Stripes of Wild India

[michael-ibk]

Chitvan Lodge



Our base near Mukki zone of Kanha. We stayed here in November 2011 before, and the fact that we returned should tell you all you need to know. I absolutely love this place and would come here again and again.



The distance to Mukki gate is three km, we always enjoyed the drive there passing creeks, some houses and meadows.





We were always on the lookout for a Brown Fish Owl which is sometimes sighted here - but it didn´t wanna play.





For some reason almost all the locals´ houses in this area of India are blue. I was sure there must be some sophisticated cultural reason for it but Rajan told us people just like the colour.

Why do I like Chitvan so much? For all the simple reasons - beautiful premises, spacious rooms with comfy beds and a good shower, delicious food (mostly buffet, sometimes served), attentive unobtrusive staff with a smile. One just feels "at home" here, it´s a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. Birds sing, butterflies flutter around, frogs croak, the lodge´s dogs are following one around. Return from a drive, get a nice hot towel and a refreshing lemonade. The waiter smiling when you tell them about your tigers even if he has heard it all before thousands of times. The wonderful manager Mr. Ashwani telling you how he personally planted 3,000 trees when the lodge was created back in 2007. (He insisted on having fruit trees.) The free bottled water. Coffee and Cookies for the morning wake-up call. The varied breakfast packed for your game drive. Just the feeling that if you ask for anything staff will do their best to attend to your wishes.

That´s why I like Chitvan so much.







The rooms:





The gardens. Most of what you get to eat here will come from their own cultivations, that´s why food (Indian) tastes very moreish.



The dining room:





A good place to chat with other guests, especially upstairs with a couple of (Non-He-Man) beers or G&Ts. (Or both.) You meet all kind of people on trips like this. On the one side of the spectrum there are the very weird ones. Like the one gentleman I "met" in the men´s room at a game drive whose introduction to me went like this: "Hello! You know, nice place here. But you wouldn´t believe the incredible beauty of ...blablalbal ... this incredibly fancy place.. I used to go when I was even richer than I am now. Incredible, isn´t it?"

 

That was incredible indeed. I really wish there would have been a way to get away from him far more quickly than feasible under those circumstances.

On the other hand, you meet absolutely delightful people during such trips. Only natural, fellow wildlife lovers are drawn to similar places, and it just feels good to chat about spectacular nature destinations, awesome animal encounters, even birds - without people going "Oh, he´s talking about Africa again. Just smile and nod, it will be over soon if we don´t encourage him to babble on about pink sparrows or some weird cow he´s seen." (My friends are very good with that strategy.)

It´s just so cool talking about "Safaritalk" things with non-Internet entities, real people! So we got along splendidly with two men and one woman from the UK who were doing a similar trip like us and had been to lots of great places already! We were very similar in our interests. And incredibly similar in other things too. After a while we did the name thing which went like.

"I´m Michael". - "Hi Michael I´m ... Mike." - Wow, cool, what a coincidence.
"Nice to meet you all, I´m Andrew." - "Andrew? Really? Uh ... Andy" - Would you believe that?
"I´m Lynn."
Tense, suspicious looks from us:
"And I´m Ly .... Liz."
Lynn would just have been too much, we all would have fallen from our chairs.

The pool is lovely, but again we didn´t find time to use it.

Lynn: And I hope that revealing the 3.8 does not kill the suspense of the rest of the Kanha section.
But I am remaining mum on whether we see a little frog in the pond of Chitvan Jungle Lodge or not.
Nope, not telling. Not even a clue!

Oh come on, you totally ruined the surprise! So yes, we did see a little frog! *grumbling*







We even saw two! Ha! Didn´t expect that, did you?

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@michael-ibk

 

That's a gloriously sharp and clear butterfly image!

The level of detail is coffee table book quality.

Ideal lighting of a wondrous micro-vignette of life at Chitvan.

Your wholehearted endorsement, backed up with great photos and delightful commentary persuades me of Chitvan's merits.

Thank you so much, both for the butterfly photo and the Chitvan introduction.

Tom K.

[Kitsafari]

I'm just away for a week and i've got loads to catch up! i'm just at the Big Male and....

 

WOW.

 

as I followed your thread of thoughts, I was very glad that you took those pictures of the spectacular Tiger. He's so gorgeous.



"That langur photo is still perplexing me a bit - can anybody please tell me where that third hand is coming from? Or have I photographed a mutant here? :)"

 

 

It looks like it is his foot that has become the "third hand". beautiful pics of the langgur and what an adorable smiling cheeky baby (in post #183).

Edited May 17, 2015 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

@@michael-ibk you have made Chitval such a lovely warm place to return to from a game drive.

 

and you three were so darn lucky with Tigers! i keep hearing reviews that say it's not easy to see tigers and you would be so lucky to see one in a trip. well, an average of 3.8 is incredibly excellent in that case!

 

i love that picture of the tiger licking his paws clasped together. and the videos are terrific. thoroughly enjoyed the clips, especially to see that the king of the jungle can get irritated by the common fly as well!

[michael-ibk]

@@Kitsafari

 

We would get even luckier ... much luckier ... double digits later on.

 

Our excellent guide Rajan, who always made the right calls, really helped of course, and yes, of course it´s a matter of luck as well. But realistically with the number of drives we did in Kanha, Pench and Tadoba I think one would have to be extraordinarily unlucky to NOT see a Tiger at this time of the year when it´s getting hot. Every guest we chatted with at the lodges or at the breakfast places told us they had had at least a few good sightings.

[Galago]

Lynn, your maths calculation was so interesting. Judging from my experience of 7 drives with just one in Mukki zone, I would say (quite unscientifically) that Mukki is better. We had two quick glimpses in two of the zones, one of them Mukki. We were just a bit later than you, early April.

 

Just wonderful photos and, Michael, I never knew Shikra came from Hindi. They were most obliging birds in Kanha though. We had 19 sightings over 7 drives so here's one:

[Big_Dog]

Fantastic. The tiger series are marvelous. Also love the Kipling commentary as it goes on...you may not like his original interpretation, but perhaps you can enjoy George Sander's interpretation in the Disney film, giving him the voice the forest khan would have?
Also loved the three-armed langur and the smiling baby, as well as the assorted birds, the early jackal and gorgeous scenery shots. Very interesting to read the big changes the Ban had on tourism too.

[TonyQ]

Lots of beautiful photos of the tiger in the water (the eyes are wonderful)-and I love the videos. It really does show the value of a good guide who knows how animals behave.

The lodge looks very nice!

Edited May 17, 2015 by TonyQ

[Galago]

@Michael-ibk Re the Bandar Log - we had a few discussions about which species and the consensus was it refers to the Rhesus macaque, ie. much bolder and sometimes a real pain. It's because of them (and the crows) that the Mukki breakfast place is indoors whereas the lack of macaques in the other two zones means it's safe to eat outside as the Langurs are, as yet, quite shy. What do you think?

[Atravelynn]

and you three were so darn lucky with Tigers! i keep hearing reviews that say it's not easy to see tigers and you would be so lucky to see one in a trip. well, an average of 3.8 is incredibly excellent in that case!

 

Lynn, your maths calculation was so interesting. Judging from my experience of 7 drives with just one in Mukki zone, I would say (quite unscientifically) that Mukki is better. We had two quick glimpses in two of the zones, one of them Mukki. We were just a bit later than you, early April.

Continuing with the odds of tiger sightings... April should increase the chance of sightings over earlier in the year, since it is hotter and the remaining water sources that have not evaporated become even more attractive. One interesting, informed comment on when to go that we heard was: To increase tiger sightings, go in May, if you can bear the heat. But sightings of other species will likely drop because there is less camouflage and protection for these species from foliage, meaning creatures like dhole or sloth bear head deeper into the forest and out of view.

 

If Kaziranga is part of the itinerary, then pushing into April may sacrifice Kazirana's prime time of late Feb to mid March. The same timing issue would hold true if combining tiger parks with Gujarat (Asian lions of Sasan Gir; blackbucks, striped hyenas, Indian wolves in Velavadar; wild asses, foxes and flamingos in Little Rann of Kutch), because the Gujarat guides told me Feb and even Jan is prime time for Gujarat wildlife.

 

Way back when I started planning for Trip #1 in late 2010/early 2011, Mukki had the most tiger sightings. When it came time to book accommodations for the April 2012 trip (about 8 months before departure), Kisli was looking better for tigers, so I did a 4-Kisli, 2-Mukki split. It helped to have an agent who was up on things, like Wild World India, who could advise me on where to spend my time. Now, Mukki seems to have the edge again. Whether you stay in Mukki or Kisli, access to the Kanha Core zone, which tends to have good tiger viewing, is possible.

 

We were told that as a general rule of thumb, as of March 2015:

In Kanha 5-7 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

In Bandhavgarh about 5 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

In Tadoba, 3-5 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

 

Of course with nature there are no iron-clad guarantees.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Atravelynn

[Atravelynn]

@Michael-ibk Re the Bandar Log - we had a few discussions about which species and the consensus was it refers to the Rhesus macaque, ie. much bolder and sometimes a real pain. It's because of them (and the crows) that the Mukki breakfast place is indoors whereas the lack of macaques in the other two zones means it's safe to eat outside as the Langurs are, as yet, quite shy. What do you think?

I had also been told the crows were part of the problem as well, especially when people fed them. In Pench we encountered a very aggressive Rhesus macaque at our lunch stop. We did not even have food at the time and were just photographing birds and trees when a Rhesus macaque very aggressively moved toward me. He was less aggressive and even retreated some when Michael approached.

 

Aggressive Rhesus Macaque at lunch spot in Pench

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@Galago

 

The expression is almost quizzical.

A wonderful image, pulling the viewer into the subject in a delightful way.

The crimson eyes dominate the face. How well it must see aloft, capable of fine discrimination between small objects below.

Thank you for sharing such a pleasing photograph.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Continuing with the odds of tiger sightings... April should increase the chance of sightings over earlier in the year, since it is hotter and the remaining water sources that have not evaporated become even more attractive. One interesting, informed comment on when to go that we heard was: To increase tiger sightings, go in May, if you can bear the heat. But sightings of other species will likely drop because there is less camouflage and protection for these species from foliage, meaning creatures like dhole or sloth bear head deeper into the forest and out of view.

 

If Kaziranga is part of the itinerary, then pushing into April may sacrifice Kazirana's prime time of late Feb to mid March. The same timing issue would hold true if combining tiger parks with Gujarat (Asian lions of Sasan Gir; blackbucks, striped hyenas, Indian wolves in Velavadar; wild asses, foxes and flamingos in Little Rann of Kutch), because the Gujarat guides told me Feb and even Jan is prime time for Gujarat wildlife.

 

Way back when I started planning for Trip #1 in late 2010/early 2011, Mukki had the most tiger sightings. When it came time to book accommodations for the April 2012 trip (about 8 months before departure), Kisli was looking better for tigers, so I did a 4-Kisli, 2-Mukki split. It helped to have an agent who was up on things, like Wild World India, who could advise me on where to spend my time. Now, Mukki seems to have the edge again. Whether you stay in Mukki or Kisli, access to the Kanha Core zone, which tends to have good tiger viewing, is possible.

 

We were told that as a general rule of thumb, as of March 2015:

In Kanha 5-7 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

In Bandhavgarh about 5 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

In Tadoba, 3-5 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

 

Of course with nature there are no iron-clad guarantees.

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

For those armchair travelers and would-be Indian safari-goers amongst us, your detailed explanation above is a tremendous resource.

Your accumulated wisdom of the ins and outs of game viewing on safari makes you an especially insightful judge of safari options.

Thank you for your time, patience and care in preparing, writing and posting this ‘odds of tiger sightings’ overview.

Tom K.

[Sangeeta]

What an action-packed adventure, guys! Lovely vids of the tiger in the pool swatting insects and yup, those clasped paws are wonderful - he almost looks like he's ready to do karate!

 

Cool math, Lynn! And Michael, some of your comments just crack me up Great going.

[Zubbie15]

Continuing with the odds of tiger sightings... April should increase the chance of sightings over earlier in the year, since it is hotter and the remaining water sources that have not evaporated become even more attractive. One interesting, informed comment on when to go that we heard was: To increase tiger sightings, go in May, if you can bear the heat. But sightings of other species will likely drop because there is less camouflage and protection for these species from foliage, meaning creatures like dhole or sloth bear head deeper into the forest and out of view.

 

If Kaziranga is part of the itinerary, then pushing into April may sacrifice Kazirana's prime time of late Feb to mid March. The same timing issue would hold true if combining tiger parks with Gujarat (Asian lions of Sasan Gir; blackbucks, striped hyenas, Indian wolves in Velavadar; wild asses, foxes and flamingos in Little Rann of Kutch), because the Gujarat guides told me Feb and even Jan is prime time for Gujarat wildlife.

 

Way back when I started planning for Trip #1 in late 2010/early 2011, Mukki had the most tiger sightings. When it came time to book accommodations for the April 2012 trip (about 8 months before departure), Kisli was looking better for tigers, so I did a 4-Kisli, 2-Mukki split. It helped to have an agent who was up on things, like Wild World India, who could advise me on where to spend my time. Now, Mukki seems to have the edge again. Whether you stay in Mukki or Kisli, access to the Kanha Core zone, which tends to have good tiger viewing, is possible.

 

We were told that as a general rule of thumb, as of March 2015:

In Kanha 5-7 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

In Bandhavgarh about 5 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

In Tadoba, 3-5 drives practically guarantees a tiger in the Nov-May high season.

 

Of course with nature there are no iron-clad guarantees.

 

 

There's too much here to highlight anything specific, so just a general thanks for what's so far a great trip report. The only negative for me is that now I want to go to India! Based on the above info from @@Atravelynn, it seems booking 8-12 months ahead of time is a good idea?

[Atravelynn]

What an action-packed adventure, guys! Lovely vids of the tiger in the pool swatting insects and yup, those clasped paws are wonderful - he almost looks like he's ready to do karate!

Kung fu Tiger, makes me laugh!

 

Cool math, Lynn! And Michael, some of your comments just crack me up Great going.

[Atravelynn]

The only negative for me is that now I want to go to India!

That "negative" you refer is the disadvantage of this whole darn forum. There are just too many wonderful places out there that are brought to life through trip reports and photos.

Based on the above info from @@Atravelynn, it seems booking 8-12 months ahead of time is a good idea?

If you know what you want, booking early helps assure you get what you want and not what is left. For that first trip, I think I had everything in place about a year in advance, except the Kanha lodging. Then that got decided when more info was available. For this March 2015 trip, we booked a year in advance. One advantage was that we could get some slight breaks on the 2015 rates if we locked in everything in 2014. Not all operators offer this. When we were investigating and researching, some companies gave us the 2014 rates and told us expect a modest increase for 2015, but we did not have the exact figures.

 

Also if you have a particular accommodation in that does not have a lot of rooms, booking early makes senses, especially during high season. For example Chitvan Jungle Lodge has 12 rooms, and at least one night we were there, they were all booked. Wild Grass has 18 rooms. We encountered escorted groups at both places, and other lodgings as well. Two groups booked for the same date could just about wipe out all availability.

[Atravelynn]

Kanha 3^rd Morning on Day 4

 

Kanha Core section:

 

 

Our morning was filled with cute chital fawns.

 

Indian Mongoose, very skittish little guy

Oriental Honey Buzzard

There is an odd story regarding the bird in the next photo. When we first saw it, we thought it might be a Shikra and we debated the features (Was the eye red? Was the chest striped or solid?) to narrow down the possibilities. Days later when we were visiting with Mike, Andrew, and Liz, knowing Mike was an avid birder, we asked about the characteristics of that bird to see if Mike could offer his opinion on the species. Mike asked us where we had seen the bird and when we started describing the location, he finished the description of the location—right down to the tree and the branch it was sitting on. He knew the exact bird we were referring to. Day after day, that’s where the common kestrel sat, overseeing his territory.

Common Kestral

Peacock Rufous Treepie

Grey Hornbill

On the way to and from the Kanha Core Zone, we traversed the Mukki Zone, where Hard-ground Barasingha liked to relax.

We had only one more outing in Kanha to complete our 7 game drives. It seemed that only moments ago that Umparpani was regally strolling in front of us, offering a view of her derrière to the photographers before she took leave of the Gypsies and her admirers.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Atravelynn

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@Atravelynn

 

I was about to write the next installment in my trip report when I saw this photo.

Talk about an ‘atmospheric image’, this one is that and more.

Looking at it, I so want to be there in that vehicle, camera in hand just as the gentleman in blue is.

The soft light rays are a stupendous touch, @@Atravelynn, lending a gentle air to the proceedings.

The fallen foliage, the dense tree growth, the dusty track, the lone vehicle — it fairly shouts ‘safari’!

Thank you for such a wonderful image of a game drive in India.

Tom K.

[Zubbie15]

Thanks for the info @@Atravelynn - if I'm thinking 2017 I'll need to start research (maybe reading old trip reports is enough! )

[janzin]

Just catching up with this marvelous report--all I can say is WOW! Of course the tiger shots are taking my breath away, I think my favorites are the tiger relaxing in the water--although hard to pick any favorites! Also really glad to see the diversity of bird photos. I keep telling myself if we have bad luck with tigers, at least we'll have a couple of hundred new life birds

 

I wish we had time to go to Kaziranga but hopefully--like with Africa--this won't be a "once in a lifetime" trip.

 

Looking forward to more installments!

[madaboutcheetah]

Lynn's image of the Sal forest with the ray of light coming through is picture perfect in describing the topography ..... However, bear in mind certain times of the year the Sal forest is in stunning colors of reds and oranges with the light filtering through (I think more winter colors) .....

[gagan]

 

 

gallery_19319_1241_8359120.jpg

~ @@Atravelynn

 

I was about to write the next installment in my trip report when I saw this photo.

Talk about an atmospheric image, this one is that and more.

Looking at it, I so want to be there in that vehicle, camera in hand just as the gentleman in blue is.

The soft light rays are a stupendous touch, @@Atravelynn, lending a gentle air to the proceedings.

The fallen foliage, the dense tree growth, the dusty track, the lone vehicle it fairly shouts safari!

Thank you for such a wonderful image of a game drive in India.

Tom K.

 

The image looks like heavenly light cutting through the woods trying to reach hungry souls in search of aniamls...

Btw nice shot

[gagan]

These jungles are full of medicinal plants and trees....these trips are somewhat helping to promote medical tourism as well...

[Atravelynn]

Trip reports are a great inspiration and help. @@Zubbie15

 

The options you were considering @@janzin would give you a very good chance of seeing tigers in the March-May time frame.

 

You are talking us into a Sal Forest Safari @@madaboutcheetah.

 

Such eloquence @@Tom Kelly and @@gagan!

 

 

The fallen foliage, the dense tree growth, the dusty track, the lone vehicle — it fairly shouts ‘safari’!

 

Speaking of shouts, we heard very few during tiger sightings. There was an annoying cell phone ring that went off a couple of times during the same sighting. I think that was Tadoba.

 

-----------

 

Kanha 4^th Afternoon on the Final Day 4

 

Mukki Zone

 

Loud tiger growls caught our attention. It was likely the New Male and a mature male arguing or even battling, but their skirmish was their business and we saw no sign of either tiger.

 

Not knowing if we’d encounter any more gaur after today, of if they’d be photograph-able, we took advantage of a small herd that crossed our path.

 

Gaur in Mukki Zone, Kanha

 

 

We knew today would mark the end of any Hardground Barasingha viewing, so we especially appreciated their presence as they enjoyed the cool water. Though this species has adapted to hard ground, as the name indicates, it appeared to be very comfortable wading in the water. Seeing herds of these animals when their population numbers under 500 is a privilege.

 

 

The Barasingha also seemed to enjoy their pond heron pals.

Showing off both his pond heron pal and his rack

 

The next photos show a Chital infiltration into the Hardground Barasinga herd and the rage of wearing a Common Myna as fashionable hat. Whether fashionable or not, it is a symbiotic relationship that works for birds and barasingha. The birds get a meal of insects and the barasingha are rid of pesky bugs that inhabit their coats.

Though we saw more individual wild boar than tigers, the number

of sightings of tigers out number the sightings of wild boar in Kanha.

 

Jungle Owlet

 

Red-naped ibis

March begins the breeding and displaying season and it intensifies in the months that follow.

 

A Fond Farewell to Kanha.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Atravelynn