TIGERS, RHINO & ELEPHANT TOUR
Duration: 15 Nights / 16 Days
Places to Visit: Delhi - Bharatpur - Agra - Khajuraho
- Bandhavgarh - Kanha - Nagpur - Bhubneshwar - Calcutta - Gawahati - Kaziranga
- Delhi
One of the most elite and grand tour of Indian wildlife is the tour from Delhi
all the way up to kaziranga. A tour that attempts and usually succeeds in seeing
Indian Tiger, the Leopard, The Indian Rhino, Gaur, Wild Elephant, Blue Bull,
Black Buck, Chinkara Gazelle, Barasingha, Sambhar, Wild dogs, Jackals, Crocodiles,
many species of birds and a lot more because the Jungle is full of surprises.
This tour covers a variety of National Parks and reserves in Bio zones and diversified
habitat, each one different from the others but no less interesting. Various
modes of transport are used to view the animals, ranging from elephants, quite
often jeeps, variety of boats and rickshaws are very interesting. While accommodation
varies from erstwhile hunting lodges and palaces to true Jungle Lodes, that
are set in the forest in natural sitting. The Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri , Khajuraho,
Jaipur and other historical & cultural sites are all along the way to our natural
wonders.
Day 01: Arrive Delhi
Early morning arrival at the Delhi airport and on reaching and you are assisted
to the hotel and checked in to the rooms. The trip in the first city of our
visit begins with the sightseeing opportunity at Delhi. The old Delhi area has
a lot of places of interest, which can be visited like the Red fort, Jama Masjid,
Qutab Minar etc.
Day 02: Delhi - Agra
Board morning train at 0600hrs to reach Agra at 0800hrs.
Welcome to the land of the Tajmahal the historical monument built by Shah Jahan
for his beloved Mumtaz. Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of
the World, and some Western historians have noted that its architectural beauty
has never been surpassed. The Taj is the most beautiful monument built by the
Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble.
Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly
at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of the full moon. On
a foggy morning, the visitors experience the Taj as if suspended when viewed
from across the Jamuna River.
Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the
memory of his dear wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal at Agra, India. It is an "elegy
in marble" or some say an _expression of a "dream." Taj Mahal (meaning Crown
Palace) is a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal at the lower
chamber. The grave of Shah Jahan was added to it later. The queen's real name
was Arjumand Banu. In the tradition of the Mughals, important ladies of the
royal family were given another name at their marriage or at some other significant
event in their lives, and the public commonly used that new name. Shah Jahan's
real name was Shahab-ud-din, and he was known as Prince Khurram before ascending
to the throne in 1628.
Afternoon city tour of Agra.
Day 03: Agra / Khajuraho / Bandhavgarh
Morning the guests are assisted to the airport for taking a flight to Khajuraho.
Later drive on to Bandhavgarh National Park, Overnight at the Tiger Den Resort
in Bandhavgarh. Day 04: Bandhavgarh
Bandhavgarh National Park is a paradise for the tiger-mad. Tigers and Bandhavgarh
gang together, and you will almost certainly see a tiger if you stay for a couple
of days or take one of the longer tiger tours to Bandhavgarh. Bandhavgarh is
a very different forest from the forests of the South. To begin with it is free
from the scourge of lantana (Lantana camara), which has choked the South Indian
jungles. It is therefore more open. Secondly, the dominant tree is sal (Shorea
robusta), whereas down South it is teak (Tectona grandis).
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at the lodge itself. There are excursions
made to the jungle in the morning and in the evening with professional naturalists
accompanying the guests for better encounters in the jungle.
Day 05: Bandhavgarh
Morning and evening excursion to the National Park. Overnight at The lodge.
Day 06: Bandhavgarh / Kanha
As the stay at the Bandhavgarh National park comes to an end, there are last
visits to the park and the tours are taken up before the journey towards the
Kanha national park is taken. On arrival at the Kanha national park the visitors
are assisted to the hotel room and are checked in.
Day 07: Kanha
The sun seems to tempt all the visitors to be awake by early morning for their
expedition in to the jungle of Kanha where the animals are densely populated
making it easy for the guests to spot them.
By a special statue in 1955, Kanha national park came into being since then,
a series of stringent conservation programmes for the protection of the park's
flora and fauna has given Kanha its deserved reputation for being one of the
finest and best administered national parks in Asia, an irresistible attraction
for all wild life lovers a true haven for its animal and avian population. Kanha
national park has 22 species of mammals. Those most easily spotted are TIGER,
Indian hare, Indian wild dog, the Stripped Palm Squirrel, Common langur, Jackal,
Wild Pig, Chital or Spotless deer, Barasingha or Swamp deer, Sambar and black
Buck. Patient watching should reward the visitor, with a sight of Indian Fox,
Sloth bear, Striped hyena, Jungle cut, Lepord, Mouse Deer, Chausingha or four
horned antelope, Nilgai, Ratel and Porcupine.
Day 08: Kanha
Morning and evening jungle excursion, nature walks and Elephant rides. Overnight
at lodge.
Day 09: Kanha / Nagpur
Morning Jungle excursion. Nagpur the city of Oranges, that's how we know of
Nagpur but Nagpur, definitely has more to offer and to discover that you have
to make a visit there. And to fulfill your wish we start taking our journey
towards the city.
Bhakt Buland, a Gond prince of the kingdom of Deogad in the Chhindwara district,
founded the present city in the early 18th century. Seeing the advantage of
civilized life in Delhi, he started to build Nagpur as his new capital. His
successor Chand Sultan continued the work. On Chand Sultan's death in 1739,
disputes regarding succession arose and Raghuji Bhonsle, the Maratha governor
of Berar, helped to restore the elder son to the throne. As the dissentions
continued, Raghuji Bhonsle again intervened in 1743, and the control of Nagpur
slowly passed on from the Gonds to the Marathas. It became the capital of the
Bhonsles.
In 1861, Nagpur became the capital of the Central Provinces. The advent of the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP) in 1867 spurred its development as a trade
centre. After Indian independence, Nagpur became the capital of Madhya Bharat
state (C.P. and Berar). In 1960, the marathi majority Vidarbha region was merged
with the new state of Maharashtra and Nagpur was designated the second capital
of Maharashtra state, alternating with Mumbai (Bombay) as the seat of the Maharashtra
state legislature.
Day 10: Nagpur / Kolkatta
Next morning the guests are flown towards the capital city of West Bengal, a
city of Joy as depicted by Dominique Lapiere and Larry Collins. Kolkata, evolved
as a result of the expansionist policies of the East India Company. The former
political capital of India, Kolkata is one of the four metropolitan cities in
India. The city is remembered in association with the largest bridge in India,
Howrah Bridge; the first metro train in India and the hometown of Mother Teresa
in India.
Afternoon the guests are busy sightseeing in Kolkatta, places to look out for
are the Victoria Memorial, Kali temple, Howrah Bridge.
Overnight Hotel.
Day 11: Calcutta - Guwahati
On day 11 of the trip as the trip almost draws to a close, we move more towards
the eastern zone of the country to Calcutta.
Day 12: Calcutta / Guwahati / Kaziranga 
Via Guwahati we are to reach the Kaziranga national park to see the one
horned rhino.
Located on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River in the far North East of
India, Assam, Kaziranga National Park covers an area of approximately 430-sq-kms
with its swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass making it the ideal habitat
for the Indian One-Horned Rhino. Due to limitless poaching of this prehistoric
survivor, the Kaziranga National Park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1940.
Beside of course the great one horned Indian Rhino, the other major wild attractions
include a large population of Indian Elephants, Indian Bison, Swamp Deer or
Barasingha, Hog Deer, Sloth Bears, Tigers, Leopard Cats, Jungle Cats, Otters,
Hog Badgers, Capped Langurs, Hoolock Gibbons, Wild Boar, Jackal, Wild Buffalo,
Pythons, Monitor Lizards, etc.
Kaziranga National Park is a birding paradise; the grasslands are a raptor country
that can be seen on safari makes a remarkable experience. These include the
Oriental Honey Buzzard, Black-Shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Pallas's
Fishing Eagle, White Tailed Eagle, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, Himalayan Griffon,
etc. Huge numbers of migratory birds descend on the parks lakes and marshy areas
during winters, including Greylag Geese, Bar-Headed Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, Gadwall,
Falcated Duck, Red-Crested Pochard and Northern Shoveller.
Day 13: Kaziranga
Morning and evening jungle rides (Jeep/Elephant), nature walks some interesting
things that one can take pleasure in at this national park of Kaziranga.The
lush green trees and the tall grasslands are a bliss from the hustling bustling
city life that we face everyday.
Day 14: Kaziranga
Morning and evening jungle rides, nature walks and Elephant rides.
Day 15: Kaziranga / Guwahati / Delhi
In the morning we take a drive back to Guwahati for flight to Delhi.
Day 16: Delhi/Departure
The last day of the trip when the bags are to be packed and the memories are
to be treasured before everyone leaves for the airport and reach their respective
homes. This day is at the guest's discretion.
