Day 1 : Flight to Kolkata
Depart UK Today depart London Heathrow on the overnight flight to Kolkata,
flying with British Airways.
Day 2 : Kolkata (Calcutta)
On arrival you will be met and transferred to the Park Hotel, where you
spend 1-night on a bed and breakfast basis. In the afternoon you will enjoy
an escorted sightseeing tour of one of India’s most fascinating cities.
Days
3 to 5 : Kaziranga National Park
This morning you are transferred to Calcutta airport in time for your
flight to Guwahati, the capital of Assam. You are met on arrival at Guwahati
and transferred by road to Kaziranga National Park, arriving in time for
that afternoon’s game activities. Kaziranga National Park, set on the
banks of the mighty Brahamaputra River, is the finest place to view Indian
Greater One Horned Rhinoceros in the whole of the sub-continent. With nearly
80% of the world’s population resident, the park has been recognised as
a World Heritage site. In addition to fantastic rhino viewing the park is
also home to large herds of elephant and wild buffalo. Tigers can also be
found but are rarely seen in the long grass. You will spend the next
3-nights here staying at the Wild Grass Lodge. Your stay here is on a full
board basis including jungle activities. Most importantly you will take 3
elephants rides into the park offering you the best chances for close up
viewing of the rhinos. The Wild Grass Lodge is situated by a stream in the
paddy fields and forest outside Kaziranga National Park area. Built in an
attractive rural style kind of architecture, the resort's surrounding ground
is covered with more than 40 species of trees over 200 species of shrubs,
creepers and climbers. Wild Grass Jungle Lodge provides 18 double rooms in 2
jungle lodges. The rooms in the Jungle Lodge have attached bathrooms with
hot & cold water facilities. Whilst at Wild Grass it may also be
possible to arrange a trip to the nearby Panbari Forest Reserve to look for
the elusive Hoolock Gibbon, India’s only ape.
Day 6 : Kolkata (Calcutta)
Today you transfer back to Guwahati for your flight to Kolkata. You will
spend 1 further night at the Park Hotel on a bed and breakfast basis.
Day 7 : Kathmandu
Today you will be transferred to the airport in time for your flight to
Kathmandu. Upon arrival you will be met and transferred to Dwarika’s
Hotel, where you stay for 1-night on a bed and breakfast basis. Dwarika’s
is totally unique, combining cultural restoration and traditional Nepali
hospitality. The late Dwarika Das Shrestha took it upon himself to preserve
the architectural glory of Kathmandu by collecting woodcraft from the area
and, over the years, incorporating each item into the building of a hotel.
The hotel provides spacious and luxurious accommodation in 74 rooms and
suites. Each room is individually decorated with 16th Century windows in
many rooms and furniture custom designed from traditional patterns.
Days 8 to 10 : Chitwan National Park
This morning you make an early start for Chitwan National Park. You have
the option to fly to the outskirts of the park however so that this does not
affect the price you will have to fly or drive in both directions. Upon
arrival you will be met by the Tiger Tops representative and transferred to
Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge by boat and Land Rover. At the lodge, you will be
briefed by the resident Guest Relations officer regarding the Park and the
wildlife programmes available. You will stay here for 3 nights on a full
board basis including all activities. Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, situated 75
miles directly south-west of Kathmandu, is at an elevation of 150 meters
(495 feet) above sea level. It is in the heart of Royal Chitwan National
Park, a 932 square kilometre (360 square mile) area of tall grassland and
magnificent forest, one of Asia's richest and most spectacular wildlife
sanctuaries. All rooms at the lodge are attractively furnished and each room
has solar powered reading lamps and ceiling fans, with solar heated showers
in the attached bathroom. Nepalese and Western cuisine is served in the
central dining hall with its huge domed roof and central open fireplace. A
fully stocked bar is open until the last guest retires. Activities at the
lodge include game drive, elephant back safaris, jungle walks, bird-watching
and river safaris. Every evening a slide show explains more fully about the
flora and fauna of the national park. All wildlife activities are escorted
by experienced naturalists. Wildlife in Chitwan includes the Greater
One-horned Rhinoceros, Spotted Deer, Hog Deer, Sambar Deer and Barking Deer
as well as a wide variety of birdlife. With a bit of luck, there are always
the chance of glimpsing Leopard, Sloth Bear and Royal Bengal Tiger.
Day 11 : Kathmandu
Today you return to Kathmandu for a further 2-nights stay at Dwarika’s.
Day 12 : Kathmandu
Today
you have a full sightseeing programme taking in the key sights of the city
which highlight it’s rich cultural past and present.
Day 13 : Delhi
You will be transferred to the airport in time for your flight to Delhi. On
Arrival you will be met and taken to the Hans Plaza Hotel where you spend
1-night on a bed and breakfast basis. The Hans Plaza is located 22
kilometres from the airport, 2 kilometres from the railway station and 1
kilometre from the centre of the city. This centrally air-conditioned hotel
has two restaurants and a bar. The restaurants offer Indian and Continental
food. Each air-conditioned room has private bathroom with bath and/or shower
and toilet and telephone.
Days 14 to 17 : Kanha
This morning you will be transferred to the airport in time to board your
flight to Nagpur, departing Delhi at 0555. You will be met upon arrival at
Nagpur and depart by surface to Kanha National Park (266 kilometres,
approximately 6 ½ hours driving distance). You stay at Tuli Tiger
Resort for 4 nights. Set in the buffer zone of the park, Tuli Tiger Resort
has 18 air-conditioned cottages. There is a private natural lake within the
boundary of the resort, which is adjacent to a rivulet and meets the main
river called Banjar. Each room in the resort has a telephone and attached
private facilities with running hot and cold water and shower. The resort
also has the facilities of an audio / video theatre, pool table, library,
swimming pool and a restaurant offering Indian and Continental Cuisine.
Situated in central India in the Satpura Hill ranges, Kanha Tiger Reserve
offers, without a doubt, India's finest Tiger viewing. Spread over 1945
square kilometres with a core area of just 940 square kilometres, the
grasslands and deciduous forests also support other mammals such as
Barasingha, Chital, Muntjac (Swamp, Spotted and Barking Deer), Sambar,
Common Langur and Rhesus Monkeys, Wild Boar, Asiatic Jackal, three of
India's four lowland antelopes, Nilgai, Four-horned Antelope (Chowsingha)
and Blackbuck, and occasionally Leopard, Gaur (Indian Bison), Sloth Bear,
Wolf and Dhole (Wild Dog). In fact, Kanha is noted for the last remaining
population of hard-ground Barasingha, which exceeds 350. Bird-life present
includes the Painted Partridge, Shaheen Falcon, Golden Oriole and the
omnipresent Red Jungle Fowl.
Days 18 to 20 : Bandhavgarh
This morning depart by surface to Bandhavgarh (189 kilometres,
approximately 5 hours driving distance). You will stay at the Royal Tiger
Resort for the next 3-nights. Royal Tiger Resort is an eco-friendly tented
resort with basic modern facilities. Accommodation is in cottage-style tents
with en-suite facilities. The highlight of The Park is its well maintained
gardens and a swimming pool. The resort offers Indian, Chinese and
Continental cuisine. The resort also has a good collection of slides and
books on wildlife. Bandhavgarh National Park, named after the Bandhavgarh
Fort, is situated in Central India and was formerly a Royal hunting reserve
of the princely state of Rewa where the first ever White Tiger was spotted
in the wild. The Park is situated in 450 square kilometres of mixed forest.
The core area of the park is fairly small with a fragile ecology but it
supports such wildlife as the Chital (Spotted Deer), Sambar, Muntjak
(Barking Deer), Nilgai, Chinkara, Ghowsingha (Four-horned Antelope), Wild
Boar, Leopard, Dhole (Wild Dog) and, of course, Tiger. Bird-life also
abounds with over 275 species of bird such as hornbills, orioles, parakeets,
peacocks, and eagles.
Day 21 : Overnight Train
Enjoy a morning game drive in the park. Later in the evening you will be
transferred to Umaria (56 kilometres, approximately 1 ½ hours driving
distance) in time to board your overnight train Kalinga Utkal Express to
Delhi, departing at 2025, travelling in 2-Tier air-conditioned Class.
Day 22 : Delhi
You will be met on arrival in Delhi and transferred to the Ashok Country
resort where a room has been booked for wash and change. Later in the
evening you will be transferred to the international airport in time to
board your flight to London.
Day 23 : Arrive UK
You depart Delhi in the early hours of this morning and arrive London
Heathrow at approximately 0700.
If you would like to extend your stay in Kaziranga it is
possible to spend 5-nights in this amazing national park. Please contact us
for a costing for this extension.
