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In 1973 the Indian Government launched Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project to control and supplement the dwindling population of the Royal Bengal tigers in India. Over the years the Project Tiger has become one of the most successful wildlife conservation efforts in India. While initially only nine tiger reserves were set up under the Project Tiger, today there are nearly 30 tiger reserves all over India. Although not all tiger reserves, wildlife and national parks in India offer equal chances of seeing a tiger in the wild, there are a few where one can take tiger safari tour and have a good opportunity to actually see the tiger.

Bandhavgarh, Kanha National Park and Pench National Parks are the finest wildlife reserves when it comes to chances of encountering the magnificent Bengal tiger in the wild. Located in the hills of the Vindhyan Range in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh National Park is considered to have one of the densest tiger populations of any wildlife reserves in India, though since 2006, when Kaziranga National Park in Assam of north-eastern India was too declared a tiger reserve, that crown is now claimed by Kaziranga. Considered one of the best parks in Asia, Kanha National Park is hailed as providing the best opportunity for seeing a tiger namely on account of having the largest number of tigers, said to contain over 400 of these predators.

Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench and Panna National Parks can be included in your tour of the Khajuraho and Varanasi region. Pench and Kanha National Parks are best accessed from Nagpur, easily accessible by air from Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata.

Located in the foothills of the Himalayas is the majestic Corbett National Park, once a popular hunting ground of the British. Corbett NP became the first national park to be established in mainland Asia and the first sanctuary to come under Project Tiger. It is best visited as part of your Northern India itinerary, where it can be ideally tailored into your Rajasthan – Varanasi – Indian Himalayas itinerary.

Another option for visiting Corbett National Park is to combine it with a tour to the hill state of Uttarakhand, to Garhwal and Kumaon region. Here it is best added to your trip to Haridwar – Rishikesh – Almora – Nainital itinerary.

One of the premier parks of India and also established as one of the best for a chance of seeing a tiger has become Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. Typically visited as part of so called Temples, Tigers and Ganges itinerary that packs in the best of Varanasi and Khajuraho first and the tour visits Ranthambore en route from Agra to Jaipur.

Last but certainly not least recommended for seeing the tiger is Kaziranga National Park. Although relatively small, Kaziranga NP is among the best of India’s wildlife parks. As a result of a truly remarkable success story of conservation of the One Horned India Rhinoceros, Kaziranga National Park got the recognition of the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1985. Kaziranga NP is best visited as part of Assam – Meghalaya itinerary, either by flying into Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat or Shillong.

Binsar is a wildlife sanctuary under the management of Corbett National Park. Within its boundaries are hamlets whose residents have lived for centuries in close proximity of the forest and wildlife, and whose livelihood is interdependent with nature. The development and progress made in other villages of the region has eluded these hamlets due to stringent laws, remoteness of locations and the fact the people would feel resentment towards the Sanctuary unless efforts are made to integrate them into activities which empower them economically and socially. The concept of the village walks is to introduce nature lovers to the world of the forest dwellers and the hamlets within Binsar, creating a sustainable livelihood for the villagers and motivating them to appreciate and protect the unique biodiversity of the sanctuary.

The village walks are hosted by a local professional operator, Alpine Adventure, and the residents of five of the hamlets in the Sanctuary: Gaunap, Katdhara, Pataniyanail, Dalar and Rishal.

The walks take visitors through both the upper and lower reaches of Binsar, through oak and pine forests, up crests with stunning views of the Himalayas and surrounding areas and down valleys with streams and thick undergrowth. Starting from the North face of Binsar the walks go round the south and west faces of the mountain and return to the top. En route visitors will see hundreds of varieties of plants and wildlife, namely ghoral, barking deer, langur monkeys, wild boar, and possibly even a leopard. For birdwatchers there are 400 species of resident and migratory birds in Binsar Sanctuary. Combined with the great outdoor and a forest adventure are the lovely villages with their terraced fields, stone houses, and their dignified and hardworking inhabitants. In spite of the hardships of life and relative backwardness of the area, the people are proud and exude an inner strength and resolve as well as gentleness and joy. Visitors are guaranteed to come away nourished and refreshed by the experience.

Go to sample Binsar Village Walks itinerary.

For more info contact Alpine Adventure ‘Outdoor Programs’

Fitz Roy

How best to visit Argentina obviously depends on how much time you have available to travel. Most visitors will arrive in Buenos Aires and begin their trip from there. It seems although many profess wanting to tour Argentina one of the first places they wish to visit is Torres del Paine National Park. There is no question that Torres del Paine is a spectacular park, but the fact is it is in Chile and not Argentina.

Though to fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, in the heart of Argentine Patagonia, and overland from there, is geographically straight and shortest way to get to Torres del Paine, the transportation to the park is not exactly overabundant. There is public bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas one can catch and hop off it at the park’s entry, and private transfers are available as well though not plentiful nor cheap.

Hanging glaciers in Torres del Paine

Without a doubt the best access to Torres del Paine is from Punta Arenas, the focal point of Chilean Patagonia. Of course this poses a bit of a dilemma if starting from Buenos Aires. To get to Punta Arenas can be done either by flight via Santiago de Chile or by going to Bariloche in the heart of Argentine Andes first and from there overland across the Andes Lakes District to Puerto Montt and fly to Punta Arenas from there.

If going to Punta Arenas via Santiago may seem like a cumbersome detour, then add a stop and break up the trip by visiting Mendoza first. Mendoza is an easy flight from Buenos Aires and on the way to Santiago. In Mendoza you can tour the best wineries of the region, sample local dishes, lodge at some wonderful hotels, and after three or four days continue on to Santiago.

Another alternative is to forget Torres del Paine altogether, tailor it into your itinerary on a future trip focusing on Chile only, and instead proceed from El Calafate to El Chalten, a base town for treks into the wilds of the incredible Cerro Torre and Mount Fitz Roy. If you may be on a limited time, from El Chalten you can head back to El Calafate and return to Buenos Aires from there. With two weeks to spare you can visit both Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine and you can even add Southern Patagonia, Argentina’s legendary Tierra del Fuego.

Following are the very best three options for experiencing Best of Argentina on 15-days, starting from Buenos Aires.

Option one is to fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, overland to El Chaltén, then to Ushuaia and finish with Iguazu Falls. This Best of Argentina itinerary allows for tango in Buenos Aires, seeing the spectacular glaciers, hiking in Fitz Roy National Park, sailing the Beagle Channel, and in the end marvel at the impressive Iguazu Falls.

Another Best of Argentina itinerary on 15 days is a variation of the above with the inclusion of a visit to Mendoza, so in summary the itinerary packs in Tango, Wineries, Glaciers, Tierra del Fuego, Beagle Channel, and Iguazu Falls.

And one more Best of Argentina tour on 15 days can be designed to include Peninsula Valdes, in other words, Buenos Aires, Whales & Penguins, Glaciers, Ushuaia, and Iguazu Falls.

Some would argue I left out Salta and the northwest of Argentina but for logistical reasons best to leave that part for another trip.

Trekking in Torres del Paine

Last weekend presented an opportunity for a quick visit to Chhatrasagar Nimaj, before they wound up the camp for the season.
Saturday Morning we set off  in our cars  and accomplished this road trip all the way from Delhi to Chhatra Sagar in about eight hours. The next 2 days at Chhatra Sagar were a series of fun moments and unforgettable experiences. The accommodation, cuisine and simple activities like village walks, open jeep safaris, nature and bird walks, an introduction to the star-gazing, all taken care by the family added up to one memorable holiday. The elements of learning at Chhatra Sagar are immense – culture, cuisine , nature, rural life, environment and its protection.

The naturally air-cooled lounge tent, uses a screen made of locally grown dry weeds put into a bamboo frame and kept moist with water from a trough.  A simple technology that’s not only effective but also environment friendly.  The lounge tent especially on a March afternoon is where most guests lounge, read a book , relax or look out over the lake. All this while you sip a tall cool drink or a chilled beer .

There’s always someone at hand to announce the spotting of a rare bird, a giant sized toad, turtles or fish in the lake. The occasional sight of blue-bulls wading through the Lake was a fascinating sight. The lounge also doubles up as a dining tent during lunch / dinner.

At Chhatra Sagar, every meal was a highlight with a varied menu and a family member ready to explain the concepts of Rajasthani cuisine. How the cuisine adapted to the extremely hot and dry conditions of Rajasthan and how locals invented innovative methods of not only preserving food but putting to use whatever grew best in the arid desert climate. Harsh would also take us on an adventure on his 4×4 Jeep through the villages and countryside around Chhatrasagar, which brought an opportunity to see some of the wildlife of the area like blue bulls, birds etc from close quarters. The best was to watch Trigger (Harsh’s impish fox terrier ), chasing a group of blue bulls. The Afternoon birding walk along a trail marked out along the estate and around the lake was most interesting. Nandi not only showed us a lot of birds but also his remarkable training given to one of the young men ( a part of Chhatra Sagar staff now ) from the village on birding.  One of the staff accompanies Nandi with a Binoculars, tripod, bottled water and a bird book in hand. I was amazed to see that he could identify the birds being spotted by Nandi and open the appropriate page in the book to show guests the bird being spotted. Another simple activity is the small walk up the hillock present close to the reservoir. The ten minute walk up to the top of the hillock at sunset affords fantastic views of the surrounding country side and breathtaking sunsets. The night sky brought us more learning. With two telescope set to view the clear night skies, Vasundhara (Nandi’s wife) pointed out various stars, constellations, planets, how to identify them etc. We even had a glimpse of a Saturn with its rings in clear view.

The accommodations are most comfortable with spacious tents, providing enough space to walk around inspite of  the large bed with bed side lamps, a writing table, 2 pedestal fans and a couple of cane chairs. Infact we had an extra bed places closed to the windows and the tents still managed to look large and spacious. The tents have attached bathrooms with western toilets, shower area and wash basin with running hot and cold water, a dressing mirror and a luggage rack large enough to hold all your luggage. All tents have draw-up canvas netted windows, you can see the lake lying right there on the large comfortable bed. Just outside the tent is a sit out facing the Lake, ideal to watch sun-rise and lake views throughout the day.

Chhatrasagar is a home stay, boutique and very special. Most of all it is entirely personal and unique to the location. Each member of the family contributes to the wonderful experience we have had there. Little wonder why one of our recent clients adjudged the Chhatrasagar experience as THE BEST on her trip.

Magic Rajasthan