Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

For me the main puropse of the trip was for 2 things - 1) The Taj and 2) tigers, and both surpassed everything I thought they would be - but there is so much more this trip has to offer.The first tiger sighting on our first game drive was easily the best and longest. Watching it keeping itself cool in the water before wandering off into the forest.  Being at the Taj Mahal at sunrise and watching how the colour changes as the sun rises higher in the sky is amazing. I have seen some amazing architecture around the world, but for me this monument far outstrips everything else I have seen. Unbelievable detail and workmanship to create a truly stunning masterpiece.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vijay was excellent. This was my second trpi with Exodus and I have been fortunate to have been looked after by excellent guides on both trips. He has an obvious passion for his country, culture and his job. His wealth of experience and knowledge gained from his 25 years of doing (and no doubt his father who was a game warden before him) this is truly astonishing, and he is someone Exodus should retain the services of for future trips.Although there were only 5 of us on the trip he organised us really well and made sure we all knew what was going on at all times.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Delhi Belly is almost a certainty at somepoint. Luckily most of our group only suffered for a day or so but make sure you have plenty of remedies.A a previous review has said, rurual India is cheap, although you will be in hotels adn jungle lodges most of the time which are not so cheap.Most people will go on this trip to see tigers and the Taj, but there is so much more to it than that. It is not like an African safari where there is always large herds of animals to look at which are asily visible in the grassy plains - there is quite a lot of dense forest and it can be a while between seeing animals. However, there is some stunning scenery and the sounds of the monkeys, birds and crickets make for a fantastic experience which can be enjoyed just as much.

Suggestions

Pack light and make sure your bag has a shoulder strap if it's not a rucksack - mine didn't and ended up buying another in Agra! One guy on our trip managed the whole holiday on hand luggage alone!Be prepared for random power cuts in some of the jungle lodges - a head torch for the evening may be a good idea.Early mornings for game drives can be tiring, although afternoon siestas will solve that problem.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Taj Mahal was mind blowing. I couldn't believe the size and the beauty of this building crafted so perfectly. Our first tiger sighting was our best. Just watching a tigress bathing in the watering watering hole for 5/10 minutes, lapping up the water with the sun reflecting off it's back.   We saw baby jackals! It was the first time our group leader had seen them too and he's been in the job 25 years. They were like cute little puppies. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was fantastic and excelled at his job. A naturalist for 25 years he certainly knew his stuff and our game drives with him were much more enjoyable than the ones without him (we had to share him with the rest of the group). His wealth of knowledge was fantastic and we genuinely enjoyed his company. The part that really made him really great though was the way he looked after us. One of the key reasons i booked this trip was because i didn't want to travel as a single female alone in India. He was continually protecting you from every hawker, begger or con artist. Even when you didn't see him he was watching like a hawk, stepping in when you looked like you needed it. Thanks to him i felt safe throughout the journey. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

As a single female i felt safe the entire time, do not be scared to do this trip alone. Deli Belly will happen no matter how sensible you are, your body is not used to this diet. Just make sure you have the proper supplies with you.  The Elephant rides may seem like a novelty tourist earner, but it's definitely worth it at least once to see a Tiger that closely.   India is not as cheap as you'd expect, be prepared... Actually India is, but National Parks and Hotels are not.Do all your tourist shopping in Deli at the end. It's far cheaper than buying it in the tourist traps along the way.

Suggestions

The worst part about this trip was the sleeper trains and they really weren't that bad. It was a bit of a lottery as to where you got positioned and although you were never far from a friendly face, sometimes it wasn't in your birth. From an entertainment and a safety point of view this would have made a big difference to me to be paired up. Leaving all my valuables while i go to the toilet was not ideal... but it was certainly more ideal than bringing that bag into the toilet with me! I won't miss those toilets. On the whole though. The entire trip was fantastic and i would recommend Exodus to a friend and travel with them again.  Vijay is one hell of a guide and you should definitely continue to use him. He made a good trip truely great. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Any time spent in the presence of a tiger was simply magical. I’ve been lucky enough to see wildlife all around the world but these magnificent animals take the prize for sheer magnetism. Unfortunately our first tiger sighting in Ranthambore was accompanied by a hideous cacophony of shouting and screeching as canters reversed into each other to try and get into the best position. I hated the whole noisy circus, but looking at the photos now, I only remember the majestic beauty of my first gorgeous tiger. Jeep game drives in Kanha and Bandhavgarh were a lot more civilised!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Harish was a great tour leader, a real ‘fixer’. The trip ran very smoothly due in no little part to the care he put in to arranging as much as he could for us; from trying to sort out our jeep routes in advance, to changing our train seating so as to keep the group together. His encyclopaedic knowledge of the flora and fauna of India kept the wildlife junkies among us fully informed. He was also good company.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Even in March/April with lunchtime temperatures nudging 40 degrees it was still freezing in the early morning, especially in Kanha, where we each wore four layers, a blanket and some even had hot water bottles! Overnight trains were either sweltering or freezing, so have the appropriate clothing to hand. Occasionally there is a cavernous gap between meals, so have a few muesli bars or similar with you: they’re also useful if you get an upset stomach and can’t face curry (you can go off curry quite quickly!). Take the longest image-stabilised lens you can, plus lens cleaning gear to combat dust (also a scarf or similar to stop your hair turning into a fright wig). My 70-300mm lens was the best option for photographing tigers from the back of elephants. Do as many optional game drives (especially in the morning) as you can and don’t miss a single elephant ‘tiger show’ as it’s the best way to get close-ups. Use manual focus or you’ll end up with lots of fuzzy tigers behind pin-sharp foliage!  Because we were a small group (7, reduced later to 6) our tips bill was proportionally higher (tips are a flat rate per vehicle and not per head, and NOT related to service!);  with the optional game drives it all adds up. Would I go again? Just try and stop me!

Suggestions

The awful statistics about the demise of the tiger really hit home once you’ve witnessed these monarchs of the jungle in their own habitat. Having seen the extensive bureaucracy in India at first hand, it would appear that contributing to initiatives at the ‘business end­’ of tiger conservation (like those supported by Exodus) may be the only way to save this incredible species. The latest tiger census figures were released during our trip; the opinion of the guides and other experts we spoke to in Kanha was that these ‘official’ numbers weren't so much massaged as plucked out of thin air. The thought that tigers may be extinct in the wild within 20 years is utterly depressing. Wildlife lovers need to do more than just take photographs now.

Most Inspirational Moment

Tigers will always rank highly as an inspirational moment, but viewing my pictures of the jackal family once I got home almost brought tear to my eyes. Travlling by train is fun, there is some great food around and also fantastic bird life as well.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Harish was excellent. He specialises in wildlife trips, so knew his way around the parks as well as the local guides. He will even take the opporunity to take an optional game drive on his own! He put in a lot of effort to make sure everything ran smoothly. I can't think of a single time when something went wrong.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take as long (and fast) a lenses as possible. A second camera body is also a good idea. Camera cleaning equipment is also needed (very dusty). For this reason eye drops are also a good idea. Be aware that you may go on game drives were you don't take a single photo. There are drives were you may not see anything noteworthy. Very little WiFi available and only occasional 3G access.

Suggestions

Tigers wont be around in the wild forever. Take the opportunity now. I will definetly do this trip for a third time in the future. Seeing tigers is like an itch that just can't be scratched!Photos available here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidnunn/collections/72157626392846475/ 

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a tiger mother with her cubs from the back of an elephant in Kanha National Park was something that I'll never forget - but just the atmosphere of being in the parks in the morning with the sounds of the jungle waking up around you was something quite magical.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Krishna was great - as an ornithologist, he had a great knowledge of the bird species that we saw on our drives through the parks (and could even identify them from blurry smudges in some of our photographs), and as a tour leader, he was passionate and enthusiastic about his country, and made sure we all had a great time.We were in India for the Holi festival, and he organised a party at the jungle lodge that we were staying at, with all natural dyes for us to throw at each other - which we tried to wash off in the neighbouring river afterwards.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't go with the expectation of seeing large mammals on every game drive! We were spectacularly lucky, seeing 13 tigers, 2 leopards, 5 jackals and 2 wild dogs in total. Obviously it's great to see some of these amazing animals in the wild - but it's just as amazing to be in the parks, and absorb the sounds and atmosphere of these wild spaces. There wasn't a single drive where we failed to see something new - a new bird species, or deer exhibiting different behaviour.

Suggestions

If you want to see tigers in the wild, this trip is probably your best chance of doing so - there are so many game drives built into the schedule, and the option for further ones, that your chances are maximised. Even on days when you don't see any tigers, it's impossible to forget that they're not far away, with sightings of pugmarks or the sound of distant alarm calls. A fantastic experience, and one that I won't forget!Probably my only criticism of the tour is the way that the group was split across multiple carriages on the overnight trains. Our tour leader explained the difficulty of getting tickets for train journeys, and that quite often we weren't getting on or off at the start or end of a train line, but it still seemed unfair on some of the solo travellers to find themselves isolated in a carriage away from the rest of the group.

Most Inspirational Moment

The close encounters with the tigers. 14 exceptinal sightings. Leopards, jungle cats wild dogs and jackals

Thoughts on Group Leader

Krishna Kumar was a fantastic leader. We cannot praise him highly enough

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are there for Holi cover your hair. Janet didn't and now has pink hair!Research the best time for tigers. March is good as the grass is short and the tigers need to come to the waterholes.Take tennis balls for the children, Better for them than sweets and more fun than pens.

Suggestions

I thoroughly reccommend this trip to anyone with a love of wildlife. You will not be disappointed.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing "B2", the most dominant male tiger in Bandhavgar, eating at a kill, washing himself like a domestic kitten, strolling nonchalantly across the track to a watering hole, growling... or perhaps the highlight was getting almost uncomfortably close to tigers from our elephant-back vantage point

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb.  Harish Kumar has so many years experience of leading tours, often birding and nature tours, in India that his knowledge of the wildlife is encyclopedic; and his relationships with the parks, hoteliers, etc. strong enough to make things work as smoothly as they can (given that this is India).  India is not a trivially easy place to travel but Harish and his colleagues in India made things work for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I do recommend the trip but you do need to think twice before you book.  It's a long way to fly then train and minibus to undertake perhaps 50 hours of game drives without the certainty of seeing these (admittedly magnificent) animals.  If you think you may take a serious dislike to the public transport, food, high risk of Delhi Belly spoiling a day or more of your trip, or frustration at (temporary) lack of tigers (or indeed if you are very lucky getting 'tigered out' by the end of the trip!) then you might be better off doing e.g. an African safari or a more leisurely 'cultural' tour of India.You need to have a certain level of robustness, in my view, for this trip's rewards (tigers and some, but not much, of the region's history) to outweigh its frustrations and pitfalls.    However, if you are committed to the idea of seeing this animal in its last redoubts, then this is the trip for you.  While (in my opinion based on what I learned on this trip and from speaking to many other travellers) any trip that spends more than 2 full days in Bandhavgar will pretty reliably give you tigers, this trip gives you time in two other reserves which are not only pretty rich in tigers themselves but have their own characters and strengths: Ranthamore with its ancient fort and hunting palaces scattered through the park; Kanha with its open grasslands and rich bird life.  

Most Inspirational Moment

Each time we saw a tiger was incredibly moving. But my favourite moment strangely was a leopard sighting. We were the only jeep and the leopard walked down a rock and drank in a pool right in front of us.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Harish was excellent. His drive, enthusiasm and organisational skills were amazing and he has so much knowledge about the local wildlife.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring plenty of patience. You may have many hours of game drives without seeing tigers - they are endangered after all! And don't forget that it's not all about tigers -  enjoy the rest of the animals and birds in the parks too!  In the winter months it is incredibly cold in the mornings - I was wearing 5 layers and a blanket! So remember your warm clothes, gloves and hat.