IndiaBandhavgarhIf you’re short on time and determined to see a tiger in India, Bandhavgarh is your best shot. It’s said that while you’re lucky to see a tiger elsewhere, you’d have to be quite unlucky not to spot one in Bandhavgarh – though sightings are never guaranteed, not even here. Overview Trip ideas Experiences Regions Best time to visit Accommodation Back to all places in Mumbai & Central India Of course, what this means is that you’ll be sharing the park not just with tigers but with plenty of other visitors, all equally intent on catching a glimpse. If you’ve been on safari in Africa, the raucousness of a Bandhavgarh Jeep packed with Indian tourists can come as a bit of a shock. But no matter how busy it gets, there’s still nothing like the adrenaline rush of seeing tiger cubs playing at the water’s edge, or an adult taking down a sambar deer. These once-in-a-lifetime sights are almost mundane in Bandhavgarh.Let’s pretend for a moment that there are no tigers (they do have a tendency to steal all the glory). There’s still plenty to see here – not least the setting itself. Bandhavgarh is beautiful. Hilly and rugged, valleys filled with mixed deciduous forests and sal trees, interspersed with dry grasslands and open marshes – all watched over by a ruined fort, circled by wheeling vultures and dating back to the Middle Ages. It’s a totally unique landscape, and harbors a huge diversity of wildlife for so small an area.On any given day you might see jackals, hyenas, four-horned antelope, langurs, macaques, jungle cats, porcupines, or muscular gaur. Most unusually for a northern Indian park, it also has a herd of wild elephants, who migrated here of their own volition from Chhattisgarh in 2018. And the bird life – where do we even start? The list of species runs into the hundreds, and sounds like a roll-call of mythical creatures. Red-vented bulbuls, black drongos, white-rumped vultures, Tickell’s flowerpeckers, long-tailed shrikes and common snipes, to name a few. Bring your binoculars. Other destinations in this region India AhmedabadGujarat’s biggest city has it all – including World Heritage status – plus a little extra Delhi doesn’t have: a bit of peace and quiet. India Aurangabad, Ajanta & ElloraKnown for their rock-cut temples built over a millennium, the caves of Ajanta & Ellora are among the greatest masterpieces of the ancient world. India BhopalOne of our favorite unsung cities, Bhopal’s lakeside setting, Islamic old town and history of feisty female rulers are just a few of its draws. India BhujMughal palaces and sunbaked desert are the backdrop to laid-back Bhuj, where old-fashioned workshops produce some of the finest textiles in the world. India GwaliorJust a stone’s throw from the Golden Triangle, little-visited Gwalior boasts one of the most ostentatious palaces and the finest pre-Mughal fort in India. India KanhaKanha is absolutely magical. Covering a huge swathe of Madhya Pradesh's highlands with sal forest and grassy Savannah, it’s one of our favorite national parks in India. India KhajurahoA collection of World Heritage temples dating back over a thousand years, remarkable for being covered from top to toe in stunningly intricate carvings. India Little Rann of KutchA unique salt desert with diverse wildlife, engrossing local culture, and a history stretching back to the Indus Valley Civilizations. India MaheshwarStay at a converted fort with the descendants of a famous Maratha queen, and enjoy the magic of the Maheshwar countryside's ghats and riverside temples. India MumbaiHome of Bollywood, city of dreams, of haves and have-nots: Mumbai is extreme in every sense, and there’s no better people-watching on Earth. India OrchhaHidden for years in tangled scrub forest, Orchha’s tumbledown palaces, temples and cenotaphs hark back to the heyday of the once-great Bundela clan. India PannaA beautiful, little-visited national park, with open grasslands, deciduous forests, increasingly good tiger sightings and absolutely world-class bird-watching. Load More