A Critical Look at Bandhavgarh National Park, India

[StripyCurtain]

I am going in late October this year, can anyone tell me how busy it will be? What zones shall i go in for safari, I am hoping to go on 3 or 4 safari's in 3 days :)

[jennyphil04]

This brought back many happy memories of our India trip - Om Shanti Om, Ish as our mongoose mother, breaking my toe, and our beloved bus driver who somehow got us safely to Chail . Hope you're doing well, and that you're taking many new adventures!

[cater91]

That's why I do 6 safari's. 4 in Khaitauli zone [which has only 2 or 3 Jeeps at a go] 1 in Magdi Zone and 1 in Tala Zone of Bandhavgarh National park.

Khaitauli has less chances of spotting but once you spot a tiger there , there is no chaos u can see it for as longer as you want to as they are very relaxed n there is no one around you.

[superpuneite]

I returned from Ranthambore National Park(which is Ranthambhore Rashtriya Udyan in Hindi) and I saw people standing on the seats of the 4X4 Car . People especially Indians tend to do such thing(No offence) In our canter there were Indians as well as foreigners.. The foreigners were pretty civilized..but OMG! The Indians were eating popcorn and whatnot and were cracking jokes while theor babies cried their brains out!

Change is a must in these areas! :(

[elijahpup]

Those other people need to be queit.

[unclebobny1]

I was in Kenya Maasai Mara for 4 days and we did not see any violations. People were respectful for the most part. The only disrespectful and annoying people were the guides hired from outside the Mara, like the coast or Nairobi. Those drivers/guides ignorance showed; they did not how to behave themselves. But nothing to the point of beeping horns or shouting. Maasai guides were professional and respectful of the wildlife. We really enjoyed our trip. Mara is full of tigers and cheetas.

[slyvatsan]

kyleripman - Welcome to Inida!!

[ChinababyProductions]

I went towards the very end of the season and the traffic wasn't this bad. More comparable to the Ngorongoro Crater. The park really is beautiful with some great archeological sites. Had the most fun ever being caught in a deluge and far from camp. The poor tiger has really been exploited globally if this is as good as it gets. We drove from Kajaraho through the villages. Someone's sacred cow had died along side the road and it was covered with beautiful flowers. Thanks for the video!

[tiwaringp]

Great work. It certainly looks bad in the video and it certainly is in the iconic parks like Bandhavgarh or Kanha. Still, we must concede that tourist traffic also helps preserve the forests and wildlife through generating revenues and maintaining vigil. There are also many less known parks that do not have as many tourists. Unfortunately, in India ecotourism means tiger tourism and people are disappointed if they do not see the tiger. A forest is about a lot more than just seeing tigers.

[kyleripman]

You are absolutely right. I had just as much (if not more, due to the more relaxed atmosphere around them) enjoyment spotting the smaller wildlife that I put in the latter half of the video.

[imtiazkhank]

Nice video Kyle, I had been to bandhavgarh in jan-10... I can see tourist getting too excited and chatting many times....Forest dept have started route system (going from one route & coming from other route) for both morning and evening safaris... So we can have maximum 12 Jeeps in one route....or say max 24 (incoming & outgoing in same route...rare)... thatz a good step taken by forest dept... it reduces tiger sightings but good for animals....

[mimi224]

Very appropriately put Kyle, India being so rich in wild life and history, The visitors needs to maintain decorum and be sensitive to wild life and nature while visiting the park.

There are just too many people allowed inside the sanctuary.

[eagleeye1122]

I just came from there a Week ago.. Yes it is

a madhouse. Jeeps colliding with each other

however when the drivers realized that they

were blocking a Tiger from a road crossing,

they moved.

[eagleeye1122]

I dont mind paying MORE to restrict the

number of tourist.. Foriegn Tourist pay

2000 Rupees whilst Indian Natinals Pay 500 Rupees.

In the morning all Jeeps must go to the CENTERPOINT, For afternoon free roaming is allowed.

Restrictions not covered in this video

* Tripod not allowed outide jeep

* No use of Flash allowed

Penalty: Guides + drivers suspended or fined

[sverma0813]

This is a great critique Kyle. Thanks for this video. Generally people are so excited about accomplishing a Tiger sighting that they forget about tiger's need of an inviolate habitat. I would like to add one point here though, tourism is restricted to around 25% or less of the park in Indian Tiger reserves so hopefully there are some Tigers in the undisturbed territory. I wish our people were a bit more disciplined and rangers, a bit more strict.

[gavdj17]

I totally agree with you - a beautiful place which is dreadfully managed and, sadly, where harrassment of tigers is the norm. It's really interesting to note just how very different the approach is to the sympathetic approach of safari guides in Africa who - in my experience - will go to great lengths to prevent animals being unduly disturbed.

[kyleripman]

Thanks! Can you provide any examples?

My only game park experience in Africa is Kruger NP in South Africa, where you are allowed to drive your own vehicles along the roads in the park. People still jockeyed for position there on ocassion, but it's safe to say it wasn't anything like Bandhavgarh (although I didn't see any lions; maybe it would've been more chaotic if I had).

[eagleeye1122]

I was told that in Kenya Safaris, a lot of

guides violate and disturb the animals too..

IF the GUEST is willing to pay the fine when

caught.. You would see many jeeps

going "WAY OFF ROAD" to surround a cheetah.

In India, they only go 'slightly off road'

[jennyphil04]

loved it. captured the chaos perfectly. and despite that, i miss it. i do not, however, miss being sick the week we were there...it's just not the same waking up and not hearing a dying cat bird though....