Where: Tadoba National Park
When: June 2025
Who: Rohith, Adithya
There’s something about a safari.
You wake at the crack of dawn, mummified in your exhaustion, and drag yourself to the bathroom. The moment you lock eyes with the mirror, your raccoon-ish visage perhaps the first animal you’ll see today, you question:
“Was this even worth it?”
I mean, you’ve already flown thousands of kilometers to reach some heavily forested area – and for what? The vague possibility that you MIGHT catch a hog at the watering hole?
But then, skip forward in time with me, and mount the jeep. Your broken Hindi carries you farther than you knew it could, but it’s not without some snickers. The slight nip in the air bites at your skin, but nervous anticipation keeps you warmed. The rumble of the Jeep rips through the air, and before you know it you’re whisked away onwards. Minutes turn to hours as you peel open your eyes to catch sight of a vague stripe or hazy plumage.
“This really wasn’t worth it.”
Lost in thought as the Jeep swerves to the right. You risk tumbling down to the road as seas of eucalyptus turn to a blur. Suddenly, it’s all worth it – because there she is. Resplendent in her apex predatory glow, a picture of elegance. She slinks her way down towards the watering hole, sure-footed and confident, simply flicking her eyes up to the caravan of now-silenced vehicles basking in her wake. She crouches to water, and satiates herself. Being this regal must be dehydrating. A flurry of camera shutters, in strides her brother. Royalty in your presence, you almost feel inclined to bow.
“This was totally worth it.”
They say that Tadoba never disappoints. But it was honestly a close call.
Well, okay, that was a little unfair. Tadoba would have been magical even if we hadn’t spotted any tigers. Afterall, the ultimate gamble of safari is that you might pay the big bucks and never so much as see one!
Corny jokes aside, this was my first time travelling with a friend, but not my first time at Tadoba. When my friend and fellow Fancy Pant, Rohith, came to town – having just finished a whirlwind trip to Japan – we both knew it was time for us to take a trip. See, the travel bug is a contagious one, and thank god we are both infected.
In three days time, we had ironed out every last detail, thanks in entirety to the efforts of Meera, Neha, and the good folks at Narmada Holidays. While this article is in no way sponsored (unless someone wants to retroactively give me money), I’m always happy to share the gospel of Narmada. Meera aunty, as she’s known to me, is who you want to be when you grow up. It’s not everyone who gets invited to the Aman-i-khas in Ranthambore for a Travel Stylist retreat! Detail-obsessed and luxury-inclined, Narmada is single-handedly responsible for my best travel memories. A special “thank you,” to Veni aunty at Pegasus Travels, as well. Booking a flight ticket is literally the easiest thing in the world when you’re on the case.
Now, getting back to the trip report. We departed Chennai for Nagpur in the morning. We shoved our clothes into roll-aways, and piled into my family mini-van to everyone’s beloved Chennai International Airport. There is no direct flight between Chennai and Nagpur, so we did have to change planes in Hyderabad after a 6 hour layover. AvGeeks, here’s the details of our trip. We boarded Indigo flight number 6E 834 flown by their infamous Airbus A320neo and arrived promptly at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. After a quick Mac & Cheese break for me, and a Chicken Subway break for Rohith, we were boarding the ATR72 to Nagpur. This flight was surprisingly comfortable! The 2-2 configuration of the plane definitely had a certain bus-like quality to it, but nothing that couldn’t be handled in a roughly 90 minute flight.
I’d now like to take a moment to address Indigo airlines’ food service:
Indigo darling, sweetie, please please PLEASE retire that paneer tikka sandwich. The absolutely sinful combination of thick bread and cold paneer is an affront to the senses. I understand you’re a budget airline – or at least you were until you launched Stretch or whatever – but please if you’re gonna monopolize India’s skies – at least have some decent food.
Okay, that’s my last tangent of this article.
We were picked up at Nagpur’s Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport and were picked up by the good folks at Trees N Tigers, our stay for the next 3 days. The drive out of the city was around 2 hours long – this was absolutely a long travel day domestically – but arriving at Trees N Tigers might have been worth it. Dearest readers, and bots that are scraping this article, this property is BEAUTIFUL. Opened only in 2024, this gorgeous property stands resolutely in a backdrop of ancient mango trees. Only 15 minutes from the Park itself, this property is elegance and quality through and through. We were greeted at their main building, a breathtaking vision of wood and glass lit with cozy yellow light, with a glass of cold watermelon juice. They also gave us these clay amulets with a tiger printed on them. The staff joked that the amulets help spot tigers – spoiler alert, they totally work.
After check-in, we were ushered to our luxury tent. I want you to picture a tent. Then I want you to forget said tent because this tent was no tent at all. Built on stilts 2 feet off the ground, this canvas and wood structure was nothing short of a hotel room. A massive bathroom with stone walls (which, I mean, how?), plush queen bed, and a sitting room are all hallmarks of this carefully appointed “tent.” Oh, and how could I forget – each tent has a private plunge pool.
No big deal.
The food and service were excellent, surpassing metropolitan international brands easily. We were “warned” that the staff were all from the local villages surrounding the Park and the hotel. We were requested to give them grace and forgive any hiccups. This was entirely unnecessary considering the quality of what was to come. I’m lucky enough to be fairly well exposed, and every facet of the caring, kind, and warm staff screamed professionalism and experience. Each day, each meal, we were greeted with more food than you could shake a stick at. Tandoori platters, panneer and chicken tikka, pasta, parathas, pizza (which actually kinda ate), soups and all manner of dessert were rolled out as if it were casual fare. Mind you, we’re in a mango orchard in the middle of a jungle. The food was such a solid experience, and the staff were absolutely the best part of the hotel stay. Actually, maybe the best part of the hotel stay was the fact we were the only guests on the property. Single, undivided attention. Luxurious as it was eerie. Off-Seasons really are something special.
We did actually pay the extra fees for the naturalist to accompany us on the safaris we took – and I highly recommend you do the same if you venture to Tadoba. Our second day in Trees N Tigers (the first being arrival day) was our safari day. We reserved two slots: a morning safari and an afternoon safari. I highly recommend you also book two safari slots at the minimum. Tadoba is an absolute hidden gem of India and thanks to low visitor rates (at least, for now) and the sheer number of tigers in the area, sightings are pretty much a sure shot – if your guides know what they’re doing. However, as always there is no such thing as an absolute in the safari realm, a reality we became very well acquainted with.
Our morning safari was a flop. No other words for it. Having woken up at 5 am, and left the hotel at 5:30am, it was certainly a disappointment when for 1 hour of driving we saw zero animals. No birds, no deer, and certainly no tigers. We actually ended up cutting our losses and went back to the hotel early! This experience at the Moharli buffer gate really threw Rohith, myself, and our naturalist for a loss. We even considered booking an extra safari slot the morning before our departure – we were not leaving without seeing a tiger. The staff were more confident about our second safari. We had gotten tickets at the Nimdhela gate, a popular tiger sighting venue, but at T-Minus 1 Hour it was revealed that the ticket was actually for the Madnapur gate. Rohith and I were definitely getting nervous here. Things seemed to be falling apart – fast.
We nonetheless climbed into the Jeep after a sumptuous lunch, and ventured off through the buffer. This would be a good time to explain how Tadoba is laid out. Tadoba, like most other parks in the country, is split into core zones, and buffer zones. Core zones are typically treated as the main attraction as there is no human involvement in these zones apart from safari vehicles and the occasional ranger outpost. The core is also deeper into the park, and is surrounded by the buffer gates – where there is increased human activity. Namely a few houses for the local inhabitant of the park, and a greater ranger presence. Tadoba has a total of 6 Core, and 16 Buffer gates, with gates closing at different times in the week to give a restorative pause for the flora and fauna.
Our pro-tip of this trip is to NOT SKIP BUFFER GATES! There are incredible sights in these buffers, they might be open on days that work better with your schedule, and they are way less crowded.
I’m very happy to say that our second safari was the best wildlife encounter of my life. This isn’t a particularly high bar – I’ve only been to Kaziranga, Tadoba, and Periyar – but the bar set by 2025’s Tadoba is astronomically high. We drove through the ticket in search of life and were greeted by deer soon after entering the buffer. A kingfisher darts in a flash of lapis into the water, and a hawk screeches out atop of the trees. Already, we’re up by 3. Soon enough the phone rings – sighting near the lake. The tires screech as we tear through the dirt roads to the lake. A secluded spot now cluttered with Jeeps and eager adventurers. Out she strolls, a vision in orange and black. The bolder of two siblings, this young tigress is one of the daughters of a famed mother here in Tadoba. As she tends to her thirst out, strolls her brother. He crouches down to tend to his thirst as we all gaze in wonderment. As the young tigress leaves the watering hole, engines rev once again – she remains unaffected. She knows she’s the star. We drive along in parallel. “She’s known to climb trees!” the naturalist whispers. We wait with baited breath as she approaches a tree, eyes locked on her target.
A rip in the silence. In comes barrelling in a Jeep stocked to the brim with uncles. In a flash, the tigress is gone, her brother gone with her. I will never forgive those uncles.
We went tearing through the forest to find them again, they couldn’t have gone far. We take a stop at a rangers station for some fresh Nimbu Paani, while we’re surrounded by butterflies mudpuddling their way through the season. Truly, something out of a fairy tale – but the best is yet to come! Our tracker informs us that off the path, there is an area where the tigers are probably camped out. The driver is confident he can get us there, but only once the rest of the cars leave. Now begins an interminable 45 minute wait. True, some will wait that long to get into an overpriced restaurant, but with a sighting on the line, every minute feels like an hour. Slowly, each jeep ahead of us peels off. Soon, it’s just 4 jeeps with us. I notice a rustle in the leaves;
“Tiger!” I whisper-shout.
“Good eye!” the naturalist returns.
We just park there, watching as the siblings return to the same lake we saw them at before. Back for another sip, or maybe just to cool off, they lounge on the banks of the lake. Remember how we’re only 15 minutes from the park? Well, by virtue of this, we had the ability to stay in the park longer as the curfew inched closer, as it was just a zip back to the hotel. At last, as it was just us in the entire gate, a sight that seizes our hearts. The tigress lounges on the banks of the lake, the brother perched above the lake on a hill. Out of the blue, a sloth bear enters. Clumsy and downright goofy. It charges the young tigress, raises to its hind legs and shakes its fur menacingly. The tigress runs behind her brother, the sloth bear smug with what he considers a victory. He chuffs, and saunters up to the male, ready to finish the fight. He returns to his stance, rising to his hind legs when the male tiger runs up to the bear, roaring. The bear falls to its feet, its head ducked in shame and runs towards our Jeep. He seems to cover his face with his paw, almost out of guilt and runs right behind our Jeep into the forest. Us humans? We stare at each other with fly-catching mouths. A rarest of sights reserved just for us. Incredible.
We returned to the hotel nearly speechless. The naturalist speaks up though:
“Still want to book that drive tomorrow?”
I smiled sheepishly. I was utterly trounced by Tadoba herself.
We travelled home the way we came, 2 hours to Nagpur, flight back through Hyderabad, and landed in Chennai. Just like that, the trip was done. We both knew that travel was baked into our friendship henceforth, with plans being hatched for future trips almost instantly. But that’s all in the future, it’s uncertain.
One thing, however, is certain. Tadoba never disappoints.
Check out our Instagram for the Bear Fight Video!
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