New Safari Season for Indian Wildlife

visitors post 3 months closure on account of annual rains. Rain gods have been kind at almost all destinations this monsoon which means adequate water & food availability for forest denizens in the coming season. Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Pench & Satpura opened for visitors on October 1st while the Bijrani zone of Corbett & Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharastra would open on 16th October & Dhikala and Dudhwa around 15th November.

Here’s a summary of new rules/guidelines & policy changes across all parks for the coming season:

• Safari vehicles booked online can now be released the prior evening (morning safari vehicles can be released the previous evening). For guests arriving early morning of the same day, vehicle release would be done in the morning. The schedule for the afternoon safari continues as it is- Ranthambore.
• Routes for zone 2, 4, 5 & 6 have been realigned to distribute jeep as well as cantor traffic inside the park.
• New online booking software has been introduced for Ranthambore & Sariska. While it is a little complicated as compared to the previous system, hopefully, it would improve in the coming days- Ranthambore.
• For last-minute travellers, the forest department has introduced the Tatkal(spot) Jeep booking option. Visitors can now book a confirmed jeep safari for zones 1-5 which are most popular even at the last minute through current booking, this service comes at a hefty premium though. For more information on booking a Tatkal jeep safari please get in touch with us. However, issuance of Tatkal jeeps is at the discretion of the forest department- Ranthambore
• The price for a fixed jeep/driver has been reduced from INR 4000/- per drive to INR 2000/- per drive. You can now hire a jeep/driver of your choice by paying this additional fee over and above the normal safari cost- Ranthambore
• For all Tiger reserves of Central India- Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Pench and Satpura safari prices for foreigners have been reduced. Now foreign visitors would pay the same cost as Indian visitors which was almost double earlier.
• The concept of Premium zones at Bandhavgarh & Kanha has been abolished & safari ticket prices of all zones at these parks are the same.
• Increase in safari tickets at Kanha Tiger Reserve across all zones to ensure more visitors can visit the park.
• For budget travellers at Central Indian parks- a seat booking system has been introduced where visitors can book safari on a seat-sharing basis instead of booking an entire jeep.
• Add on booking system – a facility to add more travellers to existing tickets has been made more user & pocket friendly for visitors. This facility is only available in central Indian parks as of now.
• Tadoba Tiger Reserve would remain open on all 7 days of the week now, it was closed on Tuesday earlier.
•  Jeep safari is now operational in the buffer of Mukki zone – Kanha Tiger Reserve.
• Revision in Full day prices at Kanha. Bandhavgarh, Pench & Ranthambore for both Indians as well as non-Indians. To know more about the revised safari costs, please get in touch with us.