Tigers and the Wildlife
of India Photo Tour
2015
Although this is a tour designed for the rare
Bengal Tiger, the wildlife of India is diverse
and spectacular, and we'll photograph far more
than tigers alone!
FACT: In 2011 we had 25 tigers on the first
tour, and 54 tigers on the second. In 2012 we had 19 tigers on the first
tour, and 37 on the second.
We are visiting THE BEST tiger locations.
We also had Indian Wild Dogs, Sloth Bears, Leopards, all of India's big game.
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks.
There will also be a pre-trip Extension to
Kaziranga National Park for one-horned rhinos, and a
post-trip Extension with exciting options ... read on!
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife, at three of the Best Parks for Tigers.
This tour will be preceded by two Pre-Trips. Snow Leopards in the Wild and Kaziranga for Rhinos and wildlife.
Park One -
Bandhavgarh,
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India, where, on one trip, we had 31 tigers in 5 days!
FACT: In 2012 we were hoping for tiger CUBS and we were successful, although our tiger count was down because all tiger sightings (due to mother/cub range) were down.
In 2013 those cubs will now be big, subadult tigers, and finding and photographing tigers should be even easier, with numbers reflecting 2011.
Park Two-
Kanha, one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers, with a wide diversity of herbivores as well. This is most photographers favorite park!
FACT: We've successfully photographed Dhole (Indian Wild Dog), Leopard, Jungle Cat, and all the great herbivores here each year, with great bird photography and landscape and scenics too.
Park Three -
Satpura. Not only do we usually see and photograph Sloth Bear and Leopard, Gaur and Sambar, but the other options here are truly diverse. Canoe-based or boat-based bird photography, elephant rides in the jungle, even foot safaris into the jungle can all be done! Also, we'll have the opportunity for CAMERA TRAP NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY at Waterholes and Game Trails in the forest around our Lodge. Read on!
Exact Dates will be available soon-
Snow Leopard Scouting Trip -
Feb., 2015
Kaziranga One-horned Rhinos and wildlife -
Feb., 2015
India's Tigers and Wildlife
Feb. -March, 2015
Limited to Twelve Participants
Price: $TBA, but approximately $8,795
Based on a tour of twelve participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
All photos in this brochure were taken on our 2011 photo tours. To have an even better idea
of the wealth of photo subjects, and opportunities, please check out the portfolios from our
participants as well!
The following Portfolios will be posted soon, revealing the beauty and wildlife diversity of this trip:
Joe and Mary Ann McDonald's Bird Portfolio
and our Wildlife Portfolio
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
For years, friends have been urging Mary and I to do a trip to India and in 2011 we decided, after a 20 year lapse, to return. We visited the three parks featured in this itinerary, and, after only a few days of being on safari, we knew we'd be returning and including India in our permanent schedule. Our outfitter was wonderful, the camps were great, and the wildlife was superb. We were hooked.
Barasinga or swamp deer, gaur, tiger.
Trust me, these are among the three best parks for wildlife photography! Each park is slightly different in terms of habitat and the general composition of the wildlife, and in that way our tour will provide a tremendous portfolio of wildlife opportunities. To obtain a very, very accurate account of our India Tiger Photo Safaris, please read either any or all of our Trip Reports that we've posted for all of our previous trips. Just click on the links on the India page. In those very lengthy reports, all of the triumphs, frustrations, and experiences are included -- warts and all! Trip Reports.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in Pennsylvania next summer!
Special Features of Our India Tiger Photo Safari
1. Two of the best three National Parks for Tiger Photography
2.
Two photographers per vehicle.
3. We rotate people per vehicle to insure group cohesiveness (see below)
4. All normal tips and gratuities
5. Internal flights from Delhi (1) and back (1)
6. CD or DVD of the group's images (subject to participation)
7. Customized book of the best images (subject to participation)
See below for more details.
8. Customized Pre-Trips available to the Taj Mahal or any other destination
(booked directly through our Indian Outfitter and not included in
the Tour Price).
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
In 2012, the park with the greatest tiger possibilities had several female tigers with young cubs! We were successful in photographing the cubs at some level on both trips.
2013 should repeat the incredible success we had in 2011 with as many as 54 tigers on one trip. Why? The cubs of 2012 will now be between 1 year old and 18-20 months, meaning that they will be dispersed a bit more and not bunched together as a group, often waiting for mom. Consequently, we'll have a good chance of encountering these young tigers on their own, or with mom, or with one of their siblings, thereby increasing our chances at tiger sightings and photography.
Perhaps even more importantly, we've now trained our staff in our methodology which should increase our tiger photography opportunities even further. As it is, I doubt if anyone can honestly claim the consistant tiger viewing/photography opportunities that we've enjoyed in 2011 and 2012.
Our Tour Operator has quite likely the most distinquished pedigree of any Indian operator, with the owner's grandfather one of the originators of Project Tiger, India's celebrated campaign to save the tiger from extinction. Our operator and his family has been in the business of wildlife tourism for decades, and the service and attention to fine detail is unmatched.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We 
will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport to our first destination and then as we commute from park to park.
In contrast to many tours, we will be flying from Delhi to the nearest city to our first park, and flying back to Delhi at the end of the trip. Many tours cut costs, and waste time, by using the train system -- it is not worth it.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There will be both a guide and a driver in each vehicle, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting. We also rotate people through the vehicles so that photographers have an equal opportunity to shoot with either Mary or Joe, and to experience the different guides and drivers. Lodge naturalists drive some of the vehicles, and to be fair to everyone, everyone is rotated so that all get a chance to benefit. This rotation also insures group cohesiveness, eliminating a clique or the rare chance that someone is 'stuck' with another person that they would prefer not to be with for every game drive. Spouses, or close friends, if they desire can request, upon registration, to be together for the entire safari and, if so, forgo the opportunity to shoot with Mary or Joe. This does not imply that a couple paid for the exclusive use of a vehicle, and if one sits out a game drive, and another vehicle also would end up as a single photographer, we will combine the participants into one. The reason -- the parks can be crowded, and we do not want to contribute to a potentially compromised photo situation by an unnecessary number of jeeps.
We may also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at all three parks, but the tiger shows are not guaranteed. They are subject to availability, based upon whether or not a tiger was located that would be conducive to a tiger show; the number of people in the park, if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants, or if the elephants are being used for other purposes. In some parks, some weeks, no tiger shows occur, while in another park or at another time, the tiger shows may occur daily. Four tiger shows are included, with two prepaid at one park and two at another, in the cost of the tour. There are no refunds for the tiger shows if they do not occur. In the unlikely event that more than two shows are offered in a park, you will have the option of paying the fee and doing more than two.
We may also have the opportunity to book your own elephant for the entire morning for a one or two person photo experience with tigers up close. Elephants can get you closer than otherwise possible, unless a tiger comes to you (which happens, often!), but this option is expensive. Details will be provided to our registered participants, along with our complete assessment of the value and possibilities this provides.
While these elephant photo opportunities may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated, kneeling, or standing position, depending upon how you are supporting your camera..
OUR SHOOTING PHILOSOPHY
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives before dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. While our tours have had tremendous success with tigers, these parks are not zoos, and no wildlife sighting is guaranteed. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us.
Above: Gaur, or Indian bison, calves playing
Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality can occur and you must be aware that this could happen. Indeed, it happened to me at one park on my second trip in 2011, where it seemed I was always at the wrong spot. I photographed tigers, but not like I wanted to. However, on the last game drive of that park I got my 'dream shot,' with a big male tiger walking directly to my camera as I shot from near tiger-level. I hadn't despaired, and luck finally, and really, came my way! It happened to me again on the first tour in 2012, but again, on one of our last days I had two spectacular encounters in one afternoon. One of those shots leads the Trip One 2012 Report.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I am convinced are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. Our three parks are centrally located, and close enough together to be in reach for an afternoon drive, so we won't be wasting valuable field time taking a train, or flying, or driving for days to reach our next destination. You will get shooting every single day!
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows. In 2011 and 2012 we did some Tiger Shows here, as well as booking a full morning elephant safari.
Again, in 2013 we may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire morning, but this will be subject to availability. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, if we have the option of booking one or more elephants for a morning, anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer.
We will be providing our tour participants with a thorough outline of the best shooting opportunities, and what subjects to concentrate on, in this outstanding park.
Kanha
Park Two is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison or gaur, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar in many ways to Park One, with a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
This park is actually my favorite, not because of the tigers but because of the huge diversity of wildlife and landscapes available. We do photograph tigers here, but our itinerary is designed so that your tiger 'fix' should be satisfied at Park One, and you can now enjoy Park Two for all great subjects it has to offer.
Park Three
Although we did not see many tigers here, Park Three would have been everyone's (in 2011) favorite park had we had more luck with tigers. The shooting potential was the best in 2011, and very good in 2012, with many waterholes and open forests. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and actually has the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar of any of India's parks.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, Delhi
We'll do a city tour including Old Delhi where we'll take bicycle rickshaws threw crowded, winding old streets in the oldest marketplace of Delhi. The trip is a hoot, a lot of fun, neat photo opportunities, and just an eye-opener for culture and life-style. We'll also visit the largest mosque in India, where once again there will be interesting photo opportunities. Afternoon, after lunch, will be free to rest and get ready for our travels.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, Delhi - Park One
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to our destination city, where we will meet our fleet of SUVs that will transport us to our first Park.
Flight times are not determined at the time and we may arrive in the mid-afternoon or late evening.
Overnight - Our Lodge within minutes of Park One.
Day 5 to 11, - Park One
This is THE tiger park, and although there are plenty of other wildlife subjects to shoot are focus, particularly in the first hour or two in the morning, and late in the day, will be to be in the areas where we expect to find tigers. Do not, however, expect to see a tiger every game drive or every day, and anyone who tells you differently is not being honest, or realistic. Still, with any luck you'll get your tiger shots here, although we've also done very well in Kanha as well.
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. However, there is a host of other species to photograph here, especially rhesus macaque monkeys, spotted deer, langur monkeys, wild hogs, and a variety of birds.
For anyone who wishes, it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
There may also be the possibility of booking a full-day jeep permit, allowing the occupants to go anywhere within the park and to remain inside the park all day. We have never done this, but we've heard that tigers sometimes start roaming the roads after the park closes in late morning, and visit water holes at this time. Of course, in having the entire park to search, it is entirely possible that anyone doing this could be at exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. And this permit was expensive, and will be if it is still available in 2015.
Overnights - Our Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanhaare owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 12, - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
We'll do the usual morning game drive before returning to the lodge for a brunch. Afterwards, we'll load up our fleet of SUVs and begin our 5 hour drive to our next destination, Kanha. We'll arrive in the early evening, hopefully in time to watch the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel swoop overhead!
Overnight - Our Lodge
Day 13 to 16, Kanha
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. Remember, an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, but the opportunity to ride and elephant and photograph a tiger upclose is fun and can be very productive. But that depends upon exactly where a tiger happens to be!
Most of our participants felt that Kanha was their favorite park, and it was Mary and mine. The topography is diverse, as is the habitat. Here we'll have our first chance at photographing the largest cow-like animal in the world, the Indian Gaur or Indian Bison, an enormous, black animal with white stockings. Five other large herbivores are here, including the elk-like Sambar and the plentiful Spotted Deer. Indian Wild Dogs or Dholes, Sloth Bears, Leopards, Golden Jackals, as well as various mongooses, Langur Monkeys, and great birds are potential, if not very likely, subjects.
As it was in Bandhavgarh, for anyone who wishes,it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day or for the morning. These bookings cannot be done more than a few days in advance, for the reasons outlined above. In the past, we have done full-morning elephant rides at Bandhavgarh, with mixed success. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Our Lodge
One of the lounges at Park One, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 17, - Kanha to Satpura
We'll have our final morning game drive in Kanha before returning for a late brunch. After packing our fleet of SUVs we'll embark on our five hour drive to our final park. At this point, we are expecting that our outfitter's new, small, and private camp will be available.
Satpura has the potential of being our favorite park. The topography is varied, there are numerous waterholes, and the forest is quite open, giving a tended, park-like quality to the forest, which provides wonderful visibility for animals deeper in the forest. In 2011, there were 15 different tiger cubs in this park of varying ages, and also the possibility of tiger shows.
Leopards, Gaur, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Langur and Macaque Monkeys, Golden Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Sloth Bears are all found here. In 2011 we only had one sighting of the numerous tigers found here, but that bit of bad luck provided us with the opportunity to round out our portfolio with all of the other Indian wildlife subjects. Birds are diverse, with various kingfishers, wading birds, and songbirds and raptors all accessible.
Overnight - Our Lodge, if available, or a luxury tented camp -
details to be determined.
Day 18 - 20, Satpura
We'll leave early for our drive to Satpura after having a breakfast and have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. This park has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Left: The rare four-horned antelope.
The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Park Four we will check into our lodge, a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, boat ride, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds. In 2011 we only did jeep rides or boat trips for water birds, because the jeep rides were too productive -- for wild dogs and sloth bears and guars, for us to risk doing anything else. In 2012 some people enjoyed the elephant ride through the jungle, and canoeing for water birds, in addition to the boat trip we made for birds.
However, for 2013 we'll also be adding
the option of doing some very exciting camera-trap photography at the game-trails and waterholes around the lodge. The lodge is located on a 45 acre property in the Park's buffer zone, and deer, wild hog, jungle cat, even sloth bear and leopards have been recorded inside the grounds.
With CAMERA TRAPS we'll have the chance to do some fun photography of species we may not see during the day. That includes any of the animals listed above, as well as porcupines, civets, and jackals.
You will need your own flashes and mounts, and your own Range IR camera-tripper, and for those interested in doing this I'll be providing a complete list of minimal equipment and I'll help you in setting up for shots. In 2012 I did a setup with the Range IR on the grounds of our lodge at Park Two, without success, and I didn't explore Park Four's possibilities until it was too late to do a setup! However, I'm very excited about this for 2013!
Dinner and overnights at our Lodge
Day 20, - Park Three to Delhi
We'll have an early morning transfer to the airport to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where you will have a day room until 9PM that evening. You'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
Day 21 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $TBA, but $8,799 is the approximate cost at this time.
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Four Elephant safaris (tiger shows) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to our destination city and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Any pre-trip excursions, to Agra or elsewhere.
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control.
Additional costs due to unexpected changes in domestic air fares.
A Final Important Note
While we make every effort to provide you with success, we are dealing with wild animals and your luck -- be it with the animals, with a driver or guide, with a assigned route your vehicle is arbitrarily given by the Park authorities on a given day, any of these things and more-- is out of our control. Further, we run our trips for the benefit of the group, not a lone individual, and all of our decisions and actions are based upon the group's well being and success, and not to catering to a single individual. This model has worked wonderfully for us for over 25 years of doing photo tours, but if you are accustomed to having your own way or calling your own shots then do the trip by yourself, or pick another tour.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
Return to HomePage
Tigers and the Wildlife
of India Photo Tour
2015
Although this is a tour designed for the rare
Bengal Tiger, the wildlife of India is diverse
and spectacular, and we'll photograph far more
than tigers alone!
FACT: In 2011 we had 25 tigers on the first
tour, and 54 tigers on the second. In 2012 we had 19 tigers on the first
tour, and 37 on the second.
We are visiting THE BEST tiger locations.
We also had Indian Wild Dogs, Sloth Bears, Leopards, all of India's big game.
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks.
There will also be a pre-trip Extension to
Kaziranga National Park for one-horned rhinos, and a
post-trip Extension with exciting options ... read on!
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife, at three of the Best Parks for Tigers.
This tour will be preceded by two Pre-Trips. Snow Leopards in the Wild and Kaziranga for Rhinos and wildlife.
Park One -
Bandhavgarh,
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India, where, on one trip, we had 31 tigers in 5 days!
FACT: In 2012 we were hoping for tiger CUBS and we were successful, although our tiger count was down because all tiger sightings (due to mother/cub range) were down.
In 2013 those cubs will now be big, subadult tigers, and finding and photographing tigers should be even easier, with numbers reflecting 2011.
Park Two-
Kanha, one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers, with a wide diversity of herbivores as well. This is most photographers favorite park!
FACT: We've successfully photographed Dhole (Indian Wild Dog), Leopard, Jungle Cat, and all the great herbivores here each year, with great bird photography and landscape and scenics too.
Park Three -
Satpura. Not only do we usually see and photograph Sloth Bear and Leopard, Gaur and Sambar, but the other options here are truly diverse. Canoe-based or boat-based bird photography, elephant rides in the jungle, even foot safaris into the jungle can all be done! Also, we'll have the opportunity for CAMERA TRAP NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY at Waterholes and Game Trails in the forest around our Lodge. Read on!
Exact Dates will be available soon-
Snow Leopard Scouting Trip -
Feb., 2015
Kaziranga One-horned Rhinos and wildlife -
Feb., 2015
India's Tigers and Wildlife
Feb. -March, 2015
Limited to Twelve Participants
Price: $TBA, but approximately $8,795
Based on a tour of twelve participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
All photos in this brochure were taken on our 2011 photo tours. To have an even better idea
of the wealth of photo subjects, and opportunities, please check out the portfolios from our
participants as well!
The following Portfolios will be posted soon, revealing the beauty and wildlife diversity of this trip:
Joe and Mary Ann McDonald's Bird Portfolio
and our Wildlife Portfolio
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
For years, friends have been urging Mary and I to do a trip to India and in 2011 we decided, after a 20 year lapse, to return. We visited the three parks featured in this itinerary, and, after only a few days of being on safari, we knew we'd be returning and including India in our permanent schedule. Our outfitter was wonderful, the camps were great, and the wildlife was superb. We were hooked.
Barasinga or swamp deer, gaur, tiger.
Trust me, these are among the three best parks for wildlife photography! Each park is slightly different in terms of habitat and the general composition of the wildlife, and in that way our tour will provide a tremendous portfolio of wildlife opportunities. To obtain a very, very accurate account of our India Tiger Photo Safaris, please read either any or all of our Trip Reports that we've posted for all of our previous trips. Just click on the links on the India page. In those very lengthy reports, all of the triumphs, frustrations, and experiences are included -- warts and all! Trip Reports.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in Pennsylvania next summer!
Special Features of Our India Tiger Photo Safari
1. Two of the best three National Parks for Tiger Photography
2.
Two photographers per vehicle.
3. We rotate people per vehicle to insure group cohesiveness (see below)
4. All normal tips and gratuities
5. Internal flights from Delhi (1) and back (1)
6. CD or DVD of the group's images (subject to participation)
7. Customized book of the best images (subject to participation)
See below for more details.
8. Customized Pre-Trips available to the Taj Mahal or any other destination
(booked directly through our Indian Outfitter and not included in
the Tour Price).
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
In 2012, the park with the greatest tiger possibilities had several female tigers with young cubs! We were successful in photographing the cubs at some level on both trips.
2013 should repeat the incredible success we had in 2011 with as many as 54 tigers on one trip. Why? The cubs of 2012 will now be between 1 year old and 18-20 months, meaning that they will be dispersed a bit more and not bunched together as a group, often waiting for mom. Consequently, we'll have a good chance of encountering these young tigers on their own, or with mom, or with one of their siblings, thereby increasing our chances at tiger sightings and photography.
Perhaps even more importantly, we've now trained our staff in our methodology which should increase our tiger photography opportunities even further. As it is, I doubt if anyone can honestly claim the consistant tiger viewing/photography opportunities that we've enjoyed in 2011 and 2012.
Our Tour Operator has quite likely the most distinquished pedigree of any Indian operator, with the owner's grandfather one of the originators of Project Tiger, India's celebrated campaign to save the tiger from extinction. Our operator and his family has been in the business of wildlife tourism for decades, and the service and attention to fine detail is unmatched.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport to our first destination and then as we commute from park to park.
In contrast to many tours, we will be flying from Delhi to the nearest city to our first park, and flying back to Delhi at the end of the trip. Many tours cut costs, and waste time, by using the train system -- it is not worth it.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There will be both a guide and a driver in each vehicle, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting. We also rotate people through the vehicles so that photographers have an equal opportunity to shoot with either Mary or Joe, and to experience the different guides and drivers. Lodge naturalists drive some of the vehicles, and to be fair to everyone, everyone is rotated so that all get a chance to benefit. This rotation also insures group cohesiveness, eliminating a clique or the rare chance that someone is 'stuck' with another person that they would prefer not to be with for every game drive. Spouses, or close friends, if they desire can request, upon registration, to be together for the entire safari and, if so, forgo the opportunity to shoot with Mary or Joe. This does not imply that a couple paid for the exclusive use of a vehicle, and if one sits out a game drive, and another vehicle also would end up as a single photographer, we will combine the participants into one. The reason -- the parks can be crowded, and we do not want to contribute to a potentially compromised photo situation by an unnecessary number of jeeps.
We may also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at all three parks, but the tiger shows are not guaranteed. They are subject to availability, based upon whether or not a tiger was located that would be conducive to a tiger show; the number of people in the park, if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants, or if the elephants are being used for other purposes. In some parks, some weeks, no tiger shows occur, while in another park or at another time, the tiger shows may occur daily. Four tiger shows are included, with two prepaid at one park and two at another, in the cost of the tour. There are no refunds for the tiger shows if they do not occur. In the unlikely event that more than two shows are offered in a park, you will have the option of paying the fee and doing more than two.
We may also have the opportunity to book your own elephant for the entire morning for a one or two person photo experience with tigers up close. Elephants can get you closer than otherwise possible, unless a tiger comes to you (which happens, often!), but this option is expensive. Details will be provided to our registered participants, along with our complete assessment of the value and possibilities this provides.
While these elephant photo opportunities may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated, kneeling, or standing position, depending upon how you are supporting your camera..
OUR SHOOTING PHILOSOPHY
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives before dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. While our tours have had tremendous success with tigers, these parks are not zoos, and no wildlife sighting is guaranteed. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us.
Above: Gaur, or Indian bison, calves playing
Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality can occur and you must be aware that this could happen. Indeed, it happened to me at one park on my second trip in 2011, where it seemed I was always at the wrong spot. I photographed tigers, but not like I wanted to. However, on the last game drive of that park I got my 'dream shot,' with a big male tiger walking directly to my camera as I shot from near tiger-level. I hadn't despaired, and luck finally, and really, came my way! It happened to me again on the first tour in 2012, but again, on one of our last days I had two spectacular encounters in one afternoon. One of those shots leads the Trip One 2012 Report.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I am convinced are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. Our three parks are centrally located, and close enough together to be in reach for an afternoon drive, so we won't be wasting valuable field time taking a train, or flying, or driving for days to reach our next destination. You will get shooting every single day!
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows. In 2011 and 2012 we did some Tiger Shows here, as well as booking a full morning elephant safari.
Again, in 2013 we may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire morning, but this will be subject to availability. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, if we have the option of booking one or more elephants for a morning, anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer.
We will be providing our tour participants with a thorough outline of the best shooting opportunities, and what subjects to concentrate on, in this outstanding park.
Kanha
Park Two is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison or gaur, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar in many ways to Park One, with a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
This park is actually my favorite, not because of the tigers but because of the huge diversity of wildlife and landscapes available. We do photograph tigers here, but our itinerary is designed so that your tiger 'fix' should be satisfied at Park One, and you can now enjoy Park Two for all great subjects it has to offer.
Park Three
Although we did not see many tigers here, Park Three would have been everyone's (in 2011) favorite park had we had more luck with tigers. The shooting potential was the best in 2011, and very good in 2012, with many waterholes and open forests. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and actually has the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar of any of India's parks.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, Delhi
We'll do a city tour including Old Delhi where we'll take bicycle rickshaws threw crowded, winding old streets in the oldest marketplace of Delhi. The trip is a hoot, a lot of fun, neat photo opportunities, and just an eye-opener for culture and life-style. We'll also visit the largest mosque in India, where once again there will be interesting photo opportunities. Afternoon, after lunch, will be free to rest and get ready for our travels.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, Delhi - Park One
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to our destination city, where we will meet our fleet of SUVs that will transport us to our first Park.
Flight times are not determined at the time and we may arrive in the mid-afternoon or late evening.
Overnight - Our Lodge within minutes of Park One.
Day 5 to 11, - Park One
This is THE tiger park, and although there are plenty of other wildlife subjects to shoot are focus, particularly in the first hour or two in the morning, and late in the day, will be to be in the areas where we expect to find tigers. Do not, however, expect to see a tiger every game drive or every day, and anyone who tells you differently is not being honest, or realistic. Still, with any luck you'll get your tiger shots here, although we've also done very well in Kanha as well.
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. However, there is a host of other species to photograph here, especially rhesus macaque monkeys, spotted deer, langur monkeys, wild hogs, and a variety of birds.
For anyone who wishes, it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
There may also be the possibility of booking a full-day jeep permit, allowing the occupants to go anywhere within the park and to remain inside the park all day. We have never done this, but we've heard that tigers sometimes start roaming the roads after the park closes in late morning, and visit water holes at this time. Of course, in having the entire park to search, it is entirely possible that anyone doing this could be at exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. And this permit was expensive, and will be if it is still available in 2015.
Overnights - Our Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanhaare owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 12, - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
We'll do the usual morning game drive before returning to the lodge for a brunch. Afterwards, we'll load up our fleet of SUVs and begin our 5 hour drive to our next destination, Kanha. We'll arrive in the early evening, hopefully in time to watch the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel swoop overhead!
Overnight - Our Lodge
Day 13 to 16, Kanha
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. Remember, an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, but the opportunity to ride and elephant and photograph a tiger upclose is fun and can be very productive. But that depends upon exactly where a tiger happens to be!
Most of our participants felt that Kanha was their favorite park, and it was Mary and mine. The topography is diverse, as is the habitat. Here we'll have our first chance at photographing the largest cow-like animal in the world, the Indian Gaur or Indian Bison, an enormous, black animal with white stockings. Five other large herbivores are here, including the elk-like Sambar and the plentiful Spotted Deer. Indian Wild Dogs or Dholes, Sloth Bears, Leopards, Golden Jackals, as well as various mongooses, Langur Monkeys, and great birds are potential, if not very likely, subjects.
As it was in Bandhavgarh, for anyone who wishes,it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day or for the morning. These bookings cannot be done more than a few days in advance, for the reasons outlined above. In the past, we have done full-morning elephant rides at Bandhavgarh, with mixed success. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Our Lodge
One of the lounges at Park One, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 17, - Kanha to Satpura
We'll have our final morning game drive in Kanha before returning for a late brunch. After packing our fleet of SUVs we'll embark on our five hour drive to our final park. At this point, we are expecting that our outfitter's new, small, and private camp will be available.
Satpura has the potential of being our favorite park. The topography is varied, there are numerous waterholes, and the forest is quite open, giving a tended, park-like quality to the forest, which provides wonderful visibility for animals deeper in the forest. In 2011, there were 15 different tiger cubs in this park of varying ages, and also the possibility of tiger shows.
Leopards, Gaur, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Langur and Macaque Monkeys, Golden Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Sloth Bears are all found here. In 2011 we only had one sighting of the numerous tigers found here, but that bit of bad luck provided us with the opportunity to round out our portfolio with all of the other Indian wildlife subjects. Birds are diverse, with various kingfishers, wading birds, and songbirds and raptors all accessible.
Overnight - Our Lodge, if available, or a luxury tented camp -
details to be determined.
Day 18 - 20, Satpura
We'll leave early for our drive to Satpura after having a breakfast and have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. This park has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Left: The rare four-horned antelope.
The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Park Four we will check into our lodge, a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, boat ride, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds. In 2011 we only did jeep rides or boat trips for water birds, because the jeep rides were too productive -- for wild dogs and sloth bears and guars, for us to risk doing anything else. In 2012 some people enjoyed the elephant ride through the jungle, and canoeing for water birds, in addition to the boat trip we made for birds.
However, for 2013 we'll also be adding
the option of doing some very exciting camera-trap photography at the game-trails and waterholes around the lodge. The lodge is located on a 45 acre property in the Park's buffer zone, and deer, wild hog, jungle cat, even sloth bear and leopards have been recorded inside the grounds.
With CAMERA TRAPS we'll have the chance to do some fun photography of species we may not see during the day. That includes any of the animals listed above, as well as porcupines, civets, and jackals.
You will need your own flashes and mounts, and your own Range IR camera-tripper, and for those interested in doing this I'll be providing a complete list of minimal equipment and I'll help you in setting up for shots. In 2012 I did a setup with the Range IR on the grounds of our lodge at Park Two, without success, and I didn't explore Park Four's possibilities until it was too late to do a setup! However, I'm very excited about this for 2013!
Dinner and overnights at our Lodge
Day 20, - Park Three to Delhi
We'll have an early morning transfer to the airport to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where you will have a day room until 9PM that evening. You'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
Day 21 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $TBA, but $8,799 is the approximate cost at this time.
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Four Elephant safaris (tiger shows) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to our destination city and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Any pre-trip excursions, to Agra or elsewhere.
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control.
Additional costs due to unexpected changes in domestic air fares.
A Final Important Note
While we make every effort to provide you with success, we are dealing with wild animals and your luck -- be it with the animals, with a driver or guide, with a assigned route your vehicle is arbitrarily given by the Park authorities on a given day, any of these things and more-- is out of our control. Further, we run our trips for the benefit of the group, not a lone individual, and all of our decisions and actions are based upon the group's well being and success, and not to catering to a single individual. This model has worked wonderfully for us for over 25 years of doing photo tours, but if you are accustomed to having your own way or calling your own shots then do the trip by yourself, or pick another tour.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
Return to HomePage
Tigers and the Wildlife
of India Photo Tour
2015
Although this is a tour designed for the rare
Bengal Tiger, the wildlife of India is diverse
and spectacular, and we'll photograph far more
than tigers alone!
FACT: In 2011 we had 25 tigers on the first
tour, and 54 tigers on the second. In 2012 we had 19 tigers on the first
tour, and 37 on the second.
We are visiting THE BEST tiger locations.
We also had Indian Wild Dogs, Sloth Bears, Leopards, all of India's big game.
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks.
There will also be a pre-trip Extension to
Kaziranga National Park for one-horned rhinos, and a
post-trip Extension with exciting options ... read on!
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife, at three of the Best Parks for Tigers.
This tour will be preceded by two Pre-Trips. Snow Leopards in the Wild and Kaziranga for Rhinos and wildlife.
Park One -
Bandhavgarh,
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India, where, on one trip, we had 31 tigers in 5 days!
FACT: In 2012 we were hoping for tiger CUBS and we were successful, although our tiger count was down because all tiger sightings (due to mother/cub range) were down.
In 2013 those cubs will now be big, subadult tigers, and finding and photographing tigers should be even easier, with numbers reflecting 2011.
Park Two-
Kanha, one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers, with a wide diversity of herbivores as well. This is most photographers favorite park!
FACT: We've successfully photographed Dhole (Indian Wild Dog), Leopard, Jungle Cat, and all the great herbivores here each year, with great bird photography and landscape and scenics too.
Park Three -
Satpura. Not only do we usually see and photograph Sloth Bear and Leopard, Gaur and Sambar, but the other options here are truly diverse. Canoe-based or boat-based bird photography, elephant rides in the jungle, even foot safaris into the jungle can all be done! Also, we'll have the opportunity for CAMERA TRAP NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY at Waterholes and Game Trails in the forest around our Lodge. Read on!
Exact Dates will be available soon-
Snow Leopard Scouting Trip -
Feb., 2015
Kaziranga One-horned Rhinos and wildlife -
Feb., 2015
India's Tigers and Wildlife
Feb. -March, 2015
Limited to Twelve Participants
Price: $TBA, but approximately $8,795
Based on a tour of twelve participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
All photos in this brochure were taken on our 2011 photo tours. To have an even better idea
of the wealth of photo subjects, and opportunities, please check out the portfolios from our
participants as well!
The following Portfolios will be posted soon, revealing the beauty and wildlife diversity of this trip:
Joe and Mary Ann McDonald's Bird Portfolio
and our Wildlife Portfolio
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
For years, friends have been urging Mary and I to do a trip to India and in 2011 we decided, after a 20 year lapse, to return. We visited the three parks featured in this itinerary, and, after only a few days of being on safari, we knew we'd be returning and including India in our permanent schedule. Our outfitter was wonderful, the camps were great, and the wildlife was superb. We were hooked.
Barasinga or swamp deer, gaur, tiger.
Trust me, these are among the three best parks for wildlife photography! Each park is slightly different in terms of habitat and the general composition of the wildlife, and in that way our tour will provide a tremendous portfolio of wildlife opportunities. To obtain a very, very accurate account of our India Tiger Photo Safaris, please read either any or all of our Trip Reports that we've posted for all of our previous trips. Just click on the links on the India page. In those very lengthy reports, all of the triumphs, frustrations, and experiences are included -- warts and all! Trip Reports.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in Pennsylvania next summer!
Special Features of Our India Tiger Photo Safari
1. Two of the best three National Parks for Tiger Photography
2.
Two photographers per vehicle.
3. We rotate people per vehicle to insure group cohesiveness (see below)
4. All normal tips and gratuities
5. Internal flights from Delhi (1) and back (1)
6. CD or DVD of the group's images (subject to participation)
7. Customized book of the best images (subject to participation)
See below for more details.
8. Customized Pre-Trips available to the Taj Mahal or any other destination
(booked directly through our Indian Outfitter and not included in
the Tour Price).
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
In 2012, the park with the greatest tiger possibilities had several female tigers with young cubs! We were successful in photographing the cubs at some level on both trips.
2013 should repeat the incredible success we had in 2011 with as many as 54 tigers on one trip. Why? The cubs of 2012 will now be between 1 year old and 18-20 months, meaning that they will be dispersed a bit more and not bunched together as a group, often waiting for mom. Consequently, we'll have a good chance of encountering these young tigers on their own, or with mom, or with one of their siblings, thereby increasing our chances at tiger sightings and photography.
Perhaps even more importantly, we've now trained our staff in our methodology which should increase our tiger photography opportunities even further. As it is, I doubt if anyone can honestly claim the consistant tiger viewing/photography opportunities that we've enjoyed in 2011 and 2012.
Our Tour Operator has quite likely the most distinquished pedigree of any Indian operator, with the owner's grandfather one of the originators of Project Tiger, India's celebrated campaign to save the tiger from extinction. Our operator and his family has been in the business of wildlife tourism for decades, and the service and attention to fine detail is unmatched.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport to our first destination and then as we commute from park to park.
In contrast to many tours, we will be flying from Delhi to the nearest city to our first park, and flying back to Delhi at the end of the trip. Many tours cut costs, and waste time, by using the train system -- it is not worth it.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There will be both a guide and a driver in each vehicle, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting. We also rotate people through the vehicles so that photographers have an equal opportunity to shoot with either Mary or Joe, and to experience the different guides and drivers. Lodge naturalists drive some of the vehicles, and to be fair to everyone, everyone is rotated so that all get a chance to benefit. This rotation also insures group cohesiveness, eliminating a clique or the rare chance that someone is 'stuck' with another person that they would prefer not to be with for every game drive. Spouses, or close friends, if they desire can request, upon registration, to be together for the entire safari and, if so, forgo the opportunity to shoot with Mary or Joe. This does not imply that a couple paid for the exclusive use of a vehicle, and if one sits out a game drive, and another vehicle also would end up as a single photographer, we will combine the participants into one. The reason -- the parks can be crowded, and we do not want to contribute to a potentially compromised photo situation by an unnecessary number of jeeps.
We may also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at all three parks, but the tiger shows are not guaranteed. They are subject to availability, based upon whether or not a tiger was located that would be conducive to a tiger show; the number of people in the park, if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants, or if the elephants are being used for other purposes. In some parks, some weeks, no tiger shows occur, while in another park or at another time, the tiger shows may occur daily. Four tiger shows are included, with two prepaid at one park and two at another, in the cost of the tour. There are no refunds for the tiger shows if they do not occur. In the unlikely event that more than two shows are offered in a park, you will have the option of paying the fee and doing more than two.
We may also have the opportunity to book your own elephant for the entire morning for a one or two person photo experience with tigers up close. Elephants can get you closer than otherwise possible, unless a tiger comes to you (which happens, often!), but this option is expensive. Details will be provided to our registered participants, along with our complete assessment of the value and possibilities this provides.
While these elephant photo opportunities may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated, kneeling, or standing position, depending upon how you are supporting your camera..
OUR SHOOTING PHILOSOPHY
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives before dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. While our tours have had tremendous success with tigers, these parks are not zoos, and no wildlife sighting is guaranteed. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us.
Above: Gaur, or Indian bison, calves playing
Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality can occur and you must be aware that this could happen. Indeed, it happened to me at one park on my second trip in 2011, where it seemed I was always at the wrong spot. I photographed tigers, but not like I wanted to. However, on the last game drive of that park I got my 'dream shot,' with a big male tiger walking directly to my camera as I shot from near tiger-level. I hadn't despaired, and luck finally, and really, came my way! It happened to me again on the first tour in 2012, but again, on one of our last days I had two spectacular encounters in one afternoon. One of those shots leads the Trip One 2012 Report.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I am convinced are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. Our three parks are centrally located, and close enough together to be in reach for an afternoon drive, so we won't be wasting valuable field time taking a train, or flying, or driving for days to reach our next destination. You will get shooting every single day!
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows. In 2011 and 2012 we did some Tiger Shows here, as well as booking a full morning elephant safari.
Again, in 2013 we may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire morning, but this will be subject to availability. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, if we have the option of booking one or more elephants for a morning, anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer.
We will be providing our tour participants with a thorough outline of the best shooting opportunities, and what subjects to concentrate on, in this outstanding park.
Kanha
Park Two is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison or gaur, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar in many ways to Park One, with a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
This park is actually my favorite, not because of the tigers but because of the huge diversity of wildlife and landscapes available. We do photograph tigers here, but our itinerary is designed so that your tiger 'fix' should be satisfied at Park One, and you can now enjoy Park Two for all great subjects it has to offer.
Park Three
Although we did not see many tigers here, Park Three would have been everyone's (in 2011) favorite park had we had more luck with tigers. The shooting potential was the best in 2011, and very good in 2012, with many waterholes and open forests. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and actually has the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar of any of India's parks.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, Delhi
We'll do a city tour including Old Delhi where we'll take bicycle rickshaws threw crowded, winding old streets in the oldest marketplace of Delhi. The trip is a hoot, a lot of fun, neat photo opportunities, and just an eye-opener for culture and life-style. We'll also visit the largest mosque in India, where once again there will be interesting photo opportunities. Afternoon, after lunch, will be free to rest and get ready for our travels.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, Delhi - Park One
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to our destination city, where we will meet our fleet of SUVs that will transport us to our first Park.
Flight times are not determined at the time and we may arrive in the mid-afternoon or late evening.
Overnight - Our Lodge within minutes of Park One.
Day 5 to 11, - Park One
This is THE tiger park, and although there are plenty of other wildlife subjects to shoot are focus, particularly in the first hour or two in the morning, and late in the day, will be to be in the areas where we expect to find tigers. Do not, however, expect to see a tiger every game drive or every day, and anyone who tells you differently is not being honest, or realistic. Still, with any luck you'll get your tiger shots here, although we've also done very well in Kanha as well.
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. However, there is a host of other species to photograph here, especially rhesus macaque monkeys, spotted deer, langur monkeys, wild hogs, and a variety of birds.
For anyone who wishes, it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
There may also be the possibility of booking a full-day jeep permit, allowing the occupants to go anywhere within the park and to remain inside the park all day. We have never done this, but we've heard that tigers sometimes start roaming the roads after the park closes in late morning, and visit water holes at this time. Of course, in having the entire park to search, it is entirely possible that anyone doing this could be at exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. And this permit was expensive, and will be if it is still available in 2015.
Overnights - Our Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanhaare owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 12, - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
We'll do the usual morning game drive before returning to the lodge for a brunch. Afterwards, we'll load up our fleet of SUVs and begin our 5 hour drive to our next destination, Kanha. We'll arrive in the early evening, hopefully in time to watch the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel swoop overhead!
Overnight - Our Lodge
Day 13 to 16, Kanha
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. Remember, an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, but the opportunity to ride and elephant and photograph a tiger upclose is fun and can be very productive. But that depends upon exactly where a tiger happens to be!
Most of our participants felt that Kanha was their favorite park, and it was Mary and mine. The topography is diverse, as is the habitat. Here we'll have our first chance at photographing the largest cow-like animal in the world, the Indian Gaur or Indian Bison, an enormous, black animal with white stockings. Five other large herbivores are here, including the elk-like Sambar and the plentiful Spotted Deer. Indian Wild Dogs or Dholes, Sloth Bears, Leopards, Golden Jackals, as well as various mongooses, Langur Monkeys, and great birds are potential, if not very likely, subjects.
As it was in Bandhavgarh, for anyone who wishes,it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day or for the morning. These bookings cannot be done more than a few days in advance, for the reasons outlined above. In the past, we have done full-morning elephant rides at Bandhavgarh, with mixed success. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Our Lodge
One of the lounges at Park One, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 17, - Kanha to Satpura
We'll have our final morning game drive in Kanha before returning for a late brunch. After packing our fleet of SUVs we'll embark on our five hour drive to our final park. At this point, we are expecting that our outfitter's new, small, and private camp will be available.
Satpura has the potential of being our favorite park. The topography is varied, there are numerous waterholes, and the forest is quite open, giving a tended, park-like quality to the forest, which provides wonderful visibility for animals deeper in the forest. In 2011, there were 15 different tiger cubs in this park of varying ages, and also the possibility of tiger shows.
Leopards, Gaur, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Langur and Macaque Monkeys, Golden Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Sloth Bears are all found here. In 2011 we only had one sighting of the numerous tigers found here, but that bit of bad luck provided us with the opportunity to round out our portfolio with all of the other Indian wildlife subjects. Birds are diverse, with various kingfishers, wading birds, and songbirds and raptors all accessible.
Overnight - Our Lodge, if available, or a luxury tented camp -
details to be determined.
Day 18 - 20, Satpura
We'll leave early for our drive to Satpura after having a breakfast and have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. This park has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Left: The rare four-horned antelope.
The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Park Four we will check into our lodge, a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, boat ride, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds. In 2011 we only did jeep rides or boat trips for water birds, because the jeep rides were too productive -- for wild dogs and sloth bears and guars, for us to risk doing anything else. In 2012 some people enjoyed the elephant ride through the jungle, and canoeing for water birds, in addition to the boat trip we made for birds.
However, for 2013 we'll also be adding
the option of doing some very exciting camera-trap photography at the game-trails and waterholes around the lodge. The lodge is located on a 45 acre property in the Park's buffer zone, and deer, wild hog, jungle cat, even sloth bear and leopards have been recorded inside the grounds.
With CAMERA TRAPS we'll have the chance to do some fun photography of species we may not see during the day. That includes any of the animals listed above, as well as porcupines, civets, and jackals.
You will need your own flashes and mounts, and your own Range IR camera-tripper, and for those interested in doing this I'll be providing a complete list of minimal equipment and I'll help you in setting up for shots. In 2012 I did a setup with the Range IR on the grounds of our lodge at Park Two, without success, and I didn't explore Park Four's possibilities until it was too late to do a setup! However, I'm very excited about this for 2013!
Dinner and overnights at our Lodge
Day 20, - Park Three to Delhi
We'll have an early morning transfer to the airport to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where you will have a day room until 9PM that evening. You'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
Day 21 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $TBA, but $8,799 is the approximate cost at this time.
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Four Elephant safaris (tiger shows) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to our destination city and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Any pre-trip excursions, to Agra or elsewhere.
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control.
Additional costs due to unexpected changes in domestic air fares.
A Final Important Note
While we make every effort to provide you with success, we are dealing with wild animals and your luck -- be it with the animals, with a driver or guide, with a assigned route your vehicle is arbitrarily given by the Park authorities on a given day, any of these things and more-- is out of our control. Further, we run our trips for the benefit of the group, not a lone individual, and all of our decisions and actions are based upon the group's well being and success, and not to catering to a single individual. This model has worked wonderfully for us for over 25 years of doing photo tours, but if you are accustomed to having your own way or calling your own shots then do the trip by yourself, or pick another tour.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
Return to HomePage
Tigers and the Wildlife
of India Photo Tour
2015
Although this is a tour designed for the rare
Bengal Tiger, the wildlife of India is diverse
and spectacular, and we'll photograph far more
than tigers alone!
FACT: In 2011 we had 25 tigers on the first
tour, and 54 tigers on the second. In 2012 we had 19 tigers on the first
tour, and 37 on the second.
We are visiting THE BEST tiger locations.
We also had Indian Wild Dogs, Sloth Bears, Leopards, all of India's big game.
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks.
There will also be a pre-trip Extension to
Kaziranga National Park for one-horned rhinos, and a
post-trip Extension with exciting options ... read on!
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife, at three of the Best Parks for Tigers.
This tour will be preceded by two Pre-Trips. Snow Leopards in the Wild and Kaziranga for Rhinos and wildlife.
Park One -
Bandhavgarh,
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India, where, on one trip, we had 31 tigers in 5 days!
FACT: In 2012 we were hoping for tiger CUBS and we were successful, although our tiger count was down because all tiger sightings (due to mother/cub range) were down.
In 2013 those cubs will now be big, subadult tigers, and finding and photographing tigers should be even easier, with numbers reflecting 2011.
Park Two-
Kanha, one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers, with a wide diversity of herbivores as well. This is most photographers favorite park!
FACT: We've successfully photographed Dhole (Indian Wild Dog), Leopard, Jungle Cat, and all the great herbivores here each year, with great bird photography and landscape and scenics too.
Park Three -
Satpura. Not only do we usually see and photograph Sloth Bear and Leopard, Gaur and Sambar, but the other options here are truly diverse. Canoe-based or boat-based bird photography, elephant rides in the jungle, even foot safaris into the jungle can all be done! Also, we'll have the opportunity for CAMERA TRAP NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY at Waterholes and Game Trails in the forest around our Lodge. Read on!
Exact Dates will be available soon-
Snow Leopard Scouting Trip -
Feb., 2015
Kaziranga One-horned Rhinos and wildlife -
Feb., 2015
India's Tigers and Wildlife
Feb. -March, 2015
Limited to Twelve Participants
Price: $TBA, but approximately $8,795
Based on a tour of twelve participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
All photos in this brochure were taken on our 2011 photo tours. To have an even better idea
of the wealth of photo subjects, and opportunities, please check out the portfolios from our
participants as well!
The following Portfolios will be posted soon, revealing the beauty and wildlife diversity of this trip:
Joe and Mary Ann McDonald's Bird Portfolio
and our Wildlife Portfolio
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
For years, friends have been urging Mary and I to do a trip to India and in 2011 we decided, after a 20 year lapse, to return. We visited the three parks featured in this itinerary, and, after only a few days of being on safari, we knew we'd be returning and including India in our permanent schedule. Our outfitter was wonderful, the camps were great, and the wildlife was superb. We were hooked.
Barasinga or swamp deer, gaur, tiger.
Trust me, these are among the three best parks for wildlife photography! Each park is slightly different in terms of habitat and the general composition of the wildlife, and in that way our tour will provide a tremendous portfolio of wildlife opportunities. To obtain a very, very accurate account of our India Tiger Photo Safaris, please read either any or all of our Trip Reports that we've posted for all of our previous trips. Just click on the links on the India page. In those very lengthy reports, all of the triumphs, frustrations, and experiences are included -- warts and all! Trip Reports.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in Pennsylvania next summer!
Special Features of Our India Tiger Photo Safari
1. Two of the best three National Parks for Tiger Photography
2.
Two photographers per vehicle.
3. We rotate people per vehicle to insure group cohesiveness (see below)
4. All normal tips and gratuities
5. Internal flights from Delhi (1) and back (1)
6. CD or DVD of the group's images (subject to participation)
7. Customized book of the best images (subject to participation)
See below for more details.
8. Customized Pre-Trips available to the Taj Mahal or any other destination
(booked directly through our Indian Outfitter and not included in
the Tour Price).
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
In 2012, the park with the greatest tiger possibilities had several female tigers with young cubs! We were successful in photographing the cubs at some level on both trips.
2013 should repeat the incredible success we had in 2011 with as many as 54 tigers on one trip. Why? The cubs of 2012 will now be between 1 year old and 18-20 months, meaning that they will be dispersed a bit more and not bunched together as a group, often waiting for mom. Consequently, we'll have a good chance of encountering these young tigers on their own, or with mom, or with one of their siblings, thereby increasing our chances at tiger sightings and photography.
Perhaps even more importantly, we've now trained our staff in our methodology which should increase our tiger photography opportunities even further. As it is, I doubt if anyone can honestly claim the consistant tiger viewing/photography opportunities that we've enjoyed in 2011 and 2012.
Our Tour Operator has quite likely the most distinquished pedigree of any Indian operator, with the owner's grandfather one of the originators of Project Tiger, India's celebrated campaign to save the tiger from extinction. Our operator and his family has been in the business of wildlife tourism for decades, and the service and attention to fine detail is unmatched.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport to our first destination and then as we commute from park to park.
In contrast to many tours, we will be flying from Delhi to the nearest city to our first park, and flying back to Delhi at the end of the trip. Many tours cut costs, and waste time, by using the train system -- it is not worth it.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There will be both a guide and a driver in each vehicle, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting. We also rotate people through the vehicles so that photographers have an equal opportunity to shoot with either Mary or Joe, and to experience the different guides and drivers. Lodge naturalists drive some of the vehicles, and to be fair to everyone, everyone is rotated so that all get a chance to benefit. This rotation also insures group cohesiveness, eliminating a clique or the rare chance that someone is 'stuck' with another person that they would prefer not to be with for every game drive. Spouses, or close friends, if they desire can request, upon registration, to be together for the entire safari and, if so, forgo the opportunity to shoot with Mary or Joe. This does not imply that a couple paid for the exclusive use of a vehicle, and if one sits out a game drive, and another vehicle also would end up as a single photographer, we will combine the participants into one. The reason -- the parks can be crowded, and we do not want to contribute to a potentially compromised photo situation by an unnecessary number of jeeps.
We may also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at all three parks, but the tiger shows are not guaranteed. They are subject to availability, based upon whether or not a tiger was located that would be conducive to a tiger show; the number of people in the park, if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants, or if the elephants are being used for other purposes. In some parks, some weeks, no tiger shows occur, while in another park or at another time, the tiger shows may occur daily. Four tiger shows are included, with two prepaid at one park and two at another, in the cost of the tour. There are no refunds for the tiger shows if they do not occur. In the unlikely event that more than two shows are offered in a park, you will have the option of paying the fee and doing more than two.
We may also have the opportunity to book your own elephant for the entire morning for a one or two person photo experience with tigers up close. Elephants can get you closer than otherwise possible, unless a tiger comes to you (which happens, often!), but this option is expensive. Details will be provided to our registered participants, along with our complete assessment of the value and possibilities this provides.
While these elephant photo opportunities may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated, kneeling, or standing position, depending upon how you are supporting your camera..
OUR SHOOTING PHILOSOPHY
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives before dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. While our tours have had tremendous success with tigers, these parks are not zoos, and no wildlife sighting is guaranteed. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us.
Above: Gaur, or Indian bison, calves playing
Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality can occur and you must be aware that this could happen. Indeed, it happened to me at one park on my second trip in 2011, where it seemed I was always at the wrong spot. I photographed tigers, but not like I wanted to. However, on the last game drive of that park I got my 'dream shot,' with a big male tiger walking directly to my camera as I shot from near tiger-level. I hadn't despaired, and luck finally, and really, came my way! It happened to me again on the first tour in 2012, but again, on one of our last days I had two spectacular encounters in one afternoon. One of those shots leads the Trip One 2012 Report.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I am convinced are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. Our three parks are centrally located, and close enough together to be in reach for an afternoon drive, so we won't be wasting valuable field time taking a train, or flying, or driving for days to reach our next destination. You will get shooting every single day!
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows. In 2011 and 2012 we did some Tiger Shows here, as well as booking a full morning elephant safari.
Again, in 2013 we may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire morning, but this will be subject to availability. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, if we have the option of booking one or more elephants for a morning, anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer.
We will be providing our tour participants with a thorough outline of the best shooting opportunities, and what subjects to concentrate on, in this outstanding park.
Kanha
Park Two is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison or gaur, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar in many ways to Park One, with a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
This park is actually my favorite, not because of the tigers but because of the huge diversity of wildlife and landscapes available. We do photograph tigers here, but our itinerary is designed so that your tiger 'fix' should be satisfied at Park One, and you can now enjoy Park Two for all great subjects it has to offer.
Park Three
Although we did not see many tigers here, Park Three would have been everyone's (in 2011) favorite park had we had more luck with tigers. The shooting potential was the best in 2011, and very good in 2012, with many waterholes and open forests. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and actually has the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar of any of India's parks.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, Delhi
We'll do a city tour including Old Delhi where we'll take bicycle rickshaws threw crowded, winding old streets in the oldest marketplace of Delhi. The trip is a hoot, a lot of fun, neat photo opportunities, and just an eye-opener for culture and life-style. We'll also visit the largest mosque in India, where once again there will be interesting photo opportunities. Afternoon, after lunch, will be free to rest and get ready for our travels.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, Delhi - Park One
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to our destination city, where we will meet our fleet of SUVs that will transport us to our first Park.
Flight times are not determined at the time and we may arrive in the mid-afternoon or late evening.
Overnight - Our Lodge within minutes of Park One.
Day 5 to 11, - Park One
This is THE tiger park, and although there are plenty of other wildlife subjects to shoot are focus, particularly in the first hour or two in the morning, and late in the day, will be to be in the areas where we expect to find tigers. Do not, however, expect to see a tiger every game drive or every day, and anyone who tells you differently is not being honest, or realistic. Still, with any luck you'll get your tiger shots here, although we've also done very well in Kanha as well.
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. However, there is a host of other species to photograph here, especially rhesus macaque monkeys, spotted deer, langur monkeys, wild hogs, and a variety of birds.
For anyone who wishes, it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
There may also be the possibility of booking a full-day jeep permit, allowing the occupants to go anywhere within the park and to remain inside the park all day. We have never done this, but we've heard that tigers sometimes start roaming the roads after the park closes in late morning, and visit water holes at this time. Of course, in having the entire park to search, it is entirely possible that anyone doing this could be at exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. And this permit was expensive, and will be if it is still available in 2015.
Overnights - Our Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanhaare owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 12, - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
We'll do the usual morning game drive before returning to the lodge for a brunch. Afterwards, we'll load up our fleet of SUVs and begin our 5 hour drive to our next destination, Kanha. We'll arrive in the early evening, hopefully in time to watch the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel swoop overhead!
Overnight - Our Lodge
Day 13 to 16, Kanha
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. Remember, an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, but the opportunity to ride and elephant and photograph a tiger upclose is fun and can be very productive. But that depends upon exactly where a tiger happens to be!
Most of our participants felt that Kanha was their favorite park, and it was Mary and mine. The topography is diverse, as is the habitat. Here we'll have our first chance at photographing the largest cow-like animal in the world, the Indian Gaur or Indian Bison, an enormous, black animal with white stockings. Five other large herbivores are here, including the elk-like Sambar and the plentiful Spotted Deer. Indian Wild Dogs or Dholes, Sloth Bears, Leopards, Golden Jackals, as well as various mongooses, Langur Monkeys, and great birds are potential, if not very likely, subjects.
As it was in Bandhavgarh, for anyone who wishes,it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day or for the morning. These bookings cannot be done more than a few days in advance, for the reasons outlined above. In the past, we have done full-morning elephant rides at Bandhavgarh, with mixed success. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Our Lodge
One of the lounges at Park One, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 17, - Kanha to Satpura
We'll have our final morning game drive in Kanha before returning for a late brunch. After packing our fleet of SUVs we'll embark on our five hour drive to our final park. At this point, we are expecting that our outfitter's new, small, and private camp will be available.
Satpura has the potential of being our favorite park. The topography is varied, there are numerous waterholes, and the forest is quite open, giving a tended, park-like quality to the forest, which provides wonderful visibility for animals deeper in the forest. In 2011, there were 15 different tiger cubs in this park of varying ages, and also the possibility of tiger shows.
Leopards, Gaur, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Langur and Macaque Monkeys, Golden Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Sloth Bears are all found here. In 2011 we only had one sighting of the numerous tigers found here, but that bit of bad luck provided us with the opportunity to round out our portfolio with all of the other Indian wildlife subjects. Birds are diverse, with various kingfishers, wading birds, and songbirds and raptors all accessible.
Overnight - Our Lodge, if available, or a luxury tented camp -
details to be determined.
Day 18 - 20, Satpura
We'll leave early for our drive to Satpura after having a breakfast and have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. This park has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Left: The rare four-horned antelope.
The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Park Four we will check into our lodge, a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, boat ride, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds. In 2011 we only did jeep rides or boat trips for water birds, because the jeep rides were too productive -- for wild dogs and sloth bears and guars, for us to risk doing anything else. In 2012 some people enjoyed the elephant ride through the jungle, and canoeing for water birds, in addition to the boat trip we made for birds.
However, for 2013 we'll also be adding
the option of doing some very exciting camera-trap photography at the game-trails and waterholes around the lodge. The lodge is located on a 45 acre property in the Park's buffer zone, and deer, wild hog, jungle cat, even sloth bear and leopards have been recorded inside the grounds.
With CAMERA TRAPS we'll have the chance to do some fun photography of species we may not see during the day. That includes any of the animals listed above, as well as porcupines, civets, and jackals.
You will need your own flashes and mounts, and your own Range IR camera-tripper, and for those interested in doing this I'll be providing a complete list of minimal equipment and I'll help you in setting up for shots. In 2012 I did a setup with the Range IR on the grounds of our lodge at Park Two, without success, and I didn't explore Park Four's possibilities until it was too late to do a setup! However, I'm very excited about this for 2013!
Dinner and overnights at our Lodge
Day 20, - Park Three to Delhi
We'll have an early morning transfer to the airport to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where you will have a day room until 9PM that evening. You'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
Day 21 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $TBA, but $8,799 is the approximate cost at this time.
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Four Elephant safaris (tiger shows) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to our destination city and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Any pre-trip excursions, to Agra or elsewhere.
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control.
Additional costs due to unexpected changes in domestic air fares.
A Final Important Note
While we make every effort to provide you with success, we are dealing with wild animals and your luck -- be it with the animals, with a driver or guide, with a assigned route your vehicle is arbitrarily given by the Park authorities on a given day, any of these things and more-- is out of our control. Further, we run our trips for the benefit of the group, not a lone individual, and all of our decisions and actions are based upon the group's well being and success, and not to catering to a single individual. This model has worked wonderfully for us for over 25 years of doing photo tours, but if you are accustomed to having your own way or calling your own shots then do the trip by yourself, or pick another tour.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
Return to HomePage
Tigers and the Wildlife
of India Photo Tour
2015
Although this is a tour designed for the rare
Bengal Tiger, the wildlife of India is diverse
and spectacular, and we'll photograph far more
than tigers alone!
FACT: In 2011 we had 25 tigers on the first
tour, and 54 tigers on the second. In 2012 we had 19 tigers on the first
tour, and 37 on the second.
We are visiting THE BEST tiger locations.
We also had Indian Wild Dogs, Sloth Bears, Leopards, all of India's big game.
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks.
There will also be a pre-trip Extension to
Kaziranga National Park for one-horned rhinos, and a
post-trip Extension with exciting options ... read on!
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife, at three of the Best Parks for Tigers.
This tour will be preceded by two Pre-Trips. Snow Leopards in the Wild and Kaziranga for Rhinos and wildlife.
Park One -
Bandhavgarh,
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India, where, on one trip, we had 31 tigers in 5 days!
FACT: In 2012 we were hoping for tiger CUBS and we were successful, although our tiger count was down because all tiger sightings (due to mother/cub range) were down.
In 2013 those cubs will now be big, subadult tigers, and finding and photographing tigers should be even easier, with numbers reflecting 2011.
Park Two-
Kanha, one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers, with a wide diversity of herbivores as well. This is most photographers favorite park!
FACT: We've successfully photographed Dhole (Indian Wild Dog), Leopard, Jungle Cat, and all the great herbivores here each year, with great bird photography and landscape and scenics too.
Park Three -
Satpura. Not only do we usually see and photograph Sloth Bear and Leopard, Gaur and Sambar, but the other options here are truly diverse. Canoe-based or boat-based bird photography, elephant rides in the jungle, even foot safaris into the jungle can all be done! Also, we'll have the opportunity for CAMERA TRAP NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY at Waterholes and Game Trails in the forest around our Lodge. Read on!
Exact Dates will be available soon-
Snow Leopard Scouting Trip -
Feb., 2015
Kaziranga One-horned Rhinos and wildlife -
Feb., 2015
India's Tigers and Wildlife
Feb. -March, 2015
Limited to Twelve Participants
Price: $TBA, but approximately $8,795
Based on a tour of twelve participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
All photos in this brochure were taken on our 2011 photo tours. To have an even better idea
of the wealth of photo subjects, and opportunities, please check out the portfolios from our
participants as well!
The following Portfolios will be posted soon, revealing the beauty and wildlife diversity of this trip:
Joe and Mary Ann McDonald's Bird Portfolio
and our Wildlife Portfolio
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
For years, friends have been urging Mary and I to do a trip to India and in 2011 we decided, after a 20 year lapse, to return. We visited the three parks featured in this itinerary, and, after only a few days of being on safari, we knew we'd be returning and including India in our permanent schedule. Our outfitter was wonderful, the camps were great, and the wildlife was superb. We were hooked.
Barasinga or swamp deer, gaur, tiger.
Trust me, these are among the three best parks for wildlife photography! Each park is slightly different in terms of habitat and the general composition of the wildlife, and in that way our tour will provide a tremendous portfolio of wildlife opportunities. To obtain a very, very accurate account of our India Tiger Photo Safaris, please read either any or all of our Trip Reports that we've posted for all of our previous trips. Just click on the links on the India page. In those very lengthy reports, all of the triumphs, frustrations, and experiences are included -- warts and all! Trip Reports.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in Pennsylvania next summer!
Special Features of Our India Tiger Photo Safari
1. Two of the best three National Parks for Tiger Photography
2.
Two photographers per vehicle.
3. We rotate people per vehicle to insure group cohesiveness (see below)
4. All normal tips and gratuities
5. Internal flights from Delhi (1) and back (1)
6. CD or DVD of the group's images (subject to participation)
7. Customized book of the best images (subject to participation)
See below for more details.
8. Customized Pre-Trips available to the Taj Mahal or any other destination
(booked directly through our Indian Outfitter and not included in
the Tour Price).
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
In 2012, the park with the greatest tiger possibilities had several female tigers with young cubs! We were successful in photographing the cubs at some level on both trips.
2013 should repeat the incredible success we had in 2011 with as many as 54 tigers on one trip. Why? The cubs of 2012 will now be between 1 year old and 18-20 months, meaning that they will be dispersed a bit more and not bunched together as a group, often waiting for mom. Consequently, we'll have a good chance of encountering these young tigers on their own, or with mom, or with one of their siblings, thereby increasing our chances at tiger sightings and photography.
Perhaps even more importantly, we've now trained our staff in our methodology which should increase our tiger photography opportunities even further. As it is, I doubt if anyone can honestly claim the consistant tiger viewing/photography opportunities that we've enjoyed in 2011 and 2012.
Our Tour Operator has quite likely the most distinquished pedigree of any Indian operator, with the owner's grandfather one of the originators of Project Tiger, India's celebrated campaign to save the tiger from extinction. Our operator and his family has been in the business of wildlife tourism for decades, and the service and attention to fine detail is unmatched.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport to our first destination and then as we commute from park to park.
In contrast to many tours, we will be flying from Delhi to the nearest city to our first park, and flying back to Delhi at the end of the trip. Many tours cut costs, and waste time, by using the train system -- it is not worth it.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There will be both a guide and a driver in each vehicle, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting. We also rotate people through the vehicles so that photographers have an equal opportunity to shoot with either Mary or Joe, and to experience the different guides and drivers. Lodge naturalists drive some of the vehicles, and to be fair to everyone, everyone is rotated so that all get a chance to benefit. This rotation also insures group cohesiveness, eliminating a clique or the rare chance that someone is 'stuck' with another person that they would prefer not to be with for every game drive. Spouses, or close friends, if they desire can request, upon registration, to be together for the entire safari and, if so, forgo the opportunity to shoot with Mary or Joe. This does not imply that a couple paid for the exclusive use of a vehicle, and if one sits out a game drive, and another vehicle also would end up as a single photographer, we will combine the participants into one. The reason -- the parks can be crowded, and we do not want to contribute to a potentially compromised photo situation by an unnecessary number of jeeps.
We may also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at all three parks, but the tiger shows are not guaranteed. They are subject to availability, based upon whether or not a tiger was located that would be conducive to a tiger show; the number of people in the park, if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants, or if the elephants are being used for other purposes. In some parks, some weeks, no tiger shows occur, while in another park or at another time, the tiger shows may occur daily. Four tiger shows are included, with two prepaid at one park and two at another, in the cost of the tour. There are no refunds for the tiger shows if they do not occur. In the unlikely event that more than two shows are offered in a park, you will have the option of paying the fee and doing more than two.
We may also have the opportunity to book your own elephant for the entire morning for a one or two person photo experience with tigers up close. Elephants can get you closer than otherwise possible, unless a tiger comes to you (which happens, often!), but this option is expensive. Details will be provided to our registered participants, along with our complete assessment of the value and possibilities this provides.
While these elephant photo opportunities may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated, kneeling, or standing position, depending upon how you are supporting your camera..
OUR SHOOTING PHILOSOPHY
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives before dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. While our tours have had tremendous success with tigers, these parks are not zoos, and no wildlife sighting is guaranteed. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us.
Above: Gaur, or Indian bison, calves playing
Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality can occur and you must be aware that this could happen. Indeed, it happened to me at one park on my second trip in 2011, where it seemed I was always at the wrong spot. I photographed tigers, but not like I wanted to. However, on the last game drive of that park I got my 'dream shot,' with a big male tiger walking directly to my camera as I shot from near tiger-level. I hadn't despaired, and luck finally, and really, came my way! It happened to me again on the first tour in 2012, but again, on one of our last days I had two spectacular encounters in one afternoon. One of those shots leads the Trip One 2012 Report.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I am convinced are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. Our three parks are centrally located, and close enough together to be in reach for an afternoon drive, so we won't be wasting valuable field time taking a train, or flying, or driving for days to reach our next destination. You will get shooting every single day!
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows. In 2011 and 2012 we did some Tiger Shows here, as well as booking a full morning elephant safari.
Again, in 2013 we may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire morning, but this will be subject to availability. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, if we have the option of booking one or more elephants for a morning, anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer.
We will be providing our tour participants with a thorough outline of the best shooting opportunities, and what subjects to concentrate on, in this outstanding park.
Kanha
Park Two is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison or gaur, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar in many ways to Park One, with a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
This park is actually my favorite, not because of the tigers but because of the huge diversity of wildlife and landscapes available. We do photograph tigers here, but our itinerary is designed so that your tiger 'fix' should be satisfied at Park One, and you can now enjoy Park Two for all great subjects it has to offer.
Park Three
Although we did not see many tigers here, Park Three would have been everyone's (in 2011) favorite park had we had more luck with tigers. The shooting potential was the best in 2011, and very good in 2012, with many waterholes and open forests. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and actually has the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar of any of India's parks.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, Delhi
We'll do a city tour including Old Delhi where we'll take bicycle rickshaws threw crowded, winding old streets in the oldest marketplace of Delhi. The trip is a hoot, a lot of fun, neat photo opportunities, and just an eye-opener for culture and life-style. We'll also visit the largest mosque in India, where once again there will be interesting photo opportunities. Afternoon, after lunch, will be free to rest and get ready for our travels.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, Delhi - Park One
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to our destination city, where we will meet our fleet of SUVs that will transport us to our first Park.
Flight times are not determined at the time and we may arrive in the mid-afternoon or late evening.
Overnight - Our Lodge within minutes of Park One.
Day 5 to 11, - Park One
This is THE tiger park, and although there are plenty of other wildlife subjects to shoot are focus, particularly in the first hour or two in the morning, and late in the day, will be to be in the areas where we expect to find tigers. Do not, however, expect to see a tiger every game drive or every day, and anyone who tells you differently is not being honest, or realistic. Still, with any luck you'll get your tiger shots here, although we've also done very well in Kanha as well.
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. However, there is a host of other species to photograph here, especially rhesus macaque monkeys, spotted deer, langur monkeys, wild hogs, and a variety of birds.
For anyone who wishes, it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
There may also be the possibility of booking a full-day jeep permit, allowing the occupants to go anywhere within the park and to remain inside the park all day. We have never done this, but we've heard that tigers sometimes start roaming the roads after the park closes in late morning, and visit water holes at this time. Of course, in having the entire park to search, it is entirely possible that anyone doing this could be at exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. And this permit was expensive, and will be if it is still available in 2015.
Overnights - Our Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanhaare owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 12, - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
We'll do the usual morning game drive before returning to the lodge for a brunch. Afterwards, we'll load up our fleet of SUVs and begin our 5 hour drive to our next destination, Kanha. We'll arrive in the early evening, hopefully in time to watch the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel swoop overhead!
Overnight - Our Lodge
Day 13 to 16, Kanha
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. Remember, an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, but the opportunity to ride and elephant and photograph a tiger upclose is fun and can be very productive. But that depends upon exactly where a tiger happens to be!
Most of our participants felt that Kanha was their favorite park, and it was Mary and mine. The topography is diverse, as is the habitat. Here we'll have our first chance at photographing the largest cow-like animal in the world, the Indian Gaur or Indian Bison, an enormous, black animal with white stockings. Five other large herbivores are here, including the elk-like Sambar and the plentiful Spotted Deer. Indian Wild Dogs or Dholes, Sloth Bears, Leopards, Golden Jackals, as well as various mongooses, Langur Monkeys, and great birds are potential, if not very likely, subjects.
As it was in Bandhavgarh, for anyone who wishes,it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day or for the morning. These bookings cannot be done more than a few days in advance, for the reasons outlined above. In the past, we have done full-morning elephant rides at Bandhavgarh, with mixed success. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Our Lodge
One of the lounges at Park One, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 17, - Kanha to Satpura
We'll have our final morning game drive in Kanha before returning for a late brunch. After packing our fleet of SUVs we'll embark on our five hour drive to our final park. At this point, we are expecting that our outfitter's new, small, and private camp will be available.
Satpura has the potential of being our favorite park. The topography is varied, there are numerous waterholes, and the forest is quite open, giving a tended, park-like quality to the forest, which provides wonderful visibility for animals deeper in the forest. In 2011, there were 15 different tiger cubs in this park of varying ages, and also the possibility of tiger shows.
Leopards, Gaur, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Langur and Macaque Monkeys, Golden Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Sloth Bears are all found here. In 2011 we only had one sighting of the numerous tigers found here, but that bit of bad luck provided us with the opportunity to round out our portfolio with all of the other Indian wildlife subjects. Birds are diverse, with various kingfishers, wading birds, and songbirds and raptors all accessible.
Overnight - Our Lodge, if available, or a luxury tented camp -
details to be determined.
Day 18 - 20, Satpura
We'll leave early for our drive to Satpura after having a breakfast and have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. This park has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Left: The rare four-horned antelope.
The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Park Four we will check into our lodge, a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, boat ride, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds. In 2011 we only did jeep rides or boat trips for water birds, because the jeep rides were too productive -- for wild dogs and sloth bears and guars, for us to risk doing anything else. In 2012 some people enjoyed the elephant ride through the jungle, and canoeing for water birds, in addition to the boat trip we made for birds.
However, for 2013 we'll also be adding
the option of doing some very exciting camera-trap photography at the game-trails and waterholes around the lodge. The lodge is located on a 45 acre property in the Park's buffer zone, and deer, wild hog, jungle cat, even sloth bear and leopards have been recorded inside the grounds.
With CAMERA TRAPS we'll have the chance to do some fun photography of species we may not see during the day. That includes any of the animals listed above, as well as porcupines, civets, and jackals.
You will need your own flashes and mounts, and your own Range IR camera-tripper, and for those interested in doing this I'll be providing a complete list of minimal equipment and I'll help you in setting up for shots. In 2012 I did a setup with the Range IR on the grounds of our lodge at Park Two, without success, and I didn't explore Park Four's possibilities until it was too late to do a setup! However, I'm very excited about this for 2013!
Dinner and overnights at our Lodge
Day 20, - Park Three to Delhi
We'll have an early morning transfer to the airport to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where you will have a day room until 9PM that evening. You'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
Day 21 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $TBA, but $8,799 is the approximate cost at this time.
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Four Elephant safaris (tiger shows) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to our destination city and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Any pre-trip excursions, to Agra or elsewhere.
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control.
Additional costs due to unexpected changes in domestic air fares.
A Final Important Note
While we make every effort to provide you with success, we are dealing with wild animals and your luck -- be it with the animals, with a driver or guide, with a assigned route your vehicle is arbitrarily given by the Park authorities on a given day, any of these things and more-- is out of our control. Further, we run our trips for the benefit of the group, not a lone individual, and all of our decisions and actions are based upon the group's well being and success, and not to catering to a single individual. This model has worked wonderfully for us for over 25 years of doing photo tours, but if you are accustomed to having your own way or calling your own shots then do the trip by yourself, or pick another tour.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Tigers and the Wildlife
of India Photo Tour
2015
Although this is a tour designed for the rare
Bengal Tiger, the wildlife of India is diverse
and spectacular, and we'll photograph far more
than tigers alone!
FACT: In 2011 we had 25 tigers on the first
tour, and 54 tigers on the second. In 2012 we had 19 tigers on the first
tour, and 37 on the second.
We are visiting THE BEST tiger locations.
We also had Indian Wild Dogs, Sloth Bears, Leopards, all of India's big game.
The Ultimate Tiger Safari
covering three of India's best natural history
and tiger national parks.
There will also be a pre-trip Extension to
Kaziranga National Park for one-horned rhinos, and a
post-trip Extension with exciting options ... read on!
Our itinerary is almost entirely devoted to in-field photography of India's wildlife, at three of the Best Parks for Tigers.
This tour will be preceded by two Pre-Trips. Snow Leopards in the Wild and Kaziranga for Rhinos and wildlife.
Park One -
Bandhavgarh,
with one of the largest concentrations of tigers in India, where, on one trip, we had 31 tigers in 5 days!
FACT: In 2012 we were hoping for tiger CUBS and we were successful, although our tiger count was down because all tiger sightings (due to mother/cub range) were down.
In 2013 those cubs will now be big, subadult tigers, and finding and photographing tigers should be even easier, with numbers reflecting 2011.
Park Two-
Kanha, one of the big 'four' for viewing tigers, with a wide diversity of herbivores as well. This is most photographers favorite park!
FACT: We've successfully photographed Dhole (Indian Wild Dog), Leopard, Jungle Cat, and all the great herbivores here each year, with great bird photography and landscape and scenics too.
Park Three -
Satpura. Not only do we usually see and photograph Sloth Bear and Leopard, Gaur and Sambar, but the other options here are truly diverse. Canoe-based or boat-based bird photography, elephant rides in the jungle, even foot safaris into the jungle can all be done! Also, we'll have the opportunity for CAMERA TRAP NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY at Waterholes and Game Trails in the forest around our Lodge. Read on!
Exact Dates will be available soon-
Snow Leopard Scouting Trip -
Feb., 2015
Kaziranga One-horned Rhinos and wildlife -
Feb., 2015
India's Tigers and Wildlife
Feb. -March, 2015
Limited to Twelve Participants
Price: $TBA, but approximately $8,795
Based on a tour of twelve participants.
A sliding scale must be levied for a tour
of four or six participants (see end of brochure for details).
No one is offering a more complete, tiger and wildlife intensive photo safari.
All photos in this brochure were taken on our 2011 photo tours. To have an even better idea
of the wealth of photo subjects, and opportunities, please check out the portfolios from our
participants as well!
The following Portfolios will be posted soon, revealing the beauty and wildlife diversity of this trip:
Joe and Mary Ann McDonald's Bird Portfolio
and our Wildlife Portfolio
Some History ...
This is the ultimate tiger trip, visiting three of the best tiger parks without wasting time in cities, as each park is within driving distance of the next. After a tremendous amount of research, we've designed an itinerary that maximizes our chances of photographing tigers, as well as much of India's other exciting wildlife.
For years, friends have been urging Mary and I to do a trip to India and in 2011 we decided, after a 20 year lapse, to return. We visited the three parks featured in this itinerary, and, after only a few days of being on safari, we knew we'd be returning and including India in our permanent schedule. Our outfitter was wonderful, the camps were great, and the wildlife was superb. We were hooked.
Barasinga or swamp deer, gaur, tiger.
Trust me, these are among the three best parks for wildlife photography! Each park is slightly different in terms of habitat and the general composition of the wildlife, and in that way our tour will provide a tremendous portfolio of wildlife opportunities. To obtain a very, very accurate account of our India Tiger Photo Safaris, please read either any or all of our Trip Reports that we've posted for all of our previous trips. Just click on the links on the India page. In those very lengthy reports, all of the triumphs, frustrations, and experiences are included -- warts and all! Trip Reports.
To get the absolute most out of these safaris, or any of our
offerings, consider taking one of our Complete Digital Nature
Photo Courses, in Pennsylvania next summer!
Special Features of Our India Tiger Photo Safari
1. Two of the best three National Parks for Tiger Photography
2.
Two photographers per vehicle.
3. We rotate people per vehicle to insure group cohesiveness (see below)
4. All normal tips and gratuities
5. Internal flights from Delhi (1) and back (1)
6. CD or DVD of the group's images (subject to participation)
7. Customized book of the best images (subject to participation)
See below for more details.
8. Customized Pre-Trips available to the Taj Mahal or any other destination
(booked directly through our Indian Outfitter and not included in
the Tour Price).
Langur monkeys, a large, tame, and common primate around many
of the park entrances and throughout the forests.
In 2012, the park with the greatest tiger possibilities had several female tigers with young cubs! We were successful in photographing the cubs at some level on both trips.
2013 should repeat the incredible success we had in 2011 with as many as 54 tigers on one trip. Why? The cubs of 2012 will now be between 1 year old and 18-20 months, meaning that they will be dispersed a bit more and not bunched together as a group, often waiting for mom. Consequently, we'll have a good chance of encountering these young tigers on their own, or with mom, or with one of their siblings, thereby increasing our chances at tiger sightings and photography.
Perhaps even more importantly, we've now trained our staff in our methodology which should increase our tiger photography opportunities even further. As it is, I doubt if anyone can honestly claim the consistant tiger viewing/photography opportunities that we've enjoyed in 2011 and 2012.
Our Tour Operator has quite likely the most distinquished pedigree of any Indian operator, with the owner's grandfather one of the originators of Project Tiger, India's celebrated campaign to save the tiger from extinction. Our operator and his family has been in the business of wildlife tourism for decades, and the service and attention to fine detail is unmatched.
This trip is devoted to photographing India's wildlife, with a special emphasis upon photographing the Bengal tiger, the most threatened of the big cats. Except for our first full day in Delhi, where we'll have the option of doing some city touring or simply resting and getting over jet-lag, all of our time will be spent in the National Parks. We will not be spending time in cities doing tours, and our only non-Delhi city time will be as we drive from the airport to our first destination and then as we commute from park to park.
In contrast to many tours, we will be flying from Delhi to the nearest city to our first park, and flying back to Delhi at the end of the trip. Many tours cut costs, and waste time, by using the train system -- it is not worth it.
We will game-drive through the parks in jeeps with only TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS per vehicle. There will be both a guide and a driver in each vehicle, but you won't be competing with several people as we do our shooting. We also rotate people through the vehicles so that photographers have an equal opportunity to shoot with either Mary or Joe, and to experience the different guides and drivers. Lodge naturalists drive some of the vehicles, and to be fair to everyone, everyone is rotated so that all get a chance to benefit. This rotation also insures group cohesiveness, eliminating a clique or the rare chance that someone is 'stuck' with another person that they would prefer not to be with for every game drive. Spouses, or close friends, if they desire can request, upon registration, to be together for the entire safari and, if so, forgo the opportunity to shoot with Mary or Joe. This does not imply that a couple paid for the exclusive use of a vehicle, and if one sits out a game drive, and another vehicle also would end up as a single photographer, we will combine the participants into one. The reason -- the parks can be crowded, and we do not want to contribute to a potentially compromised photo situation by an unnecessary number of jeeps.
We may also have the opportunity to do some elephant back tiger viewing. These 'Sher Darshan' or tiger shows are offered at all three parks, but the tiger shows are not guaranteed. They are subject to availability, based upon whether or not a tiger was located that would be conducive to a tiger show; the number of people in the park, if a film crew has taken over all of the elephants, or if the elephants are being used for other purposes. In some parks, some weeks, no tiger shows occur, while in another park or at another time, the tiger shows may occur daily. Four tiger shows are included, with two prepaid at one park and two at another, in the cost of the tour. There are no refunds for the tiger shows if they do not occur. In the unlikely event that more than two shows are offered in a park, you will have the option of paying the fee and doing more than two.
We may also have the opportunity to book your own elephant for the entire morning for a one or two person photo experience with tigers up close. Elephants can get you closer than otherwise possible, unless a tiger comes to you (which happens, often!), but this option is expensive. Details will be provided to our registered participants, along with our complete assessment of the value and possibilities this provides.
While these elephant photo opportunities may arise, our best shooting will be from the vehicles where we'll film tigers at close to ground-level from our jeeps. These jeeps are open, so you'll be photographing either from a seated, kneeling, or standing position, depending upon how you are supporting your camera..
OUR SHOOTING PHILOSOPHY
We'll be game-driving in the best hours for seeing predators, starting our game drives before dawn and in the late afternoon prior to sunset. And, although the focus and goal of this safari is to photograph tigers, we will photograph every good wildlife and nature subject we find.
Let me repeat that -- we'll photograph everything. It is often very counter-productive to be obsessed with one subject and ignoring others while you seek one goal. While our tours have had tremendous success with tigers, these parks are not zoos, and no wildlife sighting is guaranteed. If you're not interested in anything but tigers, if you're not willing to photograph other species, if you're not prepared to 'smell the roses' and take things as they come, not rushing things and letting nature play out as it may, then do not come with us.
Above: Gaur, or Indian bison, calves playing
Our shooting philosophy has been extremely successful, and even when we haven't shot our target species (which has only happened once, on an African wild dog trip) we nonetheless had a great trip.
I'm extremely confident that we'll get tigers -- we'll be there at the best time, at the best parks, but we'll be photographing wild animals that may not cooperate for us, or for you. It is possible that the jeep that you are in will be at the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll miss the best encounter, or that there will be a traffic jam of vehicles on a cat, and our shooting will be compromised. That reality can occur and you must be aware that this could happen. Indeed, it happened to me at one park on my second trip in 2011, where it seemed I was always at the wrong spot. I photographed tigers, but not like I wanted to. However, on the last game drive of that park I got my 'dream shot,' with a big male tiger walking directly to my camera as I shot from near tiger-level. I hadn't despaired, and luck finally, and really, came my way! It happened to me again on the first tour in 2012, but again, on one of our last days I had two spectacular encounters in one afternoon. One of those shots leads the Trip One 2012 Report.
The Parks
We'll be visiting what I am convinced are the three best parks for tiger opportunities, and while that point could be argued, other parks in India are quite removed from one another. Our three parks are centrally located, and close enough together to be in reach for an afternoon drive, so we won't be wasting valuable field time taking a train, or flying, or driving for days to reach our next destination. You will get shooting every single day!
Bandhavgarh
This may be the premiere tiger park, and may offer the best opportunities for seeing and photographing tigers. Most, if not all, of our photography will be from jeeps, although India's erratic Park's Department sometimes offers elephant ride/tiger viewing Tiger Shows. In 2011 and 2012 we did some Tiger Shows here, as well as booking a full morning elephant safari.
Again, in 2013 we may also have the option of booking elephants for an entire morning, but this will be subject to availability. There are pros and cons to shooting from elephants. On the positive side, elephants can take us to locations where our jeeps cannot, and one can get very close with elephants. On the negative side, the shooting can be nearly straight down if both the elephant and the tiger is on the same plane, but it can also be at virtual eye-level if a tiger is on a hill.
Unfortunately, the access to elephants is not guaranteed, so we could not build in a trip price that included all-day elephant rides. Further, we might find that we enjoy shooting from the near ground-level perspective of our jeeps, rather than 10 feet above the ground on an elephant's back. However, if we have the option of booking one or more elephants for a morning, anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity will be paying extra. The price on this will depend upon the park, and the number of photographers per elephant back. We suggest everyone bringing along extra money in case they wish to do one or more additional elephant rides. More details on this will be forwarded to registered participants.
The park is a mixture of bamboo, grassland, and a complex of deciduous forests. There are at least 150 species of birds in the park, along with several great mammals. This may be the best of all India parks for tigers, but there are also sloth bears, langur monkeys, wild boar, and three species of deer - chital, sambar, and barking deer.
We will be providing our tour participants with a thorough outline of the best shooting opportunities, and what subjects to concentrate on, in this outstanding park.
Kanha
Park Two is a more popular and more highly visited park, and offers a variety of species including tigers and leopards, cheetal, Indian bison or gaur, barking deer, sambhar deer, and the endangered Barasingha deer. The habitat is similar in many ways to Park One, with a mixture of grassy plains and sal forests.
Tiger Shows, the 'Sher Darshan,'may be offered here, but whether or not elephant rides will be offered or available (sometimes film crews take all the elephants) won't be known until we get there.
This park is actually my favorite, not because of the tigers but because of the huge diversity of wildlife and landscapes available. We do photograph tigers here, but our itinerary is designed so that your tiger 'fix' should be satisfied at Park One, and you can now enjoy Park Two for all great subjects it has to offer.
Park Three
Although we did not see many tigers here, Park Three would have been everyone's (in 2011) favorite park had we had more luck with tigers. The shooting potential was the best in 2011, and very good in 2012, with many waterholes and open forests. It has a large diversity of wildlife, including leopard, tiger, jungle cat, dhole (wild dog), sloth bear, wild boar, mongoose, gaur (a huge bovine that may be the ancestor to all cattle), and actually has the highest density of herbivores, including cheetal (spotted deer), and sambar of any of India's parks.
There are at least 250 species of birds found in the diverse habitats, which is composed of grasslands, open canopy mixed forests, riverine forest systems, and rolling hills.
Our Itinerary
Day 1, - Depart US or departure city
Day 2, - Arrive in Delhi
Welcome dinner and meeting.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel.
Visit http://www.claridges-hotels.com/delhi/ to check out
our beautiful hotel in Delhi.
Day 3, Delhi
We'll do a city tour including Old Delhi where we'll take bicycle rickshaws threw crowded, winding old streets in the oldest marketplace of Delhi. The trip is a hoot, a lot of fun, neat photo opportunities, and just an eye-opener for culture and life-style. We'll also visit the largest mosque in India, where once again there will be interesting photo opportunities. Afternoon, after lunch, will be free to rest and get ready for our travels.
Overnight - The Claridges Hotel
Day 4, Delhi - Park One
We'll leave the hotel after an early breakfast for our flight to our destination city, where we will meet our fleet of SUVs that will transport us to our first Park.
Flight times are not determined at the time and we may arrive in the mid-afternoon or late evening.
Overnight - Our Lodge within minutes of Park One.
Day 5 to 11, - Park One
This is THE tiger park, and although there are plenty of other wildlife subjects to shoot are focus, particularly in the first hour or two in the morning, and late in the day, will be to be in the areas where we expect to find tigers. Do not, however, expect to see a tiger every game drive or every day, and anyone who tells you differently is not being honest, or realistic. Still, with any luck you'll get your tiger shots here, although we've also done very well in Kanha as well.
Game drives morning and evening for tigers and other wildlife. However, there is a host of other species to photograph here, especially rhesus macaque monkeys, spotted deer, langur monkeys, wild hogs, and a variety of birds.
For anyone who wishes, it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day. This is expensive and we did not include this as part of our tour, but it may be an option for someone who desires to spend more time on elephants, for whatever reason. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
There may also be the possibility of booking a full-day jeep permit, allowing the occupants to go anywhere within the park and to remain inside the park all day. We have never done this, but we've heard that tigers sometimes start roaming the roads after the park closes in late morning, and visit water holes at this time. Of course, in having the entire park to search, it is entirely possible that anyone doing this could be at exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. And this permit was expensive, and will be if it is still available in 2015.
Overnights - Our Lodge.
Our lodges in Bandhavgarh and Kanhaare owned by the tour
operator we'll be using. You're looking at a bedroom, eating area,
looking out at the grounds, and a porch outdoor relaxing and viewing area.
Day 12, - Bandhavgarh to Kanha
We'll do the usual morning game drive before returning to the lodge for a brunch. Afterwards, we'll load up our fleet of SUVs and begin our 5 hour drive to our next destination, Kanha. We'll arrive in the early evening, hopefully in time to watch the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel swoop overhead!
Overnight - Our Lodge
Day 13 to 16, Kanha
We'll be doing morning and evening game drives through Kanha's varied habitats, and if the Tiger Shows are available we're likely to do at least one of these. Shooting from elephant back does give a photographer the opportunity to film tigers (if found) when they've come to rest for the day off track, but the shooting is generally at an angle, and sometimes a steep angle at that. Remember, an elephant tiger show is not guaranteed, but the opportunity to ride and elephant and photograph a tiger upclose is fun and can be very productive. But that depends upon exactly where a tiger happens to be!
Most of our participants felt that Kanha was their favorite park, and it was Mary and mine. The topography is diverse, as is the habitat. Here we'll have our first chance at photographing the largest cow-like animal in the world, the Indian Gaur or Indian Bison, an enormous, black animal with white stockings. Five other large herbivores are here, including the elk-like Sambar and the plentiful Spotted Deer. Indian Wild Dogs or Dholes, Sloth Bears, Leopards, Golden Jackals, as well as various mongooses, Langur Monkeys, and great birds are potential, if not very likely, subjects.
As it was in Bandhavgarh, for anyone who wishes,it may be possible to book an elephant for the entire day or for the morning. These bookings cannot be done more than a few days in advance, for the reasons outlined above. In the past, we have done full-morning elephant rides at Bandhavgarh, with mixed success. Refer to the notes above, and further details on these elephant safaris will be forwarded to registered participants as information comes in.
Overnights - Our Lodge
One of the lounges at Park One, and tea time overlooking the grounds.
Day 17, - Kanha to Satpura
We'll have our final morning game drive in Kanha before returning for a late brunch. After packing our fleet of SUVs we'll embark on our five hour drive to our final park. At this point, we are expecting that our outfitter's new, small, and private camp will be available.
Satpura has the potential of being our favorite park. The topography is varied, there are numerous waterholes, and the forest is quite open, giving a tended, park-like quality to the forest, which provides wonderful visibility for animals deeper in the forest. In 2011, there were 15 different tiger cubs in this park of varying ages, and also the possibility of tiger shows.
Leopards, Gaur, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Langur and Macaque Monkeys, Golden Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Sloth Bears are all found here. In 2011 we only had one sighting of the numerous tigers found here, but that bit of bad luck provided us with the opportunity to round out our portfolio with all of the other Indian wildlife subjects. Birds are diverse, with various kingfishers, wading birds, and songbirds and raptors all accessible.
Overnight - Our Lodge, if available, or a luxury tented camp -
details to be determined.
Day 18 - 20, Satpura
We'll leave early for our drive to Satpura after having a breakfast and have a morning drive to reach our next destination, one of the newest of India's parks with some of the most diverse group of predators found anywhere.
This unique park probably sports the most spectacular habitat and landscapes of any park in the Project Tiger system, and as a new park it is almost unvisited. On the negative, tiger sightings are not common and the road system is not as well developed as in other parks, but on the positive side the wildlife sightings have been very good, and there are few tourists to contend with. This park has the promise of becoming one of the best locations for wildlife viewing, and there is the opportunity to go through the park in many ways.
Left: The rare four-horned antelope.
The park has an elevation of 320-1,352m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, water falls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak besides a wide variety of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. Upon arrival at Park Four we will check into our lodge, a stylish environmentally friendly lodge that is engaged with the park management and the local community in a pioneering effort to create an
unprecedented jungle experience in one of the most exciting tiger habitats in the
world. This is an effort to create an exceptional wilderness experience for those
who truly revel in wild places far from the jeep borne hordes that have defaced so many other parks. Lunch and afternoon visit to the park by 4x4 Jeep with an
English-speaking Naturalist.
Whether or not we'll have the time or energy to avail ourselves of the options, we'll have the chance to canoe, boat ride, hike, use elephants, jeep, or stay in blinds. In 2011 we only did jeep rides or boat trips for water birds, because the jeep rides were too productive -- for wild dogs and sloth bears and guars, for us to risk doing anything else. In 2012 some people enjoyed the elephant ride through the jungle, and canoeing for water birds, in addition to the boat trip we made for birds.
However, for 2013 we'll also be adding
the option of doing some very exciting camera-trap photography at the game-trails and waterholes around the lodge. The lodge is located on a 45 acre property in the Park's buffer zone, and deer, wild hog, jungle cat, even sloth bear and leopards have been recorded inside the grounds.
With CAMERA TRAPS we'll have the chance to do some fun photography of species we may not see during the day. That includes any of the animals listed above, as well as porcupines, civets, and jackals.
You will need your own flashes and mounts, and your own Range IR camera-tripper, and for those interested in doing this I'll be providing a complete list of minimal equipment and I'll help you in setting up for shots. In 2012 I did a setup with the Range IR on the grounds of our lodge at Park Two, without success, and I didn't explore Park Four's possibilities until it was too late to do a setup! However, I'm very excited about this for 2013!
Dinner and overnights at our Lodge
Day 20, - Park Three to Delhi
We'll have an early morning transfer to the airport to board a flight to Delhi, arriving in the late morning in Delhi where you will have a day room until 9PM that evening. You'll have a Farewell Dinner before transfering to Indira Gandhi International Airport for your flight home.
Day Room - Radisson Hotel
Day 21 - Delhi to Home
In the late hours of Day 19 we'll transfer to the airport and board flights for home.
The Tour Price is $TBA, but $8,799 is the approximate cost at this time.
based upon eight participants.
For a tour of four participants there will be a $300 additional cost.
For a tour of six participants there will be a $150 additional cost.
For a tour of two participants, there will be a $900 additional cost.
Trip Deposit - $2,000 nonrefundable deposit
Single Supplement - $2,212
Our Tour Cost Includes
Accommodations on double/twin sharing basis
Meals in Delhi - Breakfasts and Welcome Dinner on Day 2 and 3
Tips for the jeep drivers, mahots, and our English-speaking guides
All Meals and Accommodations while on Safari, Day 4 - 19
Service of English speaking resident naturalists in each park
Jeep safaris, with 2 per vehicle
Four Elephant safaris (tiger shows) subject to availablity
Farewell dinner at 'The Great Kebab Factory' in Delhi
Airfare for domestic flight to our destination city and back to Delhi
All transfers - from airport to hotel in Delhi and to airport
Our Tour Cost does not include
Insurance fees
International Airfare
Any pre-trip excursions, to Agra or elsewhere.
Expenditures of a personal nature, including drinks, laundary, phone calls,
alcoholic beverages, tips
Any sudden and unforeseen increase in price due to an increase in Park Fees, Fuel Costs, or Government Tax Policies beyound our control, acts of god, natural calamity, law and order situations, riots, or forced changes in itinerary due to situations or reasons beyond our control.
Additional costs due to unexpected changes in domestic air fares.
A Final Important Note
While we make every effort to provide you with success, we are dealing with wild animals and your luck -- be it with the animals, with a driver or guide, with a assigned route your vehicle is arbitrarily given by the Park authorities on a given day, any of these things and more-- is out of our control. Further, we run our trips for the benefit of the group, not a lone individual, and all of our decisions and actions are based upon the group's well being and success, and not to catering to a single individual. This model has worked wonderfully for us for over 25 years of doing photo tours, but if you are accustomed to having your own way or calling your own shots then do the trip by yourself, or pick another tour.
As with any International trip, we strongly recommend you purchase travel trip insurance.
Contact us by e-mail:info@hoothollow.com
Phone us at 717-543-6423
Or FAX us at: (717) 543-5342
