[robimahanta]

After going through numerous travelogues of the Central Indian national parks, I always wanted to visit one of them. Its not just about the so called "tiger tourism" for me but the overall beauty of the place that appealed to me. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to visit Kanha National Park,MP on two occasions over the last few months.

I chose Kanha over the other parks for a variety of reasons. The lush sal forests and grassy meadows makes it one of the most beautiful national parks in India and there is a lot more to it than just the tigers. Moreover, it has the best connectivity options for someone traveling from down south.

Pertinent Information:

How to reach Kanha? From down south, the easiest is to go to Nagpur by air/train and catch a cab (around 4k one way) from there. For people coming down from up north, Jabalpur is a better option. But air connectivity options to jabalpur is not that great.The distance to Kanha from Nagpur is around 250kms and it takes approx. 6hrs. Most of the roads are decent expect for 30 odd kms or so after Seoni.

When to go? If you are interested in photography, I feel winter is the best time as the light out there is awesome in winter. Moreover, try to avoid holidays/long weekends as the tourist flow is very high during these periods. But if you just want to see tigers then maybe in summer as sightings are more frequent in summer esp. near water holes.

Accommodation: Multiple options are available depending on your budget esp. around the Kisli gate region. One more thing, you need to stay atleast 3nights (6 safaris) for a decent experience. Of course, if you just want to see the tiger then you can do so even on elephant back during the tiger shows. But its not at all ideal from a photography perspective...more on that later

Safari: There are two safaris everyday which can be booked in advance (online at www.mponline.gov.in). The timings change during each season based on sunrise/sunset times. Usually its 6am-11am and 3pm-530pm. There are different zones for the safari but unlike Bandhavgarh there are no specific routes. So you can roam around anywhere within your allotted zone. 4 per gypsy is ithe norm excluding the driver and the guide. If you want to be alone, you need to pay for the other three seats as well. Its very important that you choose a good driver because a lot of your sightings depend on his experience and interest. The guide is provided by the government every morning/afternoon at the gate, sometimes they are good but often they are very fresh and dont know anything about the park or its flora and fauna. Heck, i even got a guide during one of my safaris who has seen a tiger in the wild only once in his life.
Madhya Pradesh State Forest Department

Without further ado, let me get straight to the pictures. I will start off with the my landscape images then move on to birds, mammals etc. Hope you guys like it.


P.S.: I have shot most of the pictures with a Canon DSLR and a few with a Canon point n shoot

[robimahanta]

Kanha has an amazing diversity in bird life. Some of the images I managed to shoot. I am posting only the images I found interesting after going through GB's of files from my hard drive.

Plain Prinia


Indian Rolller in flight


Pond Heron drying itself in the rain


Egret


Pond Heron in the rain


Brown Shrike


Stonechat


Pond Heron flying out in the rain


Rose ringed parakeet


Spotted Owlets


Spotted Owlet...the look!


Indian Scops Owl


Common Kingfisher reflection

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[joe1980]

I really cannot make out any difference in the pictures, if they were shot using a P&S or a DSLR. Every picture above looks awesome. Keep them coming. Waiting to see the big striped one.

[samarjitdhar]

Absolutely fantastic pictures. Please do share the details of the route taken and road conditions between Nagpur to Kanha. Waiting for the rest of the travelogue eagerly.

[C300]

Amazing pictures Robi! Keep them coming.
Indian Roller in flight is an outstanding photo. Thanks for sharing.

[DKG]

I can't get over the colours of the Indian Roller and the Kingfisher. What a striking contrast with the many shades of blue and brown. Truly amazing creation in nature.

Your pictures of the trees are lovely.Thanks for sharing

When I go through travelogues on MP parks here more often than not I get put off by pictures that reveal the ugly side of tourism in India with the presence of scores of gypsies and tourists hovering around a spot trying to ogle at a tiger. Its a shame that park authorities do nothing to lessen this menace. How I wish they released batches of three cars and strictly enforced a rule of not allowing more than three cars to congregate at a spot at any time. But when I see pictures like what you have shared highlighting the natural beauty of the place with that ugly menace excluded I remain in awe of the stunning beauty of India's forests and wildlife.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by joe1980

I really cannot make out any difference in the pictures, if they were shot using a P&S or a DSLR. Every picture above looks awesome. Keep them coming. Waiting to see the big striped one.

Thanks a lot. I ll get to the big striped one soon!

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Absolutely fantastic pictures. Please do share the details of the route taken and road conditions between Nagpur to Kanha. Waiting for the rest of the travelogue eagerly.

Thanks. Hope this map helps.

Actually there is another route through Balghat, supposedly through the forest with less traffic. I an unaware of the road condition in that route though.

Originally Posted by C300

Amazing pictures Robi! Keep them coming.
Indian Roller in flight is an outstanding photo. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks a lot.

Originally Posted by DKG

I can't get over the colours of the Indian Roller and the Kingfisher. What a striking contrast with the many shades of blue and brown. Truly amazing creation in nature.

Your pictures of the trees are lovely.Thanks for sharing

When I go through travelogues on MP parks here more often than not I get put off by pictures that reveal the ugly side of tourism in India with the presence of scores of gypsies and tourists hovering around a spot trying to ogle at a tiger. Its a shame that park authorities do nothing to lessen this menace. How I wish they released batches of three cars and strictly enforced a rule of not allowing more than three cars to congregate at a spot at any time. But when I see pictures like what you have shared highlighting the natural beauty of the place with that ugly menace excluded I remain in awe of the stunning beauty of India's forests and wildlife.

Thanks DKG. I have purposefully omitted the ugly side of "tiger tourism". However, to a certain extent its relatively better in Kanha than in Bandhavgarh as there are no fixed routes assigned to the drivers, only the zone is assigned.

[R2D2]

Superb pics Robimahanta, and thanks for sharing. As Joe1980 (correctly) says you really can't make out what was taken with a PNS and a DSLR.

All the same I am curious what lens did you use with your DSLR? And how are the roads from Nagpur to Kanha?

Regards,

[mayankjha1806]

I am literally blown away by the beautiful pictures, awesome photography i must say. We might try and do a Kanha trip sometime in March/April if things go according to plan, also Jabalpur being my hometown it should not be a problem.

Please keep the pictures coming, i am glued. Which place did you stayed and what was the cost involved?

[motomaverick]

Wow! truly awesome photographs & composition of the landscape, there is a story in each of them, a travelogue from you Robin is always a treat to the eyes . , now i am curious which lens did u use to click the birdies as they are my favorite subjects

[Fauji]

Robin,

A treat to the eyes!!!!! Everything is so beautifully shot!!!! It also brought back my memories of our visit to this fabulous park in March last year. We only had Sony PNS at that time. Keep it coming we are not satiated enough. Like Rajiv Masand says in CNN-IBN, I am going with five out of five for you for this fantastic story.

I captured it in my TL written last year here.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...h-kanha-5.html

Originally Posted by DKG

When I go through travelogues on MP parks here more often than not I get put off by pictures that reveal the ugly side of tourism in India with the presence of scores of gypsies and tourists hovering around a spot trying to ogle at a tiger. Its a shame that park authorities do nothing to lessen this menace. How I wish they released batches of three cars and strictly enforced a rule of not allowing more than three cars to congregate at a spot at any time. But when I see pictures like what you have shared highlighting the natural beauty of the place with that ugly menace excluded I remain in awe of the stunning beauty of India's forests and wildlife.

But MP forests are better managed. Kanha also being largest, you don't see the congestion and crisscrossing of gypsies like Bandhavgarh which has smaller area. As i always believe and recommend - Spotting Tiger is sheer luck. Enjoy the forest in its full beauty.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Which place did you stayed and what was the cost involved?

Mayank, one of the good places is Wild Chalet next to Banjara river. Good VFM. You can take a look at my TL for more details on this property.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...h-kanha-5.html

[sach.sri]

Awesome picture Robi. My personal favorite is the one of the pond with water frozen -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...144less1mb.jpg

Which lenses have you used?

All the picture are superb - the way you have captured the birds is simply wow!

Rating the thread 5 star! Keep them coming pls.

Edit: Dont know why, but the ratings are not showing up?

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please avoid quoting an entire large post. It inconveniences our small screen & mobile readers.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Superb pics Robimahanta, and thanks for sharing. As Joe1980 (correctly) says you really can't make out what was taken with a PNS and a DSLR.

All the same I am curious what lens did you use with your DSLR? And how are the roads from Nagpur to Kanha?

Regards,

R2D2 : I used lenses from 10mm to 500mm in focal length

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

I am literally blown away by the beautiful pictures, awesome photography i must say. We might try and do a Kanha trip sometime in March/April if things go according to plan, also Jabalpur being my hometown it should not be a problem.

Please keep the pictures coming, i am glued. Which place did you stayed and what was the cost involved?

Thanks a lot. I stayed at the Bundela safari lodge (Camps of India), its a bit overpriced but since it was my first trip I didn't know better

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Wow! truly awesome photographs & composition of the landscape, there is a story in each of them, a travelogue from you Robin is always a treat to the eyes . , now i am curious which lens did u use to click the birdies as they are my favorite subjects

for the birds, I used a a 400 f5.6 / 500 f4 lens

Originally Posted by sach.sri

Awesome picture Robi. My personal favorite is the one of the pond with water frozen -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...144less1mb.jpg

Which lenses have you used?

All the picture are superb - the way you have captured the birds is simply wow!

Rating the thread 5 star! Keep them coming pls.

Edit: Dont know why, but the ratings are not showing up?

Thanks a lot. Regarding lenses, refer to the previous posts.

Ok..coming back to the travelogue. Its time to to start to the mammals.

So here we go..

The macho Gaur


Love the backlight in this spotted deer shot


My favorite deer shot from Kanha..a cute little fawn


Shot a lot of langur images..the look of the baby is really powerful in this one


Motherly love, Gaur


Early morning tussle!


The curious jackal


Barasingha portrait


Jackal, Up Close


Barasingha Crossing



Coming up in the next post..


I ll be there!

[Rudra Sen]

Superb! Just so perfect capture! Is that Canon's 500 f4?

Had to click on 5 star rating.