Best Place to See Tigers in India
Table of contents
Introduction
The Best Place to See Tigers in India are only few among the many tiger reserves and national parks in India. Best place to see tigers are also the best place to photograph tigers in India.
The Tiger is one of the most popular and enigmatic animals. Most of the wildlife tourism in India revolves around Tiger tourism. Seeing a tiger in the wild is a magical experience and is exciting to any nature lover especially if you are a Wildlife Photographer.
The combination of Beauty and Power that this animal reflects is like no other.
The Bengal tiger population is growing in India, and there are about 3500+ tigers in tiger reserves around the country, which is the highest in the world. There are over 50 tiger parks in India.
However, there are only a few parks where you have a chance of seeing a tiger in a few days. Some Tiger parks are better than others. The Best place to see tigers in india including tiger photography, for the past few decades, are Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore, and Tadoba National Parks. They have been consistently the best places to see and photograph tigers in India. Other parks that have increased tiger sightings in recent years are Corbett, Kanha, and Pench National Parks. I have also heard good things about Panna National Park in recent times.
The top position for the best tiger sightings in a year is usually held by the park that has the maximum favorable conditions happening that year. For Tiger Photography the first and the most important condition is the no of habituated tigers in the tourism area. A good tiger season also depends on the no of young tiger cubs. It is also important that the area has a strong dominant male tiger. When there is a dominant male tiger who has fathered a lot of cubs in the area then the mothers are comfortable and there are chances of regular sightings. Bold and habituated tigers are good for photography. Water holes in the summer season attract Tigers and other animals and birds. In peak summer seasons waterholes are the best places to find tigers, and photographers wait nearby for them.
Best tiger parks are also those where we can access a lot of tiger territories. The best areas of some parks are often not available to the people. Most of the best tiger parks are divided into various zones to avoid crowding, and only a few zones are good.
The Best place to see and photograph Tigers in my opinion are as follows. I have considered some important aspects besides the no of tigers. In my experience, the Following are some of the best tiger parks in India.
Ranthambore National Park
Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan is one of the best park in India in recent times for tiger sighting and Tiger photography. The main reason is that in the last few years, the wild tiger populations in Ranthambore have increased in this park. The good news is that many of the Tiger territories overlap the tourism area, hence lots of chances. The bad news is, it’s divided into 10 zones and safaris have to be booked 12 months in advance for the zone you wish to enter. If you are not sure book 1-5 zones. While in some zones tiger sightings are frequent, in others it is difficult or even rare to see a tiger. Getting the right zone is as important as going to the right park for tigers. Ranthambore is complex with its rules and you need to know this park to get the best out of it. It’s also one of the most expensive parks.
Read article for Details on Ranthambore National Park
Bandhavgarh National park
Bandhavgarh National Park is the most famous Tiger Park in India, spread in Vindhya hills in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. It is a small park compared to others. Till a few years ago, It used to be one of the defacto park for Tiger Photography and Filming. It has been popular with National Geography, BBC and others. Although the density of tigers has reduced in the past few years in tourist areas compared to other parks, the sightings and photography chances here are second to none. In fact with skilled people, it will still provide the best quality tiger photographs. The landscape of Sal forest here provides greener backgrounds compared to parks like Ranthambore which is Dry and more open.
Read article for Details on Bandhavgarh National Park
Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR)
Tadoba Andhari is a pristine and unique ecosystem often referred to as “The Jewel of Vidharba” situated in Maharashtra, India. In recent times due to its healthy population of tigers and their regular sightings, Tadoba has become a favorite with those who have already seen tigers in other popular parks. Besides Tigers, there is a high chance of seeing a sloth bear, or dhole (wild dog) in this forest.
There are no zones in these parks which gives us a chance to go anywhere in the tourist area although there are multiple entry gates and can get a little crowded inside the park when a tiger location is already known. This park in summer can get much hotter compared to others.
Read article for Details on Tadoba National Park
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Conclusion
My Favourite and Best place for tiger photography is Bandhavgarh due to various reasons both natural and rules and the way the park functions. In my judgment of all these parks, the most reliable and easy to predict is the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Besides that, I also like the greener Bandhavgarh forest for Tiger Photography compared to the dry and deciduous Ranthambore although it’s a personal preference. Ranthambore National Park is slightly difficult to predict for a new person as you need to know the park and tiger movements, unless you are going with a local tiger expert. Bandhavgarh is small and has only 3 zones while Ranthambore has 10 zones out of which 4-5 are good in any season. Also it needs to be book 1 year in advance compared to 4 months in bandhavgarh.
Knowing and getting the safaris to the best areas is the first step to a successful trip. Tadoba is great however due to no zones it can get a little crowded at times. If you can ignore the crowd and work your way with good people it’s got great potential.
Top 3 Tiger parks to see and photograph tigers is.
Other parks for tigers like Kanha, Corbett, etc. have shown good improvement in tiger sightings.
Also, read the Best time to see and photograph tigers in India.
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