Following the tiger's trail. Nagpur, Tadoba

Started off from Kolkata with an unfulfilled dream of seeing a Tiger in the wild. Reached Nagpur and checked in at MTDC resort. Resort is well located with an in-house restaurant. Day sightseeing trip organised by MTDC starts from this resort. One can opt for this sightseeing trip, however if you are in a group it is better to hire a car and set out on your own sightseeing trip. The MTDC trip is divided into two parts one which starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon and the other which starts in the afternoon and ends in the evening. One can book separate trips or both the trips at a time. I opted for hiring a car and setting off on my own.  That way there is no fixed route or schedule which I prefer.

Thanks to Zoomcar, started off for a sightseeing trip in and around Nagpur. Visited
a. Dragon Temple.
b. Nagardhan Fort.
c. Deekshabhoomi.
d. Zero Mile.
e. Kalidas Smarak.
Out of these Deekshabhoomi and Kalidas Smarak deserves special mention. Deekshabhoomi is the place where BR Ambedkar converted to Buddhism with approximately 600000 followers. The largest stupa in Asia is erected in his memory at the site.
Kalidas smarak is believed to be the place where Kalidas completed his epic Meghdootam.
Kalidas Smarak is not included in the trip organised by MTDC.
The day ended with eagerness for my trip to Tadoba Tiger Reserve which was planned for the next day.

Started off from Nagpur at around 0900. Tadoba Tiger Reserve is around 150 kms from Nagpur. Reached Tadoba at around 1330. Had booked my accommodation at FDCM resort which is around 1 km from Moharli Gate. Tadoba Tiger Reserve has six gates which are quite far from each other so one need to be very careful while booking the safaris.  I did the mistake of booking my next day morning safari from Pangdi Gate which was 100 kms from Moharli Gate. As the route was through forests I started off at 0300 in the morning for my morning 0630 safari. A bit of guessing, a bit of local help and a bit of help from Google helped me reach Pangdi Gate at around 0615. The safari started off at 0630. This was my second visit to a Tiger Reserve after my visit to Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. At Tadoba the main aim of everyone is Tiger sighting so no one actually stops for any other animal. The reserve has specific areas where tigers are mostly sighted and the guides takes you to those areas as quickly as possible. We also started off with high hopes and there it was we had almost missed it coming out from behind the bushes. The tiger stopped as it saw our Gypsy and as we backtracked a bit it crossed over to the other side without an ounce of worry. Truly it was his territory and we had just trespassed. The view was breathtaking and will remain with me for the rest of my life. The next 3 hour or so of safari was uneventful with a few sightings of spotted dear. But all the pain of starting off early in the morning and traveling for 100 kms was worth every bit of it. The journey back to the resort was a satisfying one after seeing the king in his own territory. Had a quick lunch and started off for my next safari from 1500 hrs. This time it was from Mohurli gate which was barely 1 km from the resort. This time I was not that lucky though I saw other animals but except for a glimpse from a distance the king eluded us this time. Finished my day with satisfaction and hoping of more chances of seeing the king in the next two days.

It was again an early morning start for me, this time had booked the safari from khutvanda gate. It is around 18 kms from the resort.  Today I was not at all lucky and 4 hours of safari was uneventful except for some pug marks. This proved that tiger sighting is really elusive and one has to be patient. Ended the day a bit disappointed but had one more safari planned for the next day.

Today had booked the evening safari so just roamed around the resort in the morning. After a quick lunch started off for the safari. Never thought it will be the best day of the trip.  Within half an hour we spotted two tigers behind a bush and just parked our Gypsy with a hope that they will come out. But after waiting for more than 2 hours at the same spot we decided to leave as none of the tigers came out. As we were planning to start our journey back to the gate one of the gypsies informed us that nearby there has been a tiger sighting and without wasting any time we started off in that direction and there it was majestically lying down on the middle of a safari route as if posing for photography. No words can actually describe this beautiful sight. Was there for the rest of our safari time and the tiger didn't moved an inch as if it wanted us to be satisfied to our heart's content. That was how the safari and the trip ended at Tadoba.

Started off my journey to Nagpur after breakfast at the resort with a feeling of fulfilment. Lessons I learnt during the trip were:
(a) One needs to have a vehicle at disposal for the trip.
(b) It is always better to book the safaris from the same gate. Mohurli being the best with lots of options for accommodation.
(c) One can book a safari from Pangdi gate but need to stay at Chandrapur for such a plan. Pangdi has an advantage of allowing only one safari in each slot so the area is never crowded. At Mohurli there are around 20 gypsies in the same area.