Wild India
Join us for a 12-day Indian safari adventure through two of the country’s most iconic national parks—Bandhavgarh and Satpura. This exclusive small-group experience is designed for just five or six guests and offers incredible opportunities to photograph tigers, sloth bears, dholes, leopards, and a variety of other iconic species in some of India’s most biodiverse landscapes. For those that have been to Ranthambhore with us, your photography on this tour will be quite different as we will be targeting many different species. Yes of course you will hopefully get some good shots of tigers and they will be in very different habitats from Ranthambore, but you will get a much greater variety of images and a variation that makes every day unique.
You’ll be guided by professional wildlife photographers Andy Rouse and Jamie Peters, you will rotate between our vehicles and our job is to put you in the right place at the right time during any encounter and help you make the best of it. In Bandhavgarh our drivers will be experienced english speaking naturalists from the lodge plus a local guide. In Satpura the system is different and we will use a local team under the guidance of our lodge guide (but he is not allowed to accompany us). Each game drive is crafted to put you in the right place at the right time, with a mix of both standard and full-day zone free safaris. The timing of the tour is carefully chosen to coincide with peak tiger activity and the best light for photography, increasing your chances of witnessing dramatic encounters near water. Normal park hours are long at both parks (except wednesdays when the parks are closed in the afternoons), with morning safaris ending at 11.30am and afternoon safaris starting at 3pm. So we get the added bonus of getting wildlife in great light, having a packed breakfast at an official park rest stop, then continuing our safari looking for animals headed to water or concentrating on bird life. Now we have included 3 full day zone free safaris as this gives us the option of staying in, with a packed lunch, exploring and making the most of our time. Indian wildlife moves in hot weather unlike their African counterparts and we have seen a lot of big cats in the heat of the day. These permits also allow us to work zone free, which means we can go where the action is.
Photography will take place from both 4x4 vehicles and—uniquely for Indian safaris—a boat at Satpura, offering varied and dynamic perspectives. All internal flights and transfers are included, so all you need to do is arrive ready to explore and immerse yourself in the rich wildlife and landscapes of central India. We will have knowledgeable english speaking guides in each vehicle, plus of course the dynamic guide team of Andy Rouse and Jamie Peters to help you. They are two of the most experienced tiger guides on the planet and veterans of many Indian safaris.
Here’s some further info on both parks that we will be visiting….
Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the best places in the world to photograph wild tigers. With a high density of tigers and a rich mix of landscapes — from dense sal forests to open meadows and dramatic ruins — it offers photographers a chance to capture big cats in varied and often cinematic settings. The park’s relatively small core zones mean sightings are more frequent, and the tigers here are known for being bold and visible, making Bandhavgarh a favourite among wildlife photographers seeking both close encounters and storytelling frames. During our safari at Bandhavgarh we will have two full day safaris, which give us the option of staying in when others go home. This can be the time when tigers move for the cooling embrace of water, plus the permits give us the ability to be zone free and go where the action is as we said above. Tigers aren’t the only species we see at Bandhavgarh, we look for a complete safari experience and want to photograph anything we find to the max, as all wildlife is beautiful.
Satpura National Park
Satpura National Park offers a completely different photographic experience — quieter, wilder, and incredibly diverse. Its unique landscape of hills, forest, and rivers creates striking backdrops, with boat safaris providing rare opportunities to photograph wildlife from the water. In fact your morning safari usually starts with a boat ride before you get the jeep, which is so cool!
For tigers Satpura can be spectacular, you can encounter them whilst on jeeps or from the lodge’s boat. Of course it’s up to the tigers whether they decide to goto water, but we are there at the right time with the right team and all images you see here were taken in 4 days of safaris, the same as this tour.
Satpura is home to an exceptional variety of species, including sloth bears, gaur, leopard, and the elusive dhole (Indian wild dog), making it a dream for photographers seeking more than just tigers. Last trip we had great encounters with the Indian Wild Squirrel (so cute) and the Mottled Wood Owl, plus some fun on the water with flying birds. The dhole are the main reason that we are doing a full day safari, they are elusive and can turn up anywhere but if you find them they are mega and will be the highlight of any tour.
With fewer vehicles and a more intimate feel, it’s a place where you can truly slow down and connect with the wild in beautiful surroundings.
Accommodation
Our accommodation is incredible, just such a wonderful bonus for this trip. A real home from home. Two beautiful lodges with english speaking friendly staff . Wonderfully designed a/c rooms with great showers, comfy beds and plenty of space to chill out in complete privacy. The food is just wow, our last tour absolutely loved it so much. We will be using lodge vehicles and boats for our safaris ,with trained english speaking naturalist guides, who will enhance your experience of the parks. Both the lodges are at the forefront of sustainability, we are so impressed with their ethos and dedication to reducing their carbon footprint and giving an amazing customer experience. You will simply love our lodges, here are some images below!
The Guide Team
Lots of people run safaris, what separates our expeditions is the experienced guide team that we have, plus the Travel Trust Association bonding that protects your holiday money from supplier failure. Your guides for this trip will be leading professional wildlife photographers Andy Rouse and Jamie Peters, who have visited the areas before and are experts at getting you in the right place at the right time.
Andy Rouse
Perhaps a little about Andy for those that have never worked with him before. Andy has won over 28 major international awards, been a pro for nearly 25 years and has led photographic expeditions all over the world. He prides himself in only offering the very best destinations, and has built a reputation as one of the best photographic safari guides in the world. Put simply, if you book a WildBunch Expeditions safari, you can rest assured that you will be guided by one of the best in the business. Andy’s safari’s are always packed with fantastic opportunities, expert guidance and a drive to get the very best for his clients, as well as being a lot of fun - you are on holiday after all!
Andy shoots with the Sony A1 Mark II, but rest assured no matter what system you use, Andy will be able to help you get the most from your system and yourself.
Away from work he is a proud husband, Dad and West Ham fan!
Jamie Peters
Andy has known professional macro and wildlife photographer Jamie Peters for over 10 years. In his previous life Jamie was an Army Photographer for 11 years. During that time he went to many places photographing the army including Afghanistan, Kenya, Nepal, Ukraine and Sierra Leone. He was also an instructor at the Defence School of Photography, so Jamie has exactly what it takes to help you achieve the very best from your safari.
As well as an excellent teacher Jamie has won awards for his stills and videos including the prestigious and fiercely competitive Army Photographer of the Year. His real passion though is nature photography and he spends his spare time photographing tough species near his home. An expert at leading tours in Africa and India his experience not only covers fieldcraft but all genres of photography and videography.
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This is a very easy trip. Our daily safaris will be based out of either boats or Gypsy jeeps. The jeeps are cramped and do require some mobility to get in and out of them, but we can work with most clients on this. The important thing is that you are honest about your limitations and ask us if you are unsure.
For days when we are in the park all day there will be regular toilet stops at the rest areas within each zone.
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The simple answer is from experience. Full day safaris allow us to stay in the parks when everyone else leaves, and this can be the time that tigers head for water. Also these permits allow us to be zone free, so we can roam where we want and take advantage of any situation that happens. So there permits are for your benefit.
There are toilets in all the parks, both at the entrance and at the designated rest areas for all zones. We will carry packed breakfast and lunch with us on all full day safaris, on normal safaris we will have a great lunch at the lodge.
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The park opening hours for our normal safaris are 6-1130am and 3-630pm so you can see that you will be very busy!
We use the first two hours and last two hours for the nice light shots, the remainder are there for bird photography and tigers moving to water.
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Comprehensive pre departure information will be provided 3 months before departure. This will cover photo kit, clothing, visas, tips and anything else you need to know.
Lens wise flexibility will be the key here so a couple of zoom lenses and something for wide angles will be ideal.
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We appreciate that for a lot of you, you have your own frequent flyer memberships and preferences. So, as we do for all our safaris, once you book we will tell you when and where you need to be and give you some flight recommendations.
We will then arrange pickup's etc to the team hotel if necessary, or transfers at the airport if you are coming direct. This is now standard policy for all of our safaris.
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Yes of course they are. Flights to Jabalpur and back from Bhopal are included in economy class, with a good hold baggage allowance of 20KG. Travel internally in India is easy as the airports are very modern and the airlines very efficient.
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We are always very honest with all our clients and when you come on a tour with us you will always know everything, warts and all!
For anyone who has been with us on a Ranthambhore safari you need to understand that this will be a different focus. On this safari tigers are only one of the species we are targeting, this is a general wildlife safari with the emphasis on great wildlife encounters. So yes we will of course spend time with tigers, but we wil lalso look for Dhole (check the puppies in this picture opposite), Leopards, Sloth Bears, Gaur and all manner of cool species!
Also the tiger encounters in Kanha / Satpura will be very different than what you will get in Ranthambhore. In Kanha they will be shot with the Sal Forest as the backdrop, in Satpura it will be Teak Forest. So your pictures will look very different!
It’s important that you understand that whilst we guarantee that everyone will do their very best to get you the very best in photographic opportunities we cannot guarantee photographable sightings. As stated this tour has a very high success rate, but nature and wildlife can be unpredictable. All images in this brochure have been taken on half a dozen drives in each location on our 2025 trip so it shows what is possible.
All his clients know that Andy and his guide team try their absolute best to get everyone the best photographic opportunities possible, but of course this can be out of our control as the wildlife has other ideas!!! So whilst we look for everything we can, we absolutely cannot guarantee in anyway shape or form that you will see any of these. It can rain. It can be cloudy. The wildlife can be elusive. You must come with this realistic expectations, we do not make false promises. What we can promise is that the team will work 150% to give you the best chances and best experiences possible. That is GUARANTEED!
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Rest assured that this safari is backed by the Travel Trust Association (TTA). The TTA is an independent trade organisation of tour operators that we are proud members of. The TTA provides guarantees for your booking with us in two forms.
The first is that all monies are deposited to a trustee managed trust bank account and any payments to / from them have to be authorised at several levels.
Secondly your booking is protected by the TTA Safe Seat Plan and Supplier Failure Cover, both of which are insurance policies to protect your money from fraud and supplier failure.
We include the costs of these policies automatically in your booking fee, so that you can have total financial confidence in us, and your booking with us, as a trusted and reputable tour operator.
Further details of our TTA membership can be found by clicking here
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The tour is open to both photographers and non photographers. The atmosphere is holiday when we are in the lodge, and wildlife focus when we are out and about.
You must be able to be patient enough to sit in a hot, dusty vehicle for hours on end waiting for something to happen.
Our tours are inclusive, anyone is welcome irrespective of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. We just ask that you come with a smile and a love of wildlife.
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Of course we cannot predict this as the world is changing, but in general it's very pleasant at this time of the year. Expect daytime highs of 34C and night time lows of 18C. The days should be clear but we can get rain and you must be prepared for this. It can be cloudy too so a light fleece is essential. In short it’s unpredictable!
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Vegetarian and vegan are simple and the food is incredible at our lodges!
We can usually cater for most dietary requirements so please get in touch with any questions and we will be happy to help.
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Either! The optimum number for us is 6 clients but we will also run this tour with 5 clients as well.
Travel Trust Association
Now we know that there are a lot of people out there offering photographic tours, however rest assured that this safari is backed by the Travel Trust Association (TTA). The TTA is an independent trade organisation of tour operators that we are proud members of. The TTA provides guarantees for your booking with us in two forms.
The first is that all monies are deposited to a trustee managed trust bank account and any payments to / from them have to be authorised at several levels.
Secondly your booking is protected by the TTA Safe Seat Plan and Supplier Failure Cover, both of which are insurance policies to protect your money from fraud and supplier failure.
We include the costs of these policies automatically in your booking fee, so that you can have total financial confidence in us, and your booking with us, as a trusted and reputable tour operator.
Further details of our TTA membership can be found by clicking here.
