2015 Land Rover Expedition Report : The Tiger Chronicles

We have all seen the advertisements and public service announcements on the television about how endangered the tiger is. All of us tweeted about it or have shared numerous stories, pictures and videos on various social media portals trying to do our part for our national animal. However, it is not until you really go in search of the tiger that you actually realise how elusive and extraordinary this large cat really is.

Every once in a while, us automotive journalists get to indulge in something different that more often than not changes our perspective of things. The Land Rover Expedition in India, an off shoot of the Land Rover Experiences that take place the world over is one such example. Internationally, these legendary drives take a lucky few across places that the normal human being would seldom get a chance to visit, places like the sub-Saharan wilderness, the Masai Mara or perhaps central Asia. Here in India though, Land Rover’s association with the Born Free foundation (an NGO that strives hard for conservation of the world’s animals) made it obvious for the expedition to head to two of the most stunning and beautiful national parks of the country. The parks in question, Pench and Kanha are both known foremost for their tiger reserves but as we learnt, tigers are just the tip of the surface when it comes to a satisfactory experience here.

One of the most accessible national parks in the country, barely two hours from the city of Nagpur, is Pench. Deriving its name from the Pench River that flows through the National park from north to south dividing the park into almost equal western and eastern halves. It was declared a sanctuary in 1977 but raised to the status of National park in 1983. Later it was established as Tiger Reserve area in 1992. Known to be a heavily forested area consisting mainly of teak trees, it was the perfect place to take the outgoing Land Rover Freelander 2 to. Pench has two famous gates that can be accessed by tourists, Turiya and Karmajhiri, with us gaining entry to the park from the former.

There was a section where the convoy was allowed to drive into the forest with the Range Rover Sport leading the convoy of six Land Rover Freelanders followed by the stylish Range Rover Evoque making a mighty impressive sight. Of course, all the cars had an extremely knowledgeable forest guard joining us for the drive constantly providing us with their inputs and past experiences of the forest. Unfortunately for us, untimely rain showers meant a complete change in animal feeding patterns which in turn led to a very limited sighting of the elusive and rare wild dog, a solitary bear and of course, large herds of deer. We must take a moment here to talk about the fantastic facility that the Taj group of Hotels runs in the area. The Taj Bhagwan Safari lodge is a masterpiece of sustainable living and the staff is not only courteous but extremely knowledgeable when it comes trivia about the forest.

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Pench though was just the appetiser for what was to come ahead. Kanha, one of the most well known national parks in the country is the Tiger enthusiast paradise. But taking the paved road from Pench to Kanha was too easy for the convoy of Land Rovers designed to perform equally well on and off the road. Cougar Motorsport, the organisers of the event had mapped a route that took us through the deep interiors of Madhya Pradesh through roads no luxury SUV would ever dream of frequenting. Narrow village paths through paddy fields, fast flowing streams, rock sections and of course the occasional herd of deer were all taken in stride by the incredibly capable Land Rover Freelander. As we mentioned earlier, the Taj group of hotels runs some fantastic lodges in the area and the Banjar Tola lodge at Kanha is without a doubt their crowning glory. Situated on the banks of the Banjar river, the 80 acre resort is made entirely out of luxury canvas tents offering only 18 rooms! In fact, in my personal opinion, the Banjar Tola is the best hotel I have ever stayed at in India.

The Kanha national park is also one of the best places to spot the tiger in India and we were ready at the crack of dawn to drive into the forests. Kanha’s geography though is completely different from Pench. While Pench offers heavy foliage, Kanha has thousands of acres of open meadows for the herbivorous animals to feed at making it easier to spot the likes of the Barasingha, barking deer, jackals, wild dogs, etc. Of course, it does have its share of off beat paths flanked by tall Sal trees. And it is on one of these paths that we had an encounter to remember. While parked on a cross road in the middle of the forest in the process of tracking a fully grown male tiger, we heard the distinctly loud warning call (almost a yelp) of the Sambar deer not far from where we were. As we moved towards the area of the call in our custom made open-top Tata pickup, we came around a corner and much to our amazement a huge female Sambar blocking our path. This Sambar, clearly agitated and at its most heightened sense was standing in the middle of the path looking into the forest, stomping its hooves and giving out warning calls loud enough to make our hair stand on end. Although for a few moments we were certain that a tiger lay lurking somewhere in the bushes nearby, we had just missed it by a few minutes judging from the fresh pug marks that lay on the track. Co-incidentally, only five minutes after we left the spot, another car from our group had a lucky encounter with a male tiger not far from the same spot.

Although neither Pench nor Kanha were lucky enough to give me a tiger spotting, it left me with something far more important to take back to Mumbai. Not only do I have a renewed interest in wildlife as a broader term restricted not only to the tiger, the aura of the forest has clearly worked its magic on me. Obviously I will not be content till I see a tiger up close and personal in the wild but it is not only the tiger that I will go back for, it is about the overall excitement that the forest offers. No wonder Rudyard Kipling was inspired enough by Pench to write one of the most legendary children’s book of all time, the Jungle Book!