India & Nepal Save the Tiger

Itinerary

• Day01

  Arrive in New Delhi

  Welcome to India! Meet an MT Sobek representative at the airport and transfer to your hotel. Check-in is in the afternoon, so if your flight arrives much before then and you'd like your room upon arrival, it will be at your expense. After some well-needed rest, begin your exploration of Delhi, whose elaborate temples, mosques, forts, and monuments are the stuff of legends. Come evening, meet the group and MTS guide Brian Weirum at 6:00 pm for a trip orientation. Then enjoy a festive welcome dinner to kick off your adventure in India and Nepal.

  • Accommodation: Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi
  • Meals: Dinner
• Day02

  Experience the Comfortable Tiger's Den Resort in Tala

  Spend much of today traveling from New Delhi to Tala. Fly to Jabalpur, then transfer to Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Along the route, pass bucolic farmland and traditional villages, watching locals go about their daily tasks. End the day at Tiger's Den, a comfortable resort made up of private guest cottages in the small town of Tala, which is adjacent to the park.

  • Accommodation: Tiger's Den Resort
  • Transportation: 2-hour flight transfer & 3.5-hour private van transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day03

  Rise for a Tiger Safari in Bandhavgarh National Park

  Rise early and head out for a guided 4WD safari through dry, deciduous forests, rocky hillsides, and vast open meadows in search of the Royal Bengal tiger. At 9 or 10 am, return to the resort for a leisurely breakfast. Spend the hottest part of the day at the resort, strolling the grounds, swimming in the pool, or relaxing in your cottage. After lunch, head back to the park to track wildlife until sundown, when you return to the resort for the evening.

  • Accommodation: Tiger's Den Resort
  • Activity: 2-4 hour tiger safari
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day04

  More Tiger Spotting in Bandhavgarh National Park

  Spend another glorious day seeking Bengals in Bandhavgarh. Created in 1968, the park comprises 173 square miles in the vast central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This beautiful preserve is dominated by Bandhavgarh Fort, a massive plateau rising 1,000 feet from the Indian plains and former home of the Maharajah of Rewa. The alleged progenitor of all white tigers, Mohan, came from the forests of Rewa, only a short distance from Bandhavgarh National Park.

  • Accommodation: Tiger's Den Resort
  • Activity: 2-4 hour tiger safari
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day05

  Final Day in Bandhavgarh National Park

  Repeat days 3 and 4, looking for tigers in the park while learning about their lives, habitats, and threats to their survival.

  • Accommodation: Tiger's Den Resort
  • Activity: 2-4 hour tiger safari
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day06

  Morning Game Drive & Journey to Khajuraho

  Early this morning, head out on a game drive from the resort through a dry and rocky forest in search of grey langurs, sambars, muntjac, wild boar, rhesus macaques, nilgai, chinkara, jackals, jungle cats, and mongoose. You also may spot leopards, gaurs, sloth bears, hares, and Indian foxes. After enjoying a full breakfast back at the resort, set out for a long drive to your comfortable, well-appointed hotel in Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its elaborate Hindu and Jain temples from the 10th-century Chandela dynasty.

  • Accommodation: Lalit Temple View
  • Activity: Morning game drive
  • Transportation: 5.5-hour private van transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day07

  Visit the Khajuraho Monuments & Return to Delhi

  This morning, tour Khajuraho's famous Chandela dynasty temples, built during the 10th century and symbolic of the era's tolerance for religious differences. Only twenty of the original temples remain, primarily dedicated to Hindu and Jain gods. Enjoy this incredible site before boarding an afternoon flight back to Delhi. This evening, dine with Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, a nonprofit organization dedicated to monitoring illegal wildlife poaching and illegal trade, and learn about the many challenges contributing to the Royal Bengal tigers' extinction.

  • Accommodation: Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi
  • Activity: Cultural touring and wildlife talks
  • Transportation: 3-hour flight transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day08

  Fly to Kathmandu, the Heart of Nepal

  After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, pack your bags and prepare for a scenic midday flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. Upon landing, transfer to the Yak & Yeti, a five-star hotel in the city. This 100-year-old palace is situated centrally and boasts beautiful gardens, fine woodcarvings, and local textiles. Settle into the hotel, enjoy lunch on your own, and then gather this evening for a cocktail party and tiger talk hosted by Brian, who will explain the tiger conservation efforts going on in Bardia National Park.

  • Accommodation: Yak & Yeti Hotel
  • Transportation: 2-hour flight transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
• Day09

  Scenic Flight to Bardia National Park

  Take a short but scenic 45-minute morning flight to Nepalgunj, the gateway to some of Nepal's best-preserved wilderness areas. Upon arrival, transfer by Land Rover to the serene Karnali Lodge, a luxury eco-lodge on the edge of Bardia National Park, your home for four nights. The lodge offers a truly unique experience with an organic vegetable garden, and with soothing, simply designed guest rooms. Tonight enjoy a sumptuous dinner made with produce from the garden and other locally sourced products.

  • Accommodation: Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge
  • Transportation: 45-minute flight & 2-hour private van transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day10

  Explore Bardia National Park

  While in Bardia National Park, take early-morning and late-afternoon game drives in 4WD vehicles, or nature walks to places where rhinos or tigers are likely to appear. Viewing tigers can be unpredictable: a blur of black and gold bolting through the forest or coming across one staring out at you from the tall grass. Nothing is more thrilling than spotting a tiger in the wild!

  • Accommodation: Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge
  • Activity: Tiger safari
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day11

  Tiger Spotting in Bardia National Park

  Spend another day exploring Bardia National Park and spotting the elusive tiger. Bardia National Park is Nepal's largest and best-preserved wilderness area. It is home to over 30 species of mammals and 250 species of birds, including a healthy and stable tiger population and Nepal's one-horned rhinoceros. Bardia and its surrounding forests and jungle are at the very heart of tiger habitat in Nepal, and are a critical focus for the funds raised by this trip.

  • Accommodation: Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge
  • Activity: Tiger safari
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day12

  Final Day in Bardia National Park

  Repeat Days 10 and 11, looking for tigers, rhinos, and other wildlife in Bardia National Park.

  • Accommodation: Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge
  • Activity: Tiger safari
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day13

  Return to Kathmandu

  This morning, transfer to the airport in Nepalgunj for your flight back to Kathmandu. Upon arrival, check into the hotel and then have some time to relax before Brian leads a late-afternoon stroll through the vibrant, ancient streets of old Kathmandu. Soak in the energy and atmosphere of monasteries converted to homes, merchants and artisans busy at work, and the bustling life of the city's residents.

  • Accommodation: Yak & Yeti Hotel
  • Transportation: 45-minute flight transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast
• Day14

  See the Sights of Kathmandu

  After breakfast, visit the holy temple of Pashupatinath, along with one of Kathmandu's most famous landmarks, the ancient Buddhist stupa at Boudhnath - the center of Tibetan Buddhist culture in Kathmandu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, and the largest chorten in the world. The afternoon is then yours for lunch and solo exploration. Visit the city's many interesting sights, shrines, and markets. Don't miss Durbar Square, Thamel, Swayambhunath (the Monkey Temple), the King's Palace, or fascinating Asan Tole bazaar. You might choose to hire a driver to take you to the nearby ancient city of Patan. Come together to enjoy a farewell dinner tonight. (MT Sobek can arrange an optional afternoon visit to Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple)

  • Accommodation: Yak & Yeti Hotel
  • Activity: City and cultural touring
  • Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
• Day15

  Depart from Kathmandu

  After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight home. If you'd like to extend your Asian adventure with quick trips to Tibet, India, Bhutan, or Southeast Asia, MT Sobek offers several interesting extensions—call us for details!

  • Meals: Breakfast