We got up early, at 6.30 a.m. we were at a tata in the direction of Bandhavgarh. We stop for breakfast at a rather shabby roadhouse where we manage to order some tomato omelettes. At the end we are served some onion omelettes accompanied by ketchup.
Breakfast stop
After 6 hours of travelling, around 12:30 we arrive at the village and they tell us that the jeep tour leaves at 4 pm, at sunset and sunrise it is easier to see the tigers.
People walking
In spite of the heat, we take a walk. It is a small village but it has a school, we go in and talk to the director, it is vacation time and the children do not have class but they go to eat, it is paid by the government. We go into a classroom, we also talk to a teacher and to the children. They all eat sitting on a bench under a tree and they themselves wash and collect their plate and glass, rice and milk it seems. For some it is their only meal. The books in the classrooms are in English.
Bandhavgarh
Children eating at school
Children at school
Man on a bike
We eat in a restaurant, it has a small garden but even there the heat is unbearable. The village has a street with low quality establishments for tourists. We buy some wooden figures from a craftsman who has a stall under a tree. We meet the children coming out of school, they play a joke on us with a dead snake on the road. They get on a tractor trailer and go home.
Our jeep
It is 4 p.m. and we get into the jeep, which crosses the park on quite good roads, and we see groups of antelopes and fawns. The forest is dry but lush. We were very lucky, we saw 6 tigers. An unforgettable experience.
Monkey
Bengala Tiger
Bengala Tiger
Bengala Tiger
Bengala Tiger
Bengala Tiger
At first we saw them among the bamboos but then they came out on the road. One of them in just 20 meters!. We think that it is not every day that you see so many specimens, the guides are very excited, another jeep appears with a lot of military and they start taking pictures. The guides are always armed and tell us that it is strictly forbidden to get out of the vehicle. Impressive, it was really worth the trip's beating.
Bengala Tiger
The way back to Khajuraho took forever, at night, there is a lot of traffic, the road is in bad shape, raffling off cows, trucks and people, some drunkards hugging each other doing s'eses on the road. We stop for dinner in the same place where we had breakfast in the morning, it seems that our driver has a commission.
I don't even get out of the car, I feel a terrible headache. When we are about to enter Khajuraho, I order the driver to stop and I feel very dizzy. We arrived late, they were already asleep at the reception of the hostel but they opened us up right away.
It was a fantastic day but really hard.
Accommodation: Surya 350 rupees double room with bathroom and fan, overlooking the garden.
Car with driver to visit Bandhavgarh tiger reserve: 30
Tiger reserve: Rs.2500 per pax.
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