Madhya Pradesh & the tiger parks

Tiger sightings are luck with the odds improved by patience and a good naturalist. In Bandhavgarh’s Tala zone the density is as high as anywhere in India; in Kanha the sal forest and open maidans make for better photographs; Pench and Satpura are quieter, and Satpura allows walking safaris, which almost nowhere else in the country does. We give the parks four or five drives at minimum, because one morning proves nothing. Between them the state offers Khajuraho’s western group at opening time, Sanchi’s second-century-BC gateways, and Orchha, where the Betwa runs past cenotaphs and almost nobody stops. Parks close from July to September. February to April brings the best sightings and the worst heat.