and I have not stopped recommending this wonderful lodge (Banjar Tola) to all and sundry. One of things which always pisses me off at Corbett is the pan chewing forest guides - who have neither any love for the forest nor any ability to guide. Apart from the luxury, the perfect service and the great food (and the beautifully done up tents), Taj Safaris scores on one huge factor: it makes you feel the jungle as never before. The Naturalists are kickass and make your "game drive" much more than "tiger dekha kya?".

That said, let me list out the "big game" sightings we had (no direspect meant to the beautiful meadows with the thousands of deer, the white socked bisons and the success stories of the Barasingha conservation).

1. Tigress, going for a deer kill: It was the first day of our stay at Kanha and we landed at around 2pm. The breeze and the silence of the jungles convinced us to go for a safari soon after. By 4 pm we were waiting for calls (if you have a good naturalist, these DO mean a lot, even though bad guide experiences convince people that these are just time wastage tactics). Soon we saw a bunch of cars standing near a small pond with grasses and shrubs obstructing an otherwise clear view. People were jostling in their seats and craning their necks out (as Indian families on safaris often do). Apparently, there had been a tiger lurking in the shrubs. We waited...and waited. Suddenly we heard a loud roar, a shriek, a roar and a faded muffled cry. I have seen tigers in the wild before but my heart was pounding - after another ten minutes of wait, there she was. After a satisfying kill, strolling in the setting sun, her reflection gleaming in the clear pond water. We saw her for a good five minutes before she went out - to another grassland, another shrub.

2. Sleeping tiger sleeping: Perhaps a good mechanism employed by Kanha (and Pench) to ensure people 'see something' is the elephant safari. It is not the kind one sees in Corbett but a short five minute ride on the elephant - only after the elephant and it's mahaut has spotted a tiger. That way, all guests slowly proceed to go inside the jungle (within a small distance, else the elephant safari does not happen), take a look at the tiger (usually sleeping) and come back. We did the same, the next day after our incredible sighting. A lot of guys got pretty excited, but this was tame stuff personally. Did not match the thrill of our first sighting.

3. Tiger, dont block my way: While returning in our specially designed Taj (and & Beyond) jeeps after mounting the elephant, we went up on a steep slope. Came down. Saw a huge tigress sitting right in front. We stopped the car and kept watching. The tigress was in no mood to move and kept yawning, shifting sides, posing for the cameras. Stood up and sat down. The cycle was repeated multiple times and we saw the tigress for almost 20 minutes. The rules of the park meant that we had to leave by noon and it was already 11 40. We actually had to honk and start the car to get the tigress out of the way. As it got up and moved laterally, it snarled, giving us an amazing video and an even better picture.

4. Leopard, shoot the monkeys: My last day at Kanha and we decided to go on a curtailed safari of 2 hours in the morning. Barely two minutes from the entry point, we were on a kaccha road with trees on both sides and a forest line running to our left. At this point, the monkeys began to chatter (or as it happens during "alarm calls", bark). For ten minutes we kept trying to guage the direction of the audio signals and kept reversing and moving our vehicle. Apparently, consistent, continuous and long drawn alarm calls indicate the presence of leopards (a fact I cross checked when I saw a leopard at Pench a month later). And then it appeared. A dusty leopard quietly crosses our road and went into the forest fire, where it decided to have a roll in the ash. We saw this for some five minutes and sealed our Kanha trip!

Logistics/Travel: I took a flight to Raipur and took a cab from there to Kanha (reached in 4-5 hours). One can cover shorter distances if one takes a flight to Jabalpur (even Nagpur is an option, although it is very far).

Stay: Taj Banjar Tola. I am sure there will be other places around, but the area is not as commercialized as Corbett, and that is a huge relief.

Travel tips: Put lots of sunscreen, the sun is blinding. The forest has a lot to offer apart from big game (even thought thats the only thing I wrote about) so appreciate it! Lastly, be silent and do not add to the list of ill behaved buffoons who come to our jungles.

Do visit - the jungle will not disappoint you!