So far, India has been a mirage of hot sandy roads, beeping horns, colonial opulence, aromatic foods, wilderness and tigers. From Delhi to Bandhavgarh, to Kanha and back to Delhi, I am now sat here on my laptop ready to tell you everything.
Introducing India
The glass doors of the airport opened, and I saw my first glimpse of India. Busy, beeping and colourful as I had expected, India was simultaneously familiar and intriguingly unknown. The immediate waft of thick heat greeted us with a warm arm, confirming that this was the start of a remarkable experience.
The extremely courteous personnel from Banyan Tours cordially greeted us with a Namaste and a gentle insistence that they carry the luggage to the air-conditioned Innova car that was waiting to take us through the race-course roads of Delhi. We zoomed past small, tri-wheeled ‘tuk tuk’ style taxis which clunked along beside Range Rovers and rickety buses of the same reds, browns, greens, oranges and sandy yellows of the streets and surrounding architecture. My jaw opened of its own accord as we watched the sights of Delhi; my first impression of India was a fusion of urban development, fast traffic and colourful markets... and it was utterly consuming.
At Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi we were greeted by exquisitely dressed, turbaned door-stewards who opened the car doors and greeted us with a “hello ma’am”. It seemed that every door held a new surprise behind it... My jaw struggled to stay closed yet again as I saw the steps leading into the lavish interiors of the foyer. The décor was classic, and integrally Indian, with painted images of ancient aristocracy, tasselled cushions and golden hanging lanterns. Eventually my eyes took focus upon the hotel manager standing atop the stairs holding his hand out to us. Our ascension to paradise had begun. We were given a traditional Indian welcome by a woman in an intricately designed sari who rotated a candle, a tray of flower petals and a golden tub of red powder in front of us, before pressing her finger into the powder and onto our foreheads to give us a bindi.
The opulent furnishings at Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi
We were then guided to our room where we had lovely biscuits and masala tea waiting for us. The room was beautiful; it had a wonderful view of the pool below, as well as a bathroom with a glass wall making for a perfectly romantic couples’ room, although there was also a screen for privacy if preferred.
To recover from our long journey we headed to the pool which had sun-loungers with fresh white towels, cold water bottles and sun cream provided by a pleasingly attentive staff member – he offered us amenities we didn't know we wanted until he made them available to us!
Arriving at Mahua Kothi Safari Lodge in Bandhavgarh
We were woken up at 5AM the next morning at Taj Palace by a prompt wake-up call buzzed through to our room. Although Jet-lagged, we managed to hop out of bed, shower, change and make sure all of our belongings were reassembled before we headed downstairs. We couldn’t wait to reach our first Indian safari resort!
After a flight from Delhi to Jabalpur, we were escorted through winding, gravelly roads, bypassing colourful rural villages which were an interesting backdrop to our journey. We drove through the swinging gates of Mahua Kothi where the managers were waiting for us, waving, with lemon-iced water garnished with sprigs of mint and a chilled, damp flannel; a refreshing greeting that we were later treated to after every trip to the safari park reserve.
The lodges were a short walk along a lantern-lit sandy path, through the communal dining area and outdoor lounge decking space, and were absolutely gorgeous. When we arrived, the aromas of the incense, fragrant soaps, home-made rose scented body scrubs, spicy shampoos and creamy coconut conditioners that lay complimentary in the open rain-shower were detected in the atmosphere before we knew what they were. The room was decorated with Indian artefacts, including a traditional game consisting of a hand-made, embroidered cloth, with colourful thread balls and shells, three metallic Indian hunters on the walls and a large tin fire-truck atop the wardrobe. It was at once luxurious and rustic.
Our lodge at Mahua Kothi
Before dinner I ordered a gin & tonic, as I’d heard it keeps mosquitos at bay, and Nicola ordered a light and fruity Indian white wine named Sula. Our first Indian meal at Mahua Kothi consisted of a cold mango soup flavoured with some sort of masala and cumin, and then a wooden tray of small dishes with vegetables, keema and chilli curry, chicken curry, rice, okra (and Indian vegetable also known as bindi or ladies’ finger), and a small dish of daal and coriander chilli sauce, with chipatis and roti. Needless to say, our trouser buttons were bursting open by the time our panacotta with caramelised orange sauce dessert arrived… we couldn’t help but eat it anyway.
Safaris in the Indian Jungle
The next day we awoke at 4:15AM when housekeeping brought us morning tea and biscuits. We then met our personal safari guide nicknamed P.S. who took us on a Jeep to Bandharvgarh Tiger Reserve. We drove past the Mahua trees (from which the safari lodge gets it name) that produce flowers used to make a strong local alcoholic spirit. It was hot, fresh and extremely exciting to know that we were to enter the jungle and be mere feet away from rare and wild creatures roaming the grassy earth as nature intended. We saw monkeys munching on leaves or bouncing up trees with babies fastened to their navels, stately spotted deer standing alert, peacocks displaying their intricately marked feather tails, an owl, rare hares, vultures, eagles, bats, butterflies and snakes. It was invigorating to discover so much wildlife, and even spot some creatures ourselves.
After much patience, the star of the show arrived. We drove upon a shallow pool, where a female tiger was bathing to quell the heat of the sun. Absolutely beautiful, regal and powerful, she was looking upon her spectators like aloof aristocracy accustomed to being marvelled at. It was a fantastic ending to a wonderful stay at Mahua Kothi.
The Tiger glaring at its prey...
Tiger Spotting
Our next safari experience was to be at Banjaar Tola at Kanha Park, the largest tiger reserve in this region of India. Reputed to be denser, larger and greener, we noticed a clear difference in environment as we drove up towards its vast scenery. Banjaar Tola (meaning a cluster of homes surrounding the river Banjaar) is equally remarkable, consisting of two camps of nine identical static tent lodges each, most with views overlooking Banjaar river. The quality of the suite was superb, especially as we had our own glass wall with doors opening out onto a decking with camping-esque sun loungers and a beautiful view of the river and forest.
The 4AM safari wake-up calls became increasingly easy. We eagerly enjoyed our breakfast of Scottish porridge with raisins, honey and whiskey before heading out into the jungle. We were tracking sloth bears and tigers mainly, whilst also learning about the types of bird, the distress calls and other behaviours exhibited by the endemic wildlife surrounding us. The drives are much longer at Kanha, and occur twice a day, meaning we were either on safari, eating or sleeping. A large component of our trips into the jungle was to see another wild tiger, and we were starting to think that we were out of luck. But, towards the end of our last long drive I saw a movement in the thickets… a tail… and moving white paws. Our curly moustached naturist confirmed that there was a tigress moving in our direction and praised me with a “good spotting!”. The tigress slinked onto the road and froze, glaring at the oblivious deer across the field as we stood, entranced. We spent some time observing our very own Shere Khan mark her territory and drink from a nearby pool, as I sat, thinking of taking up a new hobby in tiger-spotting.
To find out what happened next in our Luxury India Trip, read Part 2!
Our safari experience was unforgettable, and we can’t wait for our next adventure in India. To start planning your own Luxury India Safari Experience call one of our specialists on 0161 233 0110!