23 Nights
24 Days
Your Big Cats of India Wildlife Tour will start as you arrive in Delhi. Our tour representative will be there at Delhi Airport/ Delhi Railway Station to greet you. We will then drive to the pre-booked hotel in Delhi. After you have checked into the hotel you can spend the remaining day at leisure. After dinner, you will have overnight rest and stay in Delhi.
After breakfast and check-out from Delhi, we will board the flight to Rajkot. On arrival at Rajkot Airport, we will drive to Sasan Gir. We will check into the jungle lodge/ wildlife resort in Sasan Gir and you can refresh yourself from the journey. Later you will go for a jeep safari in Gir National Park and have the first views of the Asiatic Lion. This magnificent carnivore is one of the first big cats you will spot on this tour. The dry scrub forests in Gir National Park are an ideal habitat for the Asiatic Lion to thrive. After the jeep safari is over you will return to the resort and have dinner an overnight stay and rest.
Today you will go for a morning and afternoon jeep safari in Gir National Park. This national park is the only place in India where you will find the Asiatic Lion in its natural habitat. At Gir Lion Safari you will not see them in cages or enclosures but in the open savannah forests, where they roam freely in the wild. The sight of lions and their cubs is sure to send you into waves of excitement. There are many water holes in Gir and you can view other jungle creatures here like Chital, Nilgai, Bengal Fox, Honey Badger, Asiatic Wild Cat, Striped Hyenas, birds, and more. You will also visit some Hindu temples and natural springs in Gir. At the edges of this national park, you can spot the Indian Gazelle, called blackbuck. After this jeep safari in Gir National Park, you will return to your jungle resort and have dinner and an overnight stay.
Today is another day in Gir National Park and you will go on a jeep safari in the morning and evening times. Gir is a protected area, and formerly this was the hunting grounds of the Nawab of Junagadh. Apart from the Asiatic Lions, Gir is home to several other carnivores like leopards, jungle cats, Asiatic Wildcat, rusty-spotted cats, striped hyenas, golden jackals, Indian Grey Mongoose, and Ruddy Mongoose. You can easily spot hares, porcupines, chinkara, blackbucks, nilgai, and sambar deer. You can target the birds today and spot brown-capped pygmy woodpecker, black-headed oriole, brown fish owl, Indian peafowl, Indian eagle-owl, crested treeswift, rock bush-quail, changeable hawk-eagle, crested serpent eagle, Indian Pitta, and the endangered Bonelli's eagle. If you go near the water bodies and water holes, you might spot mugger crocodiles, monitor lizards, tortoises, pangolins, and wild boar. You will now head back to your wildlife resort in Gir National Park and rest here for the night.
You will go for a jeep safari in the morning and you can spot the Asiatic Lion for one last time in the wilderness of Gir National Park. Later you will check-out from Sasan Gir and proceed to Ahmedabad by road. You can check into the hotel in Ahmedabad on your arrival and have the rest of the day at leisure. You will have dinner and an overnight stay in Ahmedabad
You can check-out from Ahmedabad after having breakfast. We will now proceed towards Bera in Rajasthan. You will check into the jungle lodge/ wildlife resort on arrival in Bera. This small town in the Aravalli Hills is where you will spot the Leopard. Bera is very popularly called ‘Leopard Country’ as more than 90 leopards roam here freely. The scrub vegetation, thorny scrub forest, rugged hilly terrain, caves, and rocky patches are the ideal natural habitat for the leopards. This is also the place where you will see the Rabari tribesmen, herding their cattle. Due to the huge leopard population in Bera, you get very good leopard sightings here.
But the best thing about Bera is that it has not yet been declared a wildlife sanctuary or a national park. Hence there is no limit to the time you can view the leopards and other wildlife at Bera. The Jawai Dam nearby is also best for bird watching. Many migratory birds can be seen here in the winter season, as also the resident birds. You can spot water birds, raptors, and migratory birds here. Demoiselle Crane, Greylag Goose, Robin Accentor, and Bar-headed Geese are some birds you might see here. The Mugger Crocodiles live in the waters of the reservoir and they are also present in large numbers.
After checking in at the jungle lodge/ resort, you can take a short walk around Bera and view its natural terrain and the beauty of the Aravalli landscapes. Later you will return to your lodge and rest here for the night.
We will go for wildlife viewing and a jeep safari in Bera in the morning and evening. You can spot the leopards in the hills, caves, and thorny vegetation. The leopards live here in their natural habitat of Bera. You can target, not just leopards, but view other creatures as well in this wildlife viewing session. You can catch sight of the nilgai, chinkara, antelopes, gazelles, jungle cats, mongoose, sloth bear, and hyena.
You can spot many crocodiles in the Jawai Dam reservoir. This water body is also famous for its birdlife. You can spot pond herons, parakeets, black ibis, oriental magpie robins, common sandpipers, black-shouldered kite, osprey, owls, grey-headed canary fly-catcher, red-throated flycatcher, large cuckoo shrike, Asian openbill stork, pelicans, ruddy shelduck, common sandpiper, Indian Robin, Sarus Crane, Demoiselle Crane among other birds. After this wildlife viewing and leopard sighting sessions, you will return to your lodge and rest here for the night.
After breakfast, you will check-out from Bera and proceed to Jaipur by road. You can check into the hotel in Jaipur and spend the rest of the day at leisure. After dinner, you will have an overnight stay and rest.
You will check-out from Jaipur after breakfast and then proceed to Ranthambore. You will check into the wildlife resort/ lodge/ hotel in Ranthambore. Later you will go for a jeep/ canter safari in Ranthambore and spot the incredible wildlife here. Later you will return to your forest lodge and rest for the night.
Ranthambore is one of the best places in Rajasthan to watch tigers in the wild. The hilly terrain, water holes, grassy meadows, and dense forests are ideal habitats for tigers. Ranthambore Fort is the fort after whom the national park is named. Ranthambore Fort is one of the best heritage forts in Rajasthan and is very popular with tourists who visit Ranthambore National Park.
During your jeep safari in Ranthambore National Park, you can spot not just tigers, but leopards, nilgai, chital, chinkara, wild boar, langur monkeys, mongoose, and other creatures.
Today you will go on a jeep safari during the morning and evening times in Ranthambore. This will be a full day of wildlife viewing and bird watching. The Royal Bengal Tiger is the most famous animal in Ranthambore. Most tourists who come to Ranthambore want to view the tiger only. But tourists also get a chance to spot other animals during their tiger safari. The most common jungle creatures they come across are the peafowls, wild boar, chinkara, sambar deer, nilgai, langur monkeys, and mugger crocodiles. After this wildlife safari in Ranthambore, you will return to your hotel and rest here for the night.
You will wake up once more in Ranthambore and go for tiger safari in the morning and evening times. You can target the birds this time and go for bird-watching walks and jeep drives. Ranthambore has around 300 bird species and if you are a bird lover you will have an exciting day of bird watching in Ranthambore.
You can hear bird calls in the forests and proceed in the direction to spot a few birds. At times you will be greeted with animals and spot them from a distance. Some birds that you can spot in Ranthambore are Great Cormorants, Painted Spurfowl, Bronzed winged Jacana, Kingfishers, Painted Sandgrouse, Indian Eagle Owl, Nightjars, Sandpipers. Some birds here are winter migrants who have come from Central Asian countries, China and Russia.
Depending on the wildlife zone you are visiting you can view old hunting lodge ruins around the lakes and water bodies. Some like the Raj Bagh were once the hunting lodge of the Maharajas. You may also spot Jogi Mahal near Padam Talao. After this wildlife safari in Ranthambore, you will have an overnight stay in the jungle lodge in Ranthambore.
Today you will have a morning wildlife safari in Ranthambore. Later you will check-out from Ranthambore and proceed to Sawai Madhopur Railway Station. You will board the train for Delhi and reach Delhi Railway Station. Our tour representative will now meet you at the railway station and transfer you to the pre-booked hotel in Delhi. You will check-in at the hotel and then spend the time at leisure.
After you check-out from Delhi you will board the flight to Chandigarh. On arrival at Chandigarh Airport, our tour representative will meet you at the airport and we will drive to Shimla. On arrival in Shimla, you can check into the hotel. Now you will spend the remaining day in Shimla at leisure. You will have an overnight stay in Shimla.
You will check-out from Shimla today and proceed to Rampur by car. You will check-in at the hotel in Rampur and then spend the rest of the day at leisure. You will have overnight rest and stay in Rampur.
Today we will check-out from Rampur and drive to Tabo. This will be a drive of around 11-12 hours and when you will reach Tabo depends on the weather and road conditions. Tabo is a town in the Lahaul & Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. You will check into the homestay in Tabo and need to acclimatize yourself to the thin mountain air. This is a region where we will have the chance to spot the most elusive wild cat in India, which is none other than the Snow Leopard.
Today morning we will visit the Tabo Monastery. Later we will drive to Kibber. The rugged cliffs, and cold desert terrain here is apt for sighting the snow leopard. You can adjust your camera settings and be prepared to spot the snow leopard in its natural habitat, which is the high Himalayas of the Spiti region.
You may get good sightings in the rugged cliffs and boulders, and spotting a snow leopard is a skill in itself. The Snow Leopard is a master in camouflage and its white and grey fur blends perfectly to the rugged mountain cliffs. You will have to acclimatize yourself otherwise you can fall sick due to mountain sickness and this you must avoid at all costs.
You will now continue your drive to Kibber and check into the homestay here. You can take a short walk around the place and familiarize yourself with the terrain and the environment. If there is any news of snow leopard sightings you will get it soon. If there is a possibility of a snow leopard sighting, we will take an SUV vehicle so that we reach the site as fast as we can. This is also necessary as the snow leopards do not stay in one place and move around very swiftly in search of prey.
In a place like the Spiti Valley, it is not always possible to get good snow leopard sightings. However, there are some vantage points from where you can get good views of the snow leopard. You may take the yak ride if you don’t want to burn your energy trekking and hiking.
You will have 4-5 days when you should get good sightings of the snow leopard. You will most certainly get news of a snow leopard if the spotters have sighted it. If such is the case, you can start immediately for the sighting. But in other cases, you must stay in your homestay and wait till the news of a good snow leopard sighting is near. You can also view other wildlife around like Blue Sheep, Ibex, and Red Fox.
You can take the SUVs to drive up to certain areas for good snow leopard sightings. This is also an opportunity to spot and photograph other wildlife around this region. You can always consider yourself lucky if you get a good photograph of the snow leopard. This will be your daily routine for these days in Kibber.
Today we will check check-out from Kibber and proceed by vehicle to Rampur, Himachal Pradesh. We will check into the hotel in Rampur and have dinner and overnight rest and stay.
We will check-out from Rampur today after breakfast and proceed to reach Chandigarh by road. We will check into the hotel in Chandigarh and have an overnight stay.
We will check-out from Chandigarh and our tour representative will drop you off at Chandigarh Airport. You will now board the flight to Delhi. On arriving in Delhi you can board the train/ flight to your hometown.
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