Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

Tadoba covers around six hundred and twenty-five square kilometres of the core zone in southeastern Maharashtra, teak and bamboo forest broken by meadows around Tadoba lake and the Andhari river, and it has developed a reputation for the most reliable tiger sightings in the state, in part because the population is dense and in part because animals here are habituated to vehicles. Leopard, sloth bear, dhole, gaur and marsh crocodile share it. The reserve runs several gates with core and buffer zones, and buffer safaris are easier to book and increasingly productive as tigers use those areas.

What you actually see

• The tigers - a dense population with strong sighting records.
• Tadoba lake - open water with marsh crocodiles and drinking animals.
• The teak and bamboo - dry forest that opens up in the hot season.
• The buffer zones - outer areas now producing regular sightings.

When to go

October to June; the core closes in the monsoon while some buffer zones stay open. April to June gives the best sightings as water concentrates, at temperatures above forty degrees.

Honest expectations

Core permits sell out weeks ahead and are allotted by zone. Vehicle crowding around sightings is a known problem here. Summer heat during safaris is severe.

Nearby

Nagpur lies north; Pench is northwest.