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-   -   A photologue on Tadoba (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/191707-photologue-tadoba.html)

My dad is a forest lover and his love for forests got spread among the rest three of us (me, my mom & wife). This time our primary wish was to spot a tiger. Till date our tiger luck was not in our favor despite of few visits to different jungles across India. I have spotted a tiger at Corbett in 2014 but my parents were not a part of that trip. Dad wanted to visit Corbett or The Sundarban Tiger Reserve but mom suggested Tadoba as the chances of spotting a tiger is much higher in Tadoba. We all agreed. :)

Initial plan was to drive down to Tadoba. Kolkata to Tadoba is 1200kms and later we concluded that a 2400km to and fro drive for my parents will be hectic and time consuming. We had around 4 days to spare during the Diwali holidays. So decided to take a flight till Nagpur, rent a car to Tadoba and return in the same way.

Got the return tickets for all four of us booked in Indigo. By suggestion from Bhpian Shantonob i booked Tigers heaven resort in Tadoba. I thank him for the suggestion, it was no doubt a wonderful stay with excellent food & very courteous and friendly staffs. If i again visit Tadoba, will definitely stay here again. They fulfilled all their commitments unlike Tigers Machaan in Ranthambore where i stayed last March. I will rate 5/5 to Tigers heaven.

Our Itinerary-

19th Oct- Fly to Nagpur from Kolkata and night stay at Nagpur.
20th Oct- Nagpur to Tadoba by road and check in to the resort by 11am. Afternoon safari from Kolara gate.
21st Oct- Morning safari from Kolara gate and evening safari from Ramdighi gate.
22nd Oct- Morning Safari from Navegaon gate, post lunch we proceed to Nagpur airport by road and board a flight to Kolkata.

Few small bits-

The safari area inside Tadoba is almost the same from which ever gate you may enter.

80% of the core are is closed, only 20% is accessible to tourists.

There are 83 tigers, but around 15-16 can be spotted in the zones open for tourists. Few famous tigers are- Maya, Chotitara, Matkasur, Rana, the Daude family. Most of the sightings are confined to these tigers. We spotted two tigers from the Daude family.

Get the safari bookings done well in advance. One can get it done online or through a resort.

Best time for tiger spotting is in summers. April/May.

Nearest airport from Tadoba is Nagpur. 120 kms.
Nearest railway station from Tadoba is Chandrapur. 50kms.

Few teaser pics to start with-







And all four of us. :)

Afternoon Safari from Kolara gate-

A wood spider


Sambar deers


A Peacock


An Indian Gaur


An Indian Gaur





Morning Safari from Kolara gate-

A Leopard




A Crocodile camouflaged with the sorroundings


An Owl


An Indian Gaur with her baby.


Suddenly we saw the above Gaur with her baby desperately run away from their place. The next moment it was pretty clear why they ran!
The entry of the Tigress!








Followed by a male Tiger.




An Indian Gaur

Afternoon safari at Ramdighi zone. (Its not a core zone, its a buffer zone but tigers are present here.)

Indian Gaur






A Red wattled lapwing


An Eagle


A Nilgai










Spotted the milky way from the resort territory in the evening.






Morning safari from Navegaon Gate

A Crocodile in water


A Crocodile




A Shikra



A spotted deer



Scratches by a sloth Bear



Scratches by a Tiger


Spotted deers





An Indian Roller

Few videos of the flora and fauna inside Tadoba reserve forest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL5m9L_FPRw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffiPmA_Q0Cc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kG3mGgWkVU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC6dFdbyEb4

Signing off. :)

Samba da, your penchant for forest and hills are well known to all of us. This quick photologue cum vlog combined with your magical hands of photography deserves a worthy a 5 star rating. Although it was not a road trip, I hope, you enjoyed it equally with full family. Wish to see you on another road trip and a superb travelogue with your famous Etios sooner.:)

Another set of beautiful pics as usual. Since you had mentioned about Corbett, the landscape of Corbett is superb. I have not seen any other sanctuary, either in person or through pics which has the same aura of Corbett. In case you haven't visited there, do plan sometime soon.


Few query regarding Tadoba -
- Which was the resort you stayed in. Tariff, Reviews?
- Did you book the safari online or through hotel? I had checked the same online and found it ~4K per safari last year.
- Nagpur to Tadoba how much did cab cost?

Great Photologue Samba and you were indeed lucky to spot the Tiger and the Leopard. The forests in the MP region are very good and very well managed in an organized way. Did you get the Safari bookings done Online yourself or did the Hotel people or the Travel Agent do it for you ?

Your thread made me nostalgic of my visit to Kanha & Pench National Park (Link to my Photologue : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...onal-park.html)a few years back. Sharing a few memories of that trip :

























As usual, your skill behind the lenses proves to be outstandingly remarkable clap: Rated it 5* for the Photographs.

One query - Previous one was allowed to drive one's (4x4) vehicle into Tadoba National Park. Have they barred self driving in the forest now ?

Speechless. Awesome pictures and perfectly summed up description. Samba magic goes on!!

Yet another blockbuster blog. Very detailed narrations, this will help generations in planning a Tadoba trip. Pictures are killer as usual. Bit underestimated but Sloth bears are pretty crazy too. Loved the mark on the tree bark.
Since Tadoba is not very far off from Hyderabad I have kept is aside until I grow old. :D
Few questions though.
1. Have they stopped personal 4wd/AwDs
2. Would you prefer entering via a specific gate into Tadoba.
3.Since you use a 6D, please do share the GPS coordinates where you spotted the beasts. ( Offline )
4. The videos, are superb , iPhone ?

Thanks a lot for sharing such a detailed blog.

Thanks a ton.


Thanks a lot.

I have visited corbett twice. :)
You can have a look at this travelogue. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...nds-delhi.html

We stayed at Tigers heaven resort. I will recommend this from every possible angle. Be it location, food, courteous staffs, neat spacious & comfortable rooms.

They lived upto their commitments and got the safari bookings done from their side too. It was pretty hassle free for us.

The cost per room per night for a couple of person was Rs5,000. It included morning break fast, lunch, snacks and dinner.

For safari they charged Rs 4,500 for Kolara and Navegaon gate & for Ram Dighi zone they charged Rs4000. Ramdighi zone is not a core zone, its a buffer zone. An individual Gypsy was provided for us. It was not in sharing basis.

Tigers heaven provided us an Innova for Nagpur pick up and drop. They charged Rs7,500 for it. If you arrange the car individually, you can save around 800 bucks on it.

Thanks a ton. Your pictures are fabulous.

No self driven vehicles are allowed now. Not even 4x4's.


Thanks a lot.

Thanks bro.

You cant take your personal vehicle inside. Be it 4x4 or Awd.

Regarding a specific gate there is no such choice as at the end from which ever gate you may enter it will land you up to the same core area. I will say, prefer the gate which is close to the resort you will be staying. From our resort the nearest gate was Navegaon.

I have no idea how to share gps coordinates from a 6D! Am glad to here 6D has such a feature! lol:
Between location sharing wont be of much use as a tiger keeps on moving in its territory and each tiger has an approximate territory of 40kms! So you need to track them by the tigers call or from the info shared by other safari vehicles on that particular safari.

The video's are from my Sony handycam not from iphone.

Disappointing! Although I have thanked every post and rated 5-stars, I was expecting more, since I was going through this at this hour.

There should have been some story about how you Flew the aircraft, took an alternate route where the airplane had to engage 4wd-Low, and then landed it on a water-logged runway. Even you did not indulge in any histrionics with the Innova.

Pictures are great as usual, I have liked them on FB (that's where you need them!)

Superb clicks Samba. Rated 5 stars. Each and every travelogue raises the bar of quality of photography to the next level. Am pretty sure you missed driving your 5522. Kudos to you to have put your parents comfort over your passion to drive.

So, there... As predicted, one more 5-star-rated travelogue from you. Good info for us to refer to as we plan to visit TATR sometime in January 2018 (after having cancelled a booked trip in January this year due to family circumstances).
rl:

Great Trip Summary and photologue as usual Samba Da. Though the driving part was not there but the photos from inside the FR compensated for it. Rated 5stars.

Regards,
Subhra