One of central India’s hidden gems, Satpura National Park and neighbouring Bori Wildlife Sanctuary are havens for wildlife, with a growing reputation for tiger sightings and a range of activities on offer.
The forests of central India are renowned for their prolific Bengal tiger viewing, comprising some of the best reserves on the Indian subcontinent to observe the iconic feline. Whilst many of these destinations have found deserved fame and popularity, the magnificent highlands, sandstone peaks, narrow gorges, ravines and dense forests of Satpura National Park have largely gone under the radar. Despite often being overlooked, Satpura and the adjacent Bori Wildlife Sanctuary are regarded as some of the country's best kept secrets, with fantastic tiger viewing opportunities in remarkable landscapes.
This itinerary showcases the best that Satpura has to offer, taking you on a journey through the Satpura Range to experience its remarkable wildlife. Satpura National Park, Bori Wildlife Sanctuary and Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary form the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, a protected area of nearly 5,000 square kilometres — this trip idea transports you to the two former components of this expansive protected area. Arriving in the city of Bhopal, you transfer first to Satpura National Park, where you spend four nights searching for wildlife, before crossing the backwaters of the Denwa/Tawa Rivers as you head to Bori Safari Lodge for three nights.
Experiencing both of these areas provides you with fantastic chances of locating tigers along with a variety of other mammals, including sloth bears, leopards, dholes, chital, sambar, barasingha, nilgai, gaur and rhesus macaques. The birdlife here's astounding, with sightings possible around the lodges, on game drives and during the boat crossing, allowing you to explore a variety of habitats which in turn provides a diverse array of species. Highlights include Indian skimmer, adjutant stork, blue-bearded bee-eater, Indian pitta, black-shouldered kite, Malabar pied hornbill, tawny-bellied babbler and long-billed vulture.
Suggested Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart the UK on an Overnight Flight to Mumbai
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Day 2:
Arrive in the Bhopal & Transfer to Your Lodge
Following your international flight and subsequent domestic flight to Bhopal, you're greeted on arrival before being transferred to Reni Pani Lodge. Your drive time should be approximately three hours, arriving late in the afternoon, providing you with time to settle into your accommodation before dinner, where you can enjoy your first taste of Indian cuisine before heading off to bed, ready for the safaris to come.
Accommodation: Reni Pani Jungle Lodge, 4-nights
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Days 3-5
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Morning & Afternoon Safaris in Satpura National Park
The next three days are spent waking early before embarking on a variety of safari activities. Satpura is one of few parks in India where visitors can partake in game drives, walking safaris and boat trips. Each of these activities has its own merits, and combining each of them ensures a thorough and wide ranging understanding of the ecosystem as a whole.
Game drives are the most popular, allowing you to cover the most ground and react quickest to the alarm calls from primates and deer species when a predator is in the vicinity. These drives are the most likely to produce sightings of the big cats and sloth bear as you pass through the rolling hills filled with sal and teak forests. Tigers are the primary target species more often than not — the early mornings and late afternoons are the perfect time to be out hunting and therefore individuals are most active during these periods.
Exhibiting a conspicuous orange coat, particularly against a sometimes seasonally green backdrop, may seem to be an evolutionary disadvantage, to the human eye you would think they would stick out like a sore thumb to their prey species, however this is exactly where their own evolutionary advantages lie. Unlike us, species such as deer and wild boar, which comprise much of a tiger’s diet, possess dichromatic vision, which prevents them from distinguishing between greens and oranges — paired with the disruptive colouration of their stripe patterns, this works well within the big cats favour, and leaves prey species more dependent on their sense of smell and hearing.
Walking safaris are a unique and immersive experience as you venture out into the forests, over sandstone ridges and across sandy riverbeds with your experienced naturalist guide and an armed forest guard. Your guide is on hand to identify smaller elements of the environment often left unnoticed on game drives such as the scratch marks left on trees by tigers and sloth bears, the tracks of dholes and leopards, plants used in traditional medicines, invertebrates going about their daily lives, Malabar giant tree squirrels leaping between branches, and the abundant birdlife left unstartled by vehicles, allowing you to stand and watch.
Taking to the water by boat completes the full range of perspectives on offer, as you peacefully drift along the Denwa River scanning the banks for sightings. This activity is particularly fruitful for birdlife, with frequently observed species including woolly-necked and openbill storks, crested serpent eagle, ruddy shelduck, pied kingfishers and Indian skimmers. Chital, sambar, gaur and a range of other mammals are often seen coming to the river to drink, whilst mugger crocodiles lurk just below the surface, waiting to launch themselves at those who venture too close.
After each morning activity you return to the lodge for lunch, along with some downtime to enjoy a spot of birding, take a siesta or curl up with a good book before venturing out again in the afternoon for another excursion into Satpura’s wilderness. In the evenings you arrive back at the lodge after dark, with time to freshen up ready for dinner under the stars, if weather permits.
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Day 6:
Boat Transfer to Bori Wildlife Sanctuary
Today you transfer to your next accommodation in Bori Wildlife Sanctuary; rather than travel by road, you travel by boat, much like one of the river safaris (full day road transfers are possible if preferred). Early in the morning, you'll make your way down to the water to commence your journey along the backwaters of the Denwa River. Passing through stunning landscapes, you still need to keep your eyes on the banks for wildlife. Whilst birdlife will once again prove to be a prominent feature, there also have been tigers spotted on occasion, either cooling off in the water or coming to drink. After approximately two hours you arrive in Bori, and are transported to Bori Safari Lodge.
Once you arrive, there's time to have lunch and settle in before heading out to explore this new wilderness area on a game drive, in the afternoon. As the evening rolls around, you return to the lodge for dinner.
Accommodation: Bori Safari Lodge, 3-nights
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Days 7-8
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Morning & Afternoon Jeep Safaris in Bori Wildlife Sanctuary
The next two days follow a schedule of waking early and venturing into the Bori Wildlife Sanctuary, as you continue your quest for wildlife. Listening for alarm calls of langurs and chital, you search for packs of dholes, utilising their teamwork to run down their prey, or perhaps the ambling of a sloth bear through the teak forests as it seeks out termite mounds, ready to use its specialised vacuum-like snout to suck the insects from their intricate home. The largest antelope in Asia, nilgai, also call these forests home. With males sporting a blue coat, nilgai translates directly as ‘blue cow’, and with cows considered sacred in Hindu culture, these antelope are afforded the same privilege.
As you'll have now become accustomed, the middle of the day is spent relaxing in the lodge, flicking through photos, or catching up on sleep before a spot of lunch.
In the afternoon you return to the wildlife sanctuary once again, scanning for glimpses of movement that reveal a sighting. The swish of a tail below a branch unveils the presence of a leopard; these secretive cats are climbing masters, helping to keep them refuge from patrolling tigers. Grey-headed fish eagles may soar overhead as Indian paradise flycatchers dance in the dappled light intersected by the trees, and the haunting call of peafowl fills the forest. Rhesus macaque may also been seen, constantly seeming up to mischief within their large family groups; you may notice their various social behaviours, from bonding via grooming to submissive behaviours demonstrating rank.
As darkness descends, you return to camp, filled with excitement after a day of safaris. Take some time to reminisce about the sightings you encountered with a drink around the campfire, before enjoying a sumptuous evening meal and eventually returning to your room and settling into bed.
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Day 9:
Fly to Mumbai & Depart
The final morning provides one last game drive, so savour every moment as you traverse the area once more. Perhaps you might have an amazing farewell sighting or the most eventful drive of your trip — there's no telling what awaits you each time you venture into the wilds of India.
Following your return to the lodge, you have time to enjoy breakfast and prepare your bags for the journey ahead. Shortly after lunch, your transfer driver collects and transports you to Bhopal Airport prior to your onward flight to Mumbai.
Please note: This trip is fully customisable with a host of accommodation options and additional/alternate locations — India is a remarkable wildlife destination with vastly varied landscapes resulting in diverse wildlife. Head north to Ladakh to search for snow leopards in the Ulley Valley; west to Gujrat to observe the Asiatic lions at Sasan Gir; east to Assam where you’ll find greater one-horned rhinos at Kaziranga National Park, or south to the mystical forests of Karnataka, home to many of India’s elephants in reserves such as Bandipur National Park or Nagarhole. With so much more still to offer, India is a land of immense variety in terms of both wildlife and culture. Speak to our team to find out more about this remarkable destination.
