Tadoba Tiger Reserve Travel Guide - The Eye of The Tiger

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Wildlife Sanctuaries are an important component of India’s travel and tourism. In keeping with India’s diversity, wildlife sanctuaries are home to a range of flora and fauna, endangered and abundant.

India is home to 551 wildlife sanctuaries but in this post, we are going to tell you about the one that was our introduction 101 to wildlife in India. Welcome to the ultimate guide to plan a trip to The Tadoba Tiger Reserve.

About Tadoba Tiger Reserve

The Tadoba Tiger Reserve is the largest and oldest wildlife reserve in Maharashtra and is a hub of biodiversity. It houses a wide variety of species and is surrounded by the Chaimur, Moharli and Kolsa Hills. The Tadoba Tiger Reserve is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger and is considered to be one of the best places to sight them in India.

What to know before you go

Nearest Airport: Nagpur International Airport
How to reach the reserve: Arrive via taxi or a privately owned vehicle
How to reserve a safari: Book your safari by clicking here

Choosing a Gate for a Tadoba Safari

There are six gates to enter Tadoba. Here’s a short guide to selecting a gate.

The Gates: Moharli, Kuswanda, Kolara, NaveGaon, Pangdi, Zari

Our Gates of Choice: Moharli and Kolara (Holy mother of animal sightings!)

Our Reasons

Allows higher number of vehicles to enter so, there is a better chance of obtaining a booking.
Moharli is conveniently distanced from Nagpur (main city access point to the reserve) although, Kolara is closer.
Moharli is the oldest and most popular gate.
Moharli has more accommodation options as compared to the others.

We’ve honestly had some brilliant experiences in Tadoba. We managed to book four safaris on our first visit. The more safaris you go on, the better is the possibility of seeing tigers in the wild.

Tadoba, The Story of a Safari

Picture this. It’s 5:00 am, completely dark outside. We’re tired but also extremely excited and ready for our morning adventure. We get ready, have our morning tea, and wait for our transport.

At 5:30 am our transport arrives. It’s a forest green gypsy that seats 6 and is completely open. That’s scary when you’re going to see animals in the wild. But it’s also exhilarating. Maybe that was the point? We’ll find out.

By 5:45 am we were at Tadoba Tiger Reserve’s Moharli Gate. It was still dark while we waited for our permits to enter the forest. We’re not entirely awake yet but that would all change once we entered the forest. By the time our guide and driver get the entry permit approved, its time to enter the forest.

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6:00 am, still dark. The gates open. It’s said that the safari starts from the gate itself. And what do you know! Our first sighting!

Just a mongoose, nothing major. But according to local lore, seeing a mongoose on your safari is a good omen, promising wonderful sightings in the forest. With that hope we drove, deeper into the dark forest.

They told us that for the first hour or so, it would remain dark. That’s when our sense of hearing was used the most. If you listened closely, you could hear the forest come alive, indicating the start of the morning.

For instance, you could hear the chirping of the birds, the chattering and gibbering of the monkeys and if you’re lucky, the hooting of an owl. Slowly but surely, the rays of the sun begin to highlight our trail.

We continue or drive on the summer morning, searching for that majestic beast. We’re covered in layers of clothing to prevent a sunburn. It’s hot. The temperature ranging from 36 to 42^oC. However, nothing dwindles our excitement.

Suddenly our jeep stops. What is it? We look around frantically but see nothing. Is there an animal? We ask the guide. No. He says. But there is an indication of one if you look down to your right. What is that? we ask.

That is the pug mark of the tiger, roughly an hour old, comes the reply. It disappears into the forest but is going towards the water hole. If we keep along this path, we’ll have a sighting for sure!

We can sense the precision of the trained eye. And our faith in the guide is strengthened. We were in good hands and our hope surges. We continue towards the water hole and spot our first bird on the way.

He points to the ground and asks us to look at the Nightjar. But where is it? The amateur can only see so much! He asks us to focus, to really look in the direction of his finger with intent. That’s when we see it.

A few pictures later we continue down the path. We’re greeted by some more birds like the crested serpent eagle and the blue jay. They’re beautiful, an exciting trailer to the main event.

We finally reach the water hole. No tiger but plenty of herbivores like the spotted deer, getting their share of water on this hot summer morning.

We waited for a while, but to no avail. So, we continued to another water catchment. As we drove towards the catchment, the forest began to make noise. Something was happening.

The birds, the monkeys, the deer. All grew louder, as if they were anticipating something. We could practically see the excitement bubbling in our guide as it culminated into one word. Tiger. And so, it was time.

As we grew nearer, the sounds grew louder. Our eyes were peeled, anticipation bursting through our veins. And slowly but surely, from the canopy of trees, the royal beast emerged.

We were the first ones to get there, not a jeep in sight. We enjoyed a few serene moments driving alongside the prowling cat. No pictures were taken, we only lived in the moment.

However, word travels fast.

In a few moments, our peace was disrupted by other jeeps and excited travelers. Who could blame them? It was a sight to see.

Now we were cast to the back of the line. Getting a closer look seemed impossible. And then suddenly, after a few exchanged words, our driver zoomed the car straight to the front of the line, a little ahead of the other jeeps.

When we asked him why, he said that the tiger needed to cross the road to reach the water hole and he believed, with almost complete certainty that this was where she would cross. We kept the faith and waited for the moment. True to his words, the tiger crossed from right behind us!

Our shutters kept going. We knew this was a moment we’ll probably never get again. But as she walked, the apex predator turned and looked us dead in the eye. We froze, suddenly aware of how vulnerable we were, in an open jeep without any protection.

She spared us only a glance and kept walking towards the water. The whole experience lasted for almost two hours. For our first safari ever on the very first day of our trip, we had struck gold!

We were also lucky enough to witness an altercation between a tiger and a sloth bear that resulted in a cease fire (Another truly wonderful experience to remember).

This was the evening safari on the same day. We were following the tiger towards the water hole. And from the opposite side of the road, mom saw a sloth bear coming right towards our jeep (Beginners luck I think).

The driver and guide were excited because they knew this would result in some heated exchange. The sloth bear was an adult while the tiger was only a year old and hence tried not to engage the bear. A slight battle ensued after which the two animals parted ways. The sloth bear looking for peace, and the tiger avoiding danger.

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How to Reach Tadoba

We travelled to the reserve via a privately owned vehicle. Although you do not need a vehicle when you’re in the Tadoba Tiger Reserve (since gypsies take you everywhere), you’ll need one to take you to the reserve and back.

If you’re on a budget there are options for public transport as well. Our driver was extremely sweet and did not charge us for the days he didn’t drive, therefore it ended up being quite affordable.

Best Time to Visit

Visiting periods: 15^th October to 30^th June every year. Closed for monsoon
Best Time to Visit
- For Animal Sightings: Summer months. So, Mid-March, April and May
- For Lush Greenery: Post Monsoon
Visiting Days: Every day of the week except Tuesday.
Safaris: 2 safaris every day. Morning 6:00 am to 10:00 am. Evening 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Where To Stay

Tadoba offers plenty of accommodation around the wildlife reserve, both near and far. Several price points are available based on your preference.

We stayed at Camp Serai Near the Moharli Gate for the authentic tent experience.

Tadoba Travel Tips

The best time to visit is in the summer. The forest is comparatively less lush, and animals are always on the move for water.
Book your safaris at least 3 months in advance. Since they’ve become popular it is almost impossible to snag a safari last minute. Click here to book a safari
Make sure to carry binoculars. Sometimes animals are too far to see with the naked eye
Carry mosquito or Insect Repellent
Carry a scarf to protect yourself from a sunburn during summer. The temperatures go up to 48⁰C (It’s not as bad as it sounds. There is no humidity so you don’t really sweat. In fact, its quite airy due to the forest cover).

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We hope you liked this style of writing. Its a nice way to travel virtually and let your imagination run wild. Its an amazing pick me up for when you can’t go out in these times but the wanderlust is strong.

Let us know in the comments if you would like us to write more posts in this style. If you have any questions, advice, or experience to share regarding Tadoba Tiger Reserve, make sure to drop a comment as well!

Until then, Bon Voyage