Wild Experiences

If there is a Wildlife Destination in India with the promise of a close quarters brush with the magnificent tiger or the elusive leopard, it has to be Pench. Then if you want to make it an experience of a lifetime filled with beautiful moments of rustic wilderness that you can recall when you’re feeling overcome by our lives in today’s urban sprawls , your stay has to be in the Pench Jungle Camp and nowhere else! Jungle Camp is very ably managed by Rajnish Pradhan and a team of highly motivated and committed naturalists, guides, housekeeping, catering and dining staff. Their levels of commitment to a superlative guest experience is evident in every bite of the food and every juicy tale of jungle lore that they feed you. If you’re a solo traveler you will always have company, it will be Rajnish or his naturalists or his staff who will saunter along to personally ensure that you’re well taken care of. The food is healthy, palatable, simple and utterly delicious. The rooms, cottages and tents so tastefully done that within the confines you will still get the sense of freedom of the open. Everything is special, even the very regal looking Alsatians that are on guard all the time on the property. The cherry on the cake is that adjoining the Jungle Camp’s accommodation area is a water body and all you need is a good set of binoculars, a keen ear and you’ll be regaled with an array of wildlife both mammalian and avian. I have seen 3 types of kingfishers sitting on the verandah of the luxury tent sipping a cup of tea in the golden hue of a setting sun and the faint light emerging over the horizon of a chilly dawn. I have been saving the best for last, Pench Jungle Camp is not only 10 minutes of slow jog from Turia gate but has within its precincts a 45 acre Eco park that adjoins the core zone of Pench reserve. Night walks and rides through this eco-park were absolutely thrilling. The road to Turia gate is cyclable and as an avid runner, I have had numerous runs on this road late evening or early morning and each time it has had its shares of thrills. In one such evening run with my partner for company on a her bike we were fed an overdose of excitement by the warning calls of a troop of Langurs in the treetops right next to the road in the buffer zone, we tried hard with our heart racing to spot the object of their alarm but it eluded our vision! It was a case of 'Oh! so close yet to far'. This is the kind of thrill that awaits you at the Jungle Camp. In the eco park, I was fortunate enough to spot the fleeting rosettes of a Leopard in the able tracking company of Rajnish himself in the emerging light of a beautiful dawn. Rajnish and team regularly set up camera traps in the Ecopark and there have been numerous tiger picture captures. If Rajnish and team are in a good mood, they might even let you set up a trap, I strongly recommend and suggest you try your luck and book your travel right away 😊! #bushidobarefoot on gram.