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A rustle here. A splash of water there. A bird taking off. Alarm calls of Spotted Deer. A hint of gold and black glistening through the foliage. Welcome to the tiger kingdom of Tadoba!
Many enigmatic mammals, including the stealthy Leopard, hunting packs of Dholes (or Wild Dogs), the furry Sloth Bears, herds of Gaurs, Spotted Deer, Sambar and Nilgai, share this forest with the majestic tiger. And an amazing diversity of birds too!
Darter Photography takes you on “Tiger Tales – Wildlife Photography Tour of Tadoba”. Explore the forest over 6 safaris. Witness some dramatic moments in the wild. And, may be, even create your own Tiger Tales with your camera!
Jump to ◆ Overview ◆ Itinerary ◆ Highlights ◆ Is this tour for you? ◆ Tour Price ◆ Photography Mentor ◆ Getting to Tadoba ◆ Sign Up
Overview
A couple of hours drive from the bustling city of Nagpur leads us into the heart of tiger country – Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. Maharashtra’s oldest and largest tiger reserve holds a healthy tiger population, in addition to many other mammal and bird species.
We’ll drive out into this forest twice everyday in search of the elusive cat. In the relative comfort (and viewing convenience) of an open-top safari jeep, we’ll experience the beauty of the forest around us while we keep our eyes peeled out for a glint of gold and black stripes. Along the way, we might also come across other mammals like leopards, dholes, sloth bears, chitals, sambars, gaurs and many more.
The park also has an amazing diversity of birds. Crested Serpent Eagles and Crested Hawk-Eagles can be seen hunting for prey. Incredibly colourful Indian Pittas, Orange-headed Thrushes and Flycatchers are common in the park. Racket-tailed Drongos with their long beautiful tails and Indian Rollers flying around colourfully offer many photographic opportunities. Spotting the golden eyes of the otherwise camouflaged Spotted Owlets adds to the thrill.
Travel with Darter Photography to this theatre of nature where each day brings you new sightings, activities and excitement. And of course, plenty of photographs and learning on wildlife photography.
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Tadoba before 1PM. After a brief introduction and briefing about the park, we head out for our first safari into Tadoba. The beautiful deciduous forest, scattered with meadows and lakes, is home to many mammals like Tiger, Leopard, Wild Dogs, Sloth Bear, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Nilgai and Grey Langurs. One may also encounter the elusive Four-horned Antelope or the Madras Tree Shrew. Your mentor will guide you through the safari on photography techniques and help you gain a better understanding of the forest.
In the evening, we’ll have a session on wildlife photography techniques. Your mentor will also quickly review your photographs from the evening session. After dinner, we retire to our rooms for the day.
Days 2 to 3: We head out towards the forest before sunrise. Tigers can be seen at anytime; so keep looking out while enjoying the forest. The experienced drivers will help us maximize our chances of seeing and photographing the big cats. We will also work on understanding the importance of different moods and light in wildlife photography by stopping whenever an interesting setting presents itself.
We return to the resort for breakfast. In the afternoon, your photography mentor will assist you on topics of wildlife photography or review the images taken in the previous sessions.
Late in the afternoon, we head out for the second safari of the day exploring these beautiful forests till sunset.
In the evening, we will exchange notes on our sightings, review images that we have shot and have discussions on wildlife photography. Your mentor will give you his inputs on the images and help you capture better images as the days progress.
Day 4:The last safari of the tour is here. Another early morning start for another early morning in the forest. By now, you will have spent some beautiful moments with wildlife – be it watching langurs play with their babies, tigers walking majestically across your jeep, wild dogs in their small groups, peafowls dancing, or whistling teals swimming in the calm waters. A lot of them will be permanently captured in your cameras as you head back to the resort for breakfast. After breakfast, we depart from Tadoba towards Nagpur and beyond.
Tour Highlights
Is this Tour for You?
Tiger Tales – Wildlife Photography Tour of Tadoba is ideal for you if you have an interest in watching and photographing wildlife – from mighty tigers to herds of Spotted Deer to beautiful birds. Your photography mentor will guide you on photographing wildlife and will assist you in every step of making good photographs. As in all our tours, the group size would be limited so that the your photography mentor can interact closely with every participant.
Wildlife enthusiasts who are not photographers, but are keen to see and experience Tadoba, are also welcome to join this group. This wildlife adventure will keep you enthralled from start to finish.
Our tour is designed in such a way that we
Tour Price
The tour price for Tiger Tales – Wildlife Photography Tour of Tadoba is Rs.47,950 per person (incl. of all taxes). The tour starts and ends in Tadoba.
Last date for registration is August 15, 2023. Safaris have to be booked in advance and all the participant names are mandatory for this. The earlier we book, we have a better chance of getting zones with more wildlife activity.
The cost includes
The cost does not include
Cancellation Policy for Tiger Tales Photography Tour of Tadoba:
– 30% of full tour fee is charged as cancellation fee for cancellation on or 65 days before start of the tour.
– 70% of full tour fee is charged as cancellation fee for cancellation between 64-10 days before start of the tour.
– No refunds for cancellation on or after 9 days before start of the tour or for no-show.
Please note that the above is subject to favourable weather and other conditions. In case of any obstacles, we will do our best to make alternate plans. The cost of the tour or any part of it will not be refunded in the event of unfavourable conditions during the tour days.
Photography Mentor – Sagameshwar Ghattargi
Sangameshwar spent his childhood in Solapur and, like many other kids of his age, was more interested in the outdoors than school work. He is currently working as Consultant at 3D Engineering, Pune which provides software solutions to Pharma and Automotive industry. For over a decade now, he has rekindled his love for wildlife, camera in hand. He has travelled across India photographing a wide variety of wildlife, including birds and mammals. Apart from photography, he loves cycling and social work.
View some of his photographs on his Instagram profile here.
Getting To Tadoba
By Air
The closest airport to Tadoba is Nagpur (around 150km by road). The drive should take you around 3 hours.
By Train
The closest railhead to Tadoba is Chandrapur (around 35km by road). The drive should take you around an hour.
We’ll facilitate cab-pooling from Nagpur or Chandrapur depending upon your flight/train timings. We recommend that you arrive by 9AM in Nagpur or 11AM in Chandrapur on Day 1. On Day 4, please ensure that your flight out of Nagpur is after 4PM or your train from Chandrapur is after 1PM.
Sign Up
To Sign up for the tour or for further information, please fill up the form below. You can also email us at photography@darter.in or call Shreeram (+91 9740083260)