1. Why Gothangaon and Tadoba?
Tigers are solitary and territorial, and their territories can change over time. Indian reserves are not fenced, and safaris are only permitted in about 20% of the park's core area, with the rest inaccessible to tourists. If a tiger moves into a non-tourism area, we are simply out of luck. The goal is therefore to choose reserves with a healthy number of tigers whose territories overlap with tourism areas, ideally females with cubs. A mother needs to hunt frequently to feed her cubs, increasing our chances of sightings. The age of the cubs also matters, as very young cubs may spend much of their time hidden in vegetation. The personality of individual tigers is equally important. Bold tigers that are comfortable around safari vehicles offer very different opportunities from shy and elusive ones. Sightings can also vary considerably from year to year due to changing territories, disease, natural mortality and other factors.
For the upcoming season, Tadoba is probably one of the best options in India, with multiple females raising cubs across several zones. Gothangaon is an easy addition given its proximity to Tadoba and, more importantly, because it is home to the legendary F2 tigress and her fresh litter of four cubs. She is exceptionally bold and is known for walking openly with all her cubs from a very young age - making her an especially exciting prospect for wildlife photography.
2. What camera gear is recommended for the trip?
A zoom lens (200-600mm) is preferable to a prime lens, as it offers greater flexibility for framing, especially when the animals come pretty close to the safari vehicles. Other lenses like 70-200mm are also great for habitat shots of the animals. Bring sufficient memory cards, external storage, batteries, cleaning equipment (safaris are dusty) and bean bag if needed.
Binoculars are optional but you are welcome to bring them if you wish.
3. What kind of weather can we expect during the trip?
At Gothangaon and Tadoba temperatures can range between 20–37°C. Expect lots of warmth and sunshine.
At Kaziranga the temperatures can range between 15–30°C.
At Rajaji the temperature will range between 13–28°C.
Rain is not expected at all during this time of the year; it is generally sunny but its best if you have a raincoat with you always - both for yourself and for your camera.
4. What about food and drinks during the trip?
Daily breakfast, lunch and dinner is included. There would be non-vegetarian food for almost every meal except breakfasts. Bottled mineral water is included. Soda can be arranged at an extra cost.
5. What is the luggage allowance for the flights?
All of our domestic flights in India will have 10 kg cabin (carry-on) luggage limit (dimensions - 115 cms (L+W+H)) to allow for photographers equipment needs. Over and above this 10 kg cabin luggage limit you can also bring a laptop in its bag with a weight of max 3 kg.
Checkin luggage allowance is 23 kg for all domestic flights.
6. How can we get internet connection on our phones in India?
The easiest way is for you to get a cheap data only eSim like Saily that you can use throughout the trip. You can activate it before boarding your flight to India. We can look at getting you a cheap physical SIM card with lots of 5G data at DEL airport after we arrive if we have enough time.
7. How is the voltage and wall plugs in India?
All your chargers and electronics will work in India as they use the same voltage as in Denmark. The only issue could be that Danish plug pins are thinner and can be loose in the wall sockets so you should get a universal travel adapter for these reasons. And bring an extension cable with multiple ports so you are not stuck with a single wall plug if you're unlucky.
8. What about the flight to and from India?
You should book these yourself. AI 158 on March 5 and EK 513 on March 17 seem to fit our itinerary well.
If your name in your passport has special characters in it then you should use the name printed in English in your passport to make your flight bookings. We can discuss this later when we get to flight bookings.
9. Should we bring any special medicines for the trip?
Pack painkillers and medication for cold, fever, bad stomach etc. Also pack mosquito repellent, sunscreen and elektrolytter.
10. Are there any special clothing recommendations?
Pack clothing for the weather mentioned above. It will be pretty warm towards the end of the morning safaris so its best to have light clothing that covers the whole body - full sleeve shirts, long trousers, safari hats, face and neck buff (to protect from dust). Clothing in neutral colors is preferred (khaki, light brown/green, tan) – avoid bright colors & white. It can sometimes be cold from the plane's air conditioning, so you may want to bring a windbreaker in your cabin luggage. Bring mosquito repellant and sunscreen.
11. Any other recommendations?
Bring good earplugs for everyday use. Keep soft copies of all your documents online at all times. Passport, visa, travel insurance, health card, drivers license, passport size photographs etc.
12. What vaccinations do we need for the trip?
This is something between you and your GP. But after we confirm the list of people coming on the trip I will create a Facebook group chat where you can talk with others about what is the best course of vaccinations as suggested by your GPs.
13. How do we get a Visa?
You should apply online for e-Tourist Visa with 30 days validity at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html. Passport should have at least six months validity at the time of making application for grant of e-Tourist Visa. The passport should have at least two blank pages for stamping by the Immigration Officer.