The Grand India Wildlife Adventure

Arrival and departure airport transfers (if you are staying at the Taj Mahal and Trident Gurgaon hotels), internal flights, accommodations, meals from dinner Day 1 to lunch final day, drinking water throughout the trip and soft drinks at meals, services of an NHA Expedition Leader, local guides and lodge and park staff, most gratuities, still camera fees in all parks, all permits, entrance fees and taxes.

Travel to and from start and end points of trip (Delhi, India), early arrival and late departure airport transfers (if you are staying at hotels other than the Taj Mahal and Trident Gurgaon), alcoholic beverages, passport and visa fees, some gratuities, optional activities, fees for video cameras in parks, items of a personal nature (phone calls, souvenirs, Internet, etc.), airline baggage fees, required medical evacuation insurance and optional travel insurance.

Easy to Moderate
In order to participate in this trip you must be able to walk unassisted for at least one mile over uneven terrain, climb stairs at some accommodations, and climb a short ladder to get into and out of our safari vehicles. Activities include a city walking tour that could be as long as three miles, walking with luggage through multiple airports, and walking on sometimes dark and uneven paths at our accommodations. Wildlife drives in the parks take place on very rough and bumpy dirt roads with many ruts and potholes, in conditions that are potentially very dusty. Travelers with back problems or other health issues that could be exacerbated by such conditions should take this into consideration. The trip also involves many very early morning starts and long, full days of activities with little downtime. Some drives between locations are long (5-6 hours) and can occur amid rather chaotic local driving conditions.

Wildlife Encounters
Our guests choose a trip to India for encounters with the country’s unique wildlife. While the nature experiences here are exciting, there is a fundamental difference between the wildlife experience in the Indian jungle and a typical African safari. At times, guests who are lured to India by tourist brochures promising “tiger safaris” can be disappointed to see fewer animals than they expected, or at least fewer than they might normally see in Africa. It is not that the surviving jungles are thinly populated with wildlife, but, similar to places like Costa Rica where the forest vegetation is dense, animals have mastered the art of camouflage in thick cover and can be extremely difficult to spot. We design our itineraries to capitalize on the best places to see tigers. But various factors can affect potential sightings, including inclement weather, which creates small pockets of water that allow the animals to remain hidden in the forest, rather than being driven into the open to drink. There is no doubt that India's nature, and the forests Kipling immortalized, offer wondrous discoveries. The secret for visitors lies in the assistance of expert guides, as well as knowing what to expect, and in understanding that the privilege of stepping into a wild natural realm is a reward in itself.

Safari Vehicle Routes & Seating Allocation
Rather different than in nearly every other country we travel to, in India the driving routes in national parks are pre-assigned and must be followed. In most parks this is generally not a problem, but when searching for tigers this can be frustrating as they simply may not be visible on a given route on a given day. Our hope is that we are able to utilize different routes on different days. However, the park service allocates routes at random for each vehicle, so there is no guarantee that vehicles will get a different route for each wildlife drive. We understand that one of the goals for your journey is to view tigers, and but please understand that there is a chance that the vehicle to which you are assigned could take the same route multiple times. Thank you for participating in this adventure knowing that this may be the case.

Also, on rare occasions you may see film crews during your time inside parks. These crews have special permits in order to film inside park boundaries and, as a result, they do enjoy certain advantages that a regular tourist does not, such as spending the entire day inside the park and having access to places where others cannot go. 

Indian park regulations are also extremely strict with regard to seating arrangements on wildlife drives. Requirements dictate that guests be confirmed in specific vehicles upon booking, well in advance of the departure date, and we are unable to change vehicles while we are exploring each park. To the best of our ability, we attempt to ensure that guests who are traveling with a partner or friend will have seats together during wildlife drives. Because couples or friends are booked together in the same vehicle and are unable to split up during drives, it may mean that in some instances, certain vehicles will contain fewer guests than others.

It is also important to understand the limitations based on available vehicle space. Each open safari vehicle has two front seats and two rows of bench seats. Regulations require that the front two seats be occupied by a park ranger and registered driver. Our Expedition Leader and local guides are allowed more flexibility and will switch among vehicles for each drive so that all guests are able to spend equal time with them. However, this means that as our Expedition Leaders and local guides rotate vehicles, there may be times when there will be three people (two guests and one Expedition Leader or local guide) to a row—our Expedition Leader/local guides may be required to sit in the rear left seat of the vehicle. 

Please know that while there are indeed limiting factors to the tiger viewing experience in India, we have taken great pains to ensure that this special India tiger and wildlife safari with Nat Hab provides the best viewing experience possible.

Arrive in Delhi by 9 am on Day 1 in order to participate in a guided city tour beginning at approximately 1:30 pm. You are free to depart Delhi anytime after 9 pm on the final day. We can best serve you if our Natural Habitat Adventures Travel Desk makes your reservations, as we are intimately familiar with the special requirements of this program and can arrange the most efficient travel. Please call us at 800-543-8917. Note that while we offer you the best possible rates available to us on airfare and additional nights' accommodations, you may find special web rates or better fares online.