D-85, Mahavir Enclave, Street No. 4, Palam, Dabri Road, Near Sector-1 Dwarka, New Delhi - 110045
The Jungle Calls
Destinations : Delhi, Bhopal, Sanchi, Bhimbetka, Satpura National Park, Pench, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Khajuraho, Orchha, Jhansi, Delhi.
Duration : 14 Days / 13 Nights
A vacation can be relaxing and exciting at the same time especially when one gets to spend it in the jungle. This particular tour will catch the fancy of all those naturalists, conservationists, environmentalists and nature enthusiasts whose sole purpose of visiting India is none other than getting a taste of the jungles of Mowgli’s land. The tour gives you enough and more time to enjoy tiger and leopard sightings as well as birding. The first National Park that you visit is Satpura, which is beautiful and unspoiled. It represents nature at its very best. Happy birding!
Next in line is Pench whose undulating terrain is covered with small hills and well stocked teak and mixed forest. Cheetal, Sambar, Neelgai are commonly seen grazing on the open sites on roadsides and banks of river & reservoir. Jackals can be seen in search of food anywhere in the park. Pench boasts of more than 210 species of birds including several migratory ones.
The ‘Jungle Book’ Kanha is where patient watching rewards the visitor with a sight of Indian Fox, Sloth bear, Striped hyena, Jungle cut, Leopard, Mouse Deer, Chausingha or four horned antelope, Nilgai, Rattle and Porcupine. Kanha too has some 200 species of birds.
Last but in no way the least is Bandhavgarh, justifiably famous for its Tigers, but it has a wide range of other game as well. So come along for the jungle beckons.
Day 01 - Delhi – Bhopal
Morning: take a train for Bhopal. Reach and transfer to the hotel.
Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh combines scenic beauty, historicity and modern urban planning. It is situated on the site of an 11th century city, Bhojapal, founded by Raja Bhoja.
Bhopal today presents a multi-faceted profile; the old city with its teeming market places and fine old mosques and palaces still bear the aristocratic imprint of its former rulers; among them the succession of powerful Begums who ruled Bhopal from 1819 to 1926. Equally impressive is the new city with its verdant, exquisitely laid out parks and gardens, broad avenues and streamlined modern edifices
Proceed for the sightseeing tour of the city visiting
Jama Masjid: Gold spikes crown the minarets of this beautiful mosque built in 1837 by Kudsia Begum.
Moti Masjid: Architecturally akin to Delhi's Jama Masjid, this imposing mosque was built by Sikander Jehan, daughter of Kudsia Begum, in 1860.
Taj Ul Masjid: The Taj-ul-Masajid is one of the largest mosques in Asia, built by Nawab Shahjehan Begum around a courtyard with a large tank in the centre and with an imposing double storeyed gate-way with 4 recessed archways and 9 imposing cusped multifoiled openings in the main prayer hall. The Quibla wall in the prayer hall is carved with 11 recessed arches, while the mimber is made of black basalt. The structure is enlivened by the limpid expanse of water in the tank outside the northern wall. The monumentality of this structure was much greater originally when it faced the towering bastions of the Fatehgarh Fort. A three-day Ijtima congregation held here annually draws people from all over the country.
Museum Of Man & State Archaeological Museum (closed on Monday). Overnight stay will be at Bhopal.
Day 02 - Bhopal
Enjoy the breakfast at the hotel and proceed for an excursion to Sanchi.
Reach Sanchi (World Heritage Site) and witness the masterpieces of Buddhist Art which speaks of the story of Emperor Ashoka’s becoming follower of Buddhism. Sanchi is known for its Stupas, monasteries, temples and pillars dating from the 3rd century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. The most famous of these monuments, the Sanchi Stupa 1, was originally built by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, the then governor of Ujjayini, whose wife Devi was the daughter of a merchant from adjacent Vidisha. Their son Mahindra and daughter Sanghamitra were born in Ujjayini and sent to Sri Lanka, where they converted the King, the Queen and their people to Buddhism.
In the evening drive back to the hotel. Overnight stay will be at Bhopal.
Day 03 - Bhopal – Bhimbetka - Satpura National Park
Morning after breakfast drive to Satpura National Park enroute visiting Bhimbetka caves.
Surrounded by the northern fringe of the Vindhyan ranges, Bhimbetka (World Heritage Site) lies 46 km South of Bhopal. In this rocky terrain of dense forest and craggy cliffs, over 600 rock shelters belonging to the Neolithic age were recently discovered. Here, in vivid panoramic detail, paintings in over 500 caves depict the life of the pre-historic cave-dwellers making the Bhimbetka group an archaeological treasure, an invaluable chronicle in the history of man.
Satpura National Park is cradled in the Satpura Range (Mahadeo Hills) and straddles the State of Madhya Pradesh. With the adjoining Bori & Panchmarhi Sanctuaries, Satpura N.P. provides 1427 sq. kms of unique Central Indian Highland ecosystem cover to India's wild denizens. Satpura N.P.(set up in 1981 and 524 sq. km) is beautiful and unspoiled. It represents nature at its very best. The fascinating deep valleys, high mountains, rivulets, waterfalls and Tawa's vast reservoir combine to give this Park unique beauty. The terrain is extremely rugged and consists of sandstone peaks, narrow gorges, ravines and dense forests. The altitude ranges from 300 Mts. to 1352 Mts. From the 4500 feet Dhoopgarh peak to the almost level plains of Churna the ride is only 60 kms but it takes about 5 hours to travel from the cool environs of Panchmarhi resort to the edge of the Tawa reservoir.
If you are a keen wildlife enthusiast and are the sort of travel miles to just breathe jungle air & marvel at the sights and sounds of nature, a few days at Satpura is for you. Reach and transfer to the resort. Evening is free to explore.
Overnight stay will be at Satpura.
Day 04 - Satpura
Enjoy a full day game viewing inside the jungle. (Two safaris) There would be a lot of birding today as we would take roads around the forest to places not frequented by people and in the bushes.
Overnight will be at the resort.
Day 05 - Satpura – Pench
Morning enjoy the safari inside the park. After breakfast, drive to Pench.
Pench National park, nestling in the lower southern reaches of the satpuda hills is named after Pench river, meandering through the park from north to south. It is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh, bordering Maharashtra, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. The undulating terrain of Pench is covered with small hills and well stocked teak and mixed forest. The main flora being Teak (Tectona grandis) , Saja (Terminalia tomentosa), Bija (Pterocarpus marsupium), Lendia, Haldu, Dhaora, Aonla, Amaltas etc. The ground is covered with a number of grasses, bushes, herbs & shrubs. Dazzling white Kullu trees scattered around singly in the forest is conspicuous among various hues of green. The old plantations of Teak & Bamboo add orderly vistas in the otherwise general wilderness. The flow of Pench river stops in December, what remains are a few scenic and serene pools in the river bed. There are a few perennial springs and tanks. At the southern boundary of park, the Pench river has been dammed for Pench hydroelectric project at Totladoh. At the maximum capacity the reservoir submerges 54 sq kms of the park area. This had been the loss of best valley forest, which was once referred by Sir Rudyard Kipling in his book named "Jungle Book". This large reservoir of Pench with sporadic islands attracts a number of winter birds from north. Cheetal, Sambar, Neelgai are commonly seen grazing on the open sites on roadsides and banks of river & reservoir. Jackals can be seen in search of food anywhere in park. Packs of wild dogs can also be seen occasionally. Herds of Gaur can be spotted near streams and bamboo patches, more common during summer months. Langurs are very common. Whereas Rhesus monkeys may be seen occasionally on the fringes There are around 50 Tigers and 30 Leopards they are a shy lot and can be seen on roads and near water pools of river during summer months. Pench boasts of more than 210 species of birds including several migratory ones. Commonly seen are Pea fowl, Red jungle fowl, Crow pheasant, Crimson breasted barbet, Redvented bulbul, Racket tailed drongo, Magpie robin, Lesser whistling teal.
Reach and transfer to the resort.
Overnight will be at Pench.
Day 06 - Pench
Breakfast will be at the resort.
Proceed for full day game viewing inside the jungle. (Two safaris with lunch break in-between). Overnight will be at the resort.
Day 07 - Pench- Kanha
After breakfast drive to Kanha.
"The Jungle Book". Located in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, Kanha National Park is a tiger reserve that extends over an area of over 940 square km. A horseshoe shaped valley bounded by the spurs of the Mekal presents an interesting topography. Steep rocky escarpments along the edges offer breathtaking views of the valley. Realizing the danger on the Tiger population in the country, the Government started the "Project Tiger" at Kanha and in 1974 the area was declared a Tiger reserve. The park is also the habitat of the high ground Barasingha.
In 1930s, the Kanha area was divided into two sanctuaries - Hallon and Banjar of 250kms to 300kms each. Though one of these was subsequently disbanded .The area remained a protected one until 1947. Depletion of the tiger population in the year that followed led to the area being made an absolute sanctuary in 1952.
Reach in the afternoon and relax at the resort. Overnight will be at the Kanha Resort.
Day 08 - Kanha
Breakfast will be at the resort.
Proceed for full day game viewing inside the jungle. (Two safaris with lunch break in-between). Overnight will be at the resort.
Day 09 - Kanha- Bandhavgarh
Reach Bandhavgarh and then check into the hotel.
Bandhavgarh is a new National Park with a very long history. Set among the Vindhya hills of Madhya Pradesh with an area of 168sq miles (437sq km) it contains a wide variety of habitats and a high density of game, including a large number of Tigers. This is also the White tiger country. These have been found in the old state of Rewa for Many years. Maharaja Martand Singh captured the last known in 1951. This white Tiger, Mohun is now stuffed and on display in the Palace of Maharaja of Rewa. Prior to becoming a National Park, the forests around Bandhavgarh had long been maintained as a Shikargah, or game preserve of the Maharaja of Rewa. The Maharaja and his guests carried out hunting – otherwise the wildlife was well protected. It was considered a good omen for Maharaja of Rewa to shoot 109 tigers. His Highness Maharaja Venkat Raman Singh shot 111 Tigers by 1914.
There are 32 hills in this part of the park, which has a large natural fort at its center. The fort’s cliffs are 2625 feet (800 meters) high, 1000 feet (300 meters) above the surrounding countryside. Winter temperatures (Nov-mid-February) vary from almost freezing at night to around 68 degree Fahrenheit in the daytime. Summer nights are also cooler than the daytime temperatures, which rise to 104 degree Fahrenheit. This park is closed during the breeding season, which coincides with the monsoon (July-October). Rainfall in the park averages 50 inches (120cm) per year.
Bandhavgarh is justifiably famous for its Tigers, but it has a wide range of other game. The undergrowth is not as dense as in some northern terai forests, but the best time to see the park inhabitants is still the summer months when water becomes scarce and the undergrowth dies back.
Overnight will be at the hotel.
Day 10 - Bandhavgarh
Breakfast will be in the lodge.
Proceed for full day game viewing inside the jungle. (Two safaris with lunch break in-between). Overnight will be at the resort.
Day 11 - Bandhavgarh – Khajuraho
Enjoy the breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Khajuraho.
Situated in the northernmost part of Madhya Pradesh, Khajuraho is famous for its enchanting temples and its legendary Khajuraho dance festival. The name Khajuraho is derived from the Khajur tree (the date palm tree) which is grown abundantly in the region. The Khajuraho Temples are dedicated to a celebration of womanhood, her myriad moods and facets. Famous for its erotic architecture, the carvings include, women writing a letter, applying eye makeup, combing her tresses, dancing & playing with her child. Her innocent, blushed, charming, seductive, ardent beauty, all depicted in exquisitely sculptured details. These temples have been designed and carved to lead the eyes from ground level upward till you seem to be looking at heaven.
In the evening proceed for the SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW and retire for the night. Overnight will be at Khajuraho.
Day 12 - Khajuraho
Breakfast will be at the hotel. Start sightseeing of the TEMPLES.
The remote location of Khajuraho meant that the temples were unharmed by Muslim invaders and as a result, the intricately fine carvings are in very good condition and are said to represent life in heaven. They were built during the mighty Chandela dynasty, the majority were constructed in a sudden burst of creative and religious energy, between the mid-10th and 11th centuries. After ruling for about 500 years the Chandela dynasty fell to the might of Islam and consequently the religious centre of Khajuraho was abandoned. The temples remain as a reminder of a society that believed in the full enjoyment of life, with all the senses being a path to nirvana. Of the eighty-five original temples only 22 remain, but many are in very good condition including the Kandariya Mahadeva, the Chatrabhuj, Parswanath and Ghantai Temples, each remarkable for its beautiful design and architecture.
Relax in the evening. Overnight will be at Khajuraho.
Day 13 - Khajuraho - Orchha - Jhansi
After the breakfast proceed by surface to ORCHHA.
ORCHHA – A medieval city founded by Bundela rulers with Palaces and temples of the 16th and 17th century which have remarkable withstood the onslaught of time. The city is picturesquely flanked by the River Betwa.
Proceed for sightseeing of ORCHHA sites within the Fort Complex. Lunch will be at Orchha and then proceed to the station (12 km away) for train to Delhi. (This is a super fast train with airline type seats and snacks / mineral water is served on board)
Reach Delhi and check into the hotel. Overnight stay will be at Delhi.
Day 14 - Delhi – Onward Journey
Breakfast will be at hotel.
As per the flight timings you will be transferred to the airport to take flight for onward journey with sweet memories of the India tour.
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