Scouting-Trip Report: Tigers in India, November 2024

The king of the jungle, the Bengal tiger!

Seeing a tiger in the wild has always been one of our biggest dreams! So why not make a stopover in India on the way home from the blue whales in Timor to Europe and check out the potential for a group trip?

Nach einem Tag in Delhi ging es mit einem kurzen Inlandflug gegen Süden ins Herzen Indiens in den Bundesstaat Madhya Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh finden sich mehrere der grössten Nationalparks Indiens, welche auch die höchste Dichte an Tigern aufweisen!
Schon nur die Anreise zum ersten Nationalpark war sehr interessant… von den vollen Strassen und modernen Hotels Delhis zu den ländlichen Dörfern: was für ein Kontrast! Man befindet sich hier in einer Gegend, in der in vielen Orten noch ein Brunnen steht und die Menschen pumpen müssen, um Wasser zu bekommen.

But let's get to the real part of this trip, the safaris! In general, the national parks are well organized. The number of vehicles is restricted depending on the area and meticulous care is taken to ensure that vehicles do not leave the roads.

Finding a tiger, on the other hand, is not easy and depends very much on luck. Depending on the park, the jungle is very dense and you can usually see tigers when crossing the road. However, if you arrive just 1 minute too late or drive past the spot in question 40 seconds too early, you will probably miss the sighting! So we had 4-5 tours in a row without a sighting. On the other hand, on the last morning we saw 6 tigers in 15 minutes, sometimes for more than an hour! Every day is different and patience is the key.

However, a beautiful sighting is magical and worth all the waiting! Tigers are beautiful animals and to look one in the eye is something very special!

Of course, it is also worthwhile to be out and about in the jungle. Even if there are no tigers to be found, there are many beautiful moments with other species. Various species of deer roam the forests. The national parks are also true bird paradises. Owls, kingfishers and majestic eagles are just a few of the species that can be spotted. But always keep your eyes open for other cats. In Pench National Park in particular, we had a very good sighting with a leopard that we will remember for a long time to come.

All in all, the time in India was great, which is why we are now also offering a Tiger Trip in November 2025!