National parks
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The question of holiday preferences often elicits common responses like beaches, mountains, pilgrimages, or plains. However, some travel enthusiasts break away from these conventional choices and embark on adventures into India's wild side, exploring national parks, sanctuaries, and tiger reserves. These wildlife reserves boast diverse landscapes, including mountains, tea plantations, rivers, scenic beauty, historical monuments, and temples.
Teeming with a rich variety of flora and fauna, these national parks and sanctuaries house remarkable species native to the region, such as Royal Bengal Tigers, Asian Elephants, endangered one-horned rhinoceros, and Indian gaurs. India's exceptional biodiversity makes jungle safaris a thrilling and enjoyable experience, offering the opportunity to witness some of the world's rarest animals and explore diverse landscapes, from dense forests to expansive marshes and grasslands.
The evolution of transportation, communication, and tourism infrastructure in recent years positions India as a compelling alternative to wildlife tourism hubs in Africa and Latin America, enhancing the safari experience with elements of adventure and excitement.
Steps to plan a memorable wildlife safari in IndiaExploring the wilderness on a jungle safari provides the most immersive encounter with India's wildlife. So if you are looking for How to Plan a Wildlife Trip read on to get guided for a fantastic wildlife experience.
1. Choose the region for your wildlife safari: Selecting the ideal national park for your upcoming wildlife tour in India is a pivotal yet challenging decision. India collectively harbours over 75% of the global tiger population. To increase your chances of encountering majestic tigers, consider visiting national parks such as Bandipur and Kabini in Karnataka, Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Tadoba and Nagzira in Maharashtra, Ranthambore in Rajasthan, and Pench, Panna, Kanha, and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. Beyond tigers, observing various fauna in their natural habitat adds a unique dimension to the wildlife safari experience. Therefore, making a thoughtful choice of the national park or tiger reserve is crucial to maximize the opportunity of spotting these magnificent creatures.
2. Ascertain the best time to visit: The season of your visit to a particular national park determines the chances of sighting the wild animals during the jungle safari. Take note of the fact that most of the national parks remain closed during the monsoon season and are reopened for tourists post-monsoon. Few national parks allow safari in the rainy season but in the buffer zones. Moreover, the humidity in the forest areas will make you uncomfortable. The ideal season to embark on a trip for wildlife tourism is the winter season, due to clear skies and the dry weather, which facilitates wildlife spotting. It is better avoid to visiting a national in the summer season, as might get uncomfortable to conduct a jungle safari in the day’s heat.
3. Allow assistance from experts: A wildlife safari requires a few procedures, such as booking safari permits, reserving accommodations in hotels and resorts, choosing the best zones for safari, and so on. Therefore it is better to choose a competent tour operator who will take care of all the bookings and arrangements on your behalf based on your convenient dates. This is not all. Assistance is required after you reach the entry gate of the safari zone. Take an expert and well-acknowledged guide along with your safari who will propagate all the necessary and interesting information regarding the flora and fauna of the forest. They can even assist you with higher chances of spotting animals, especially lions or tigers, as they can efficiently anticipate the nearby presence of wild cats, thereby accelerating the thrill of waiting for beast spotting.
4. Make a list of packing essentials: Ultimately, smart packing is very important when you are about to set on for a wildlife safari expedition. Pack your clothes and other essentials according to the weather predictions or the season. Breathable, cotton and linen fabrics, for summers, coats and caps for winters, raincoats for monsoons, and other essentials for all seasons include a good pair of binoculars, sunglasses, sunscreen lotions, hats, DSLR, bus spray, etc. Wear earthy coloured clothes like green or brown and comfortable shoes while going on the safari.