For eight days I was in India's oldest wildlife sanctuary:
Satpura, Kanha, Bandavgarh and Panna. In Madhya Pradesh, the region in the center of the country that inspired Kipling for his Book of the Jungle, I also crossed the leopard, the bear and all kinds of eagles, parrots and antelopes. The list is long.
A bear, incredible! We have scarcely traveled a few hundred meters in our first park, Satpura, which is already a bear. Judging by its size, it's a young plantigrade. Who sports in the tall grass. He's gambolling a good time just a few meters from the 4 × 4 without worrying about us. When the bear stands a few moments on his legs, I still seem much less kid: not far from 1.50 m. "Three years, no doubt," says David, the naturalist who accompanies us. The day is not really up, yet I can easily see the large white mark V on the chest.
A sloth bear, by its learned name
"melursus ursinus", the only species present in the region. But everyone, including naturalists, simply calls it a ... Baloo . Yes, like that nice character from the "Jungle Book". Its author, Rudyard Kipling, whose Walt Disney was inspired by his famous cartoon, lived a few years here in Madhya Pradesh, this
central region of India, at the end of the nineteenth century.
View : Top Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks of Rajasthan
Suggested Tour : 10 Days - Taj Mahal with Tigers
Transposed to another world, I will spend eight days with the same animals , with the exception of the elephant, as Mowgli in these four national parks. At Satpura, the passage in this universe seems to me almost initiatory: the only way to reach it is indeed the crossing of the very wide river Denwa. A motorboat ride of just ten minutes, which is enough to make the cut.
On the other side begins the adventure.
Satpura is a reserve of tigers, yet its emblem is the giant squirrel. I meet a few in the day: with a quarantine cm without the tail, they are really big! On the other hand, no tiger on the menu for me that day.
Maybe a leopard? At the end of the afternoon, the warning cry of the monkeys languished - a hoarse sound coming from the back of the throat, which takes a tripe sound, very close. Different from that of the tiger, it's the leopard alert. They particularly dread this "big cat" who comes to hunt down to the top of the trees. Moments later, the driver of the 4 × 4 identifies footprints on the way.
Very fresh. Turn around on the hats of wheel. Guided by the cries of the monkeys, we try several routes, because it is forbidden to leave the roads. In vain. The leopard remains hidden, probably only a few steps away, in the vegetation of the gorge that opens before us.
During the safari, which always takes half a day as the parks are closed during the hottest hours, there are these adrenaline rushes. Also long moments of pure quiet happiness. The show is all the time: the beauty of the place, the majesty of animals.
The first rays of sun that pierce the mists in a clearing where dozens and dozens of deer graze - it is very common - are particularly magical. I have a wonderful memory of these moments in the next park, further east, that of Kanha. As the hours go by, the tables change. The eye pierces the foliage of the trees. In the hollow of a trunk hides an otus, a scops owl.
Further, clearly visible on a bare branch, it is a high-altitude bacha serpentine which throws its cry. Often in pairs, the peacocks are very dignified while in the branches above their heads bicker colorful and voluble parakeets Alexandrine. On another tree, imperial, it is a crested eagle. I would see a lot during these safaris.
In the footsteps of the tiger
At the creation of
Kanha Park in the 1950s, more than thirty villages on these lands were relocated. Hence the vast meadows, now abandoned. On one of them, instead of the usual herds of deer and deer, I see some jackals. In fact, there are more of them than I thought, no less than half a dozen, to bask in the sun.
Located in an equally splendid area,
Bandhavgarh is almost as old. And, previously, it was a Maharajah hunting preserve for nearly two centuries. Dominated by a mountain all in length and lined with a high cliff, the site imposes. It is there, finally, that I can finally contemplate the tiger. A curious first time: it is still hot in the middle of the afternoon, the animal is sprawled in the grass, lying on his back. He stretches his paws-impressive-and that's about all I see of him.
One or two hours later, I see a second, motionless, standing under a tree, at the edge of a pond. It is already almost dark; it's frustrating I cannot take a picture. Whatever, the moment is unforgettable. The image remains etched in my memory.
Suggested Tour :
Bhimbetka and Khajuraho, Unesco sites
Madhya Pradesh does not only have national parks to offer. This large region of central India is also home to three
UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Two of them are in the immediate vicinity of tiger reserves. It would be a shame not to make a hook.
Not far from the park of Satpura, in the middle of nature, here is Bhimbetka and its magnificent rock engravings dating from tens of thousands of years. Of all sizes, there are nearly 250. They represent bison, tigers, elephants and were painted under natural shelters. A superb open-air museum in a rocky gorge, one kilometer long, with shimmering ocher colors.
Khajuraho, whose
Panna Park is only 40 km apart, is much better known. It's even one of the most visited sites in the whole country. Former capital of Rajahs Chandela, it still includes 22 of the 85 temples built there between the 9th and 11th centuries.
Decorated with finely chiseled sculptures on all sides, from the bottom to the top, each of them is a masterpiece. One of the temples has more than 900 sculptures! Illustrating positions of the Kama Sutra, many erotic scenes are depicted on several buildings. They are particularly explicit.
Two leopards cross the path
Last park of my journey, that of
Panna, the most north of the state. And the apotheosis, as far as I'm concerned. Wide of several hundred meters, the Ken River - where some crocodiles laze - crosses over a good part and gives it a lot of charm.
Not far from the shore, there is this great rock circus of Dunduga. Half a dozen species of vultures, including four migrants, nest here. It is not far from there that I will see two leopards, together. The first comes out of a grove and disappears in the blink of an eye, the second follows him, quieter, sure of him.
In the afternoon, we still see a Baloo bear, nice this time. This does not prevent him from climbing a tree, which seems to me frail for its weight. But the Baloo arrives without difficulty to the summit, five or six meters, to feast on honey found in a honeycomb. Baloo: it's with him that everything started and it's with him that my safaris end.
Useful information
Incredible India, tourist office of India
These safaris were made with the agency
Travelogy India. Travelogy present on several continents. From
October 15 to June 30 in central India, it offers stays focused on the observation of animal life in tiger reserves.
Travelogy has developed several packages, including 9-day, 8-night, all-inclusive packages from Delhi, including a chauffeur-driven car, entry to two national parks with at least two safaris each time. (with 4 × 4 provided) from € 1,090 per person based on two people. The price is flexible (up to € 3,500) depending on the number of parks visited and the category of hotels chosen.
To get there: The most convenient airport of arrival is Delhi. Find your flight using our comparator .
