Those who are enamored by tigers in their natural habitats rate Tadoba pretty high in all lists of tiger reserves. Even though visitors experience a very large number of tiger sightings here, you simply cannot walk in through the gates one fine day and expect a lineup of its famous residents; there is a fair amount of planning that is required. Some tips:
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Tadoba – The Main Attractions
The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve or, as most people refer to, Tadoba is a potpourri of natural attractions. It boasts of verdant and dense forests and rolling grasslands as well as a number of natural water bodies that provide just the perfect setting of an amazing assortment of flora and fauna to thrive in. Even though it has largely stayed out of the usual tourist beat till recent times, Tadoba is very easily accessible, located just about 100 km from Nagpur, a bustling city in Maharashtra. Consequently, tourists can arrive at Nagpur by air, road, and rail from anywhere in the world and drive down to the reserve.
While there are myriad attractions for nature lovers, the chief reason why Tadoba has become a tourism hotspot is the increasingly large number of tigers being spotted virtually all over the forest, a tribute to the efficacy of the conservation practices. While there are no guarantees, it is said that you’ve got to be really unlucky not to spot the magnificent beast during your visit. There are also a large number of other animals like leopards, bears, sloth bears, and various types of deer, nilgai, wild dogs, hyenas as well as an amazing assortment of bird and insect life to keep nature lovers mesmerized.
Decide On Your Entry Gate First
The Tadoba reserve covers a very large area that is very broadly divided into a core zone and a buffer zone. Each of these zones can be entered through six gates; however, all the gates are separated by large distances that may even extend to 130 km. This makes traveling between gates impractical and thus you need to make up your mind regarding which gate to use for your safari. This decision, in turn, will affect the location of your Tadoba accommodation. Even though tigers have been spotted all over, there are detailed statistics available with professional tour operators that you can use for deciding on your best bet. Keep in mind that if you book a safari at a particular gate, you cannot use the booking at a different gate.
Conclusion
There are a number of approaches that you can take for your booking. You can book a safari at a gate of your choice and then get yourself accommodation at that gate to save on the travel time. Otherwise, you can select a hotel and resort that you like and book a safari at the nearest gate. Safari bookings in advance are recommended as spot bookings at the Core zone gates cannot be done, and the numbers of spot bookings at the Buffer zone gates are limited.