Walking safari in Satpura National Park

You only really get to know the jungle when you walk. Setting off in the company of your naturalist at sunrise you’ll tramp through dense sal and teak forests, across open meadows beside the banks of the Tawa Reservoir and past ravines and seasonal streams. Satpura is one of the least visited parks in central India and you’ll feel like you are its first explorer.

Along the way your expert guide will reel off the names and myriad uses of dozens of trees that might only have been a blur from the seat of a jeep. There’s time to stop and smell flowers, watch ants at work, gaze at butterflies and listen to the calls of birds. Linger some more and the shadows of the forest reveal gaur, the sturdy Indian bison, and flickering dappled light turns into the rumps of spotted deer skipping through the trees.

Satpura might not the best park in India for seeing tigers, but this could be something of a relief when you’re exploring the jungle on foot. With all your senses on red alert even the sound of a jungle fowl scratching through the leaf litter is enough to set your heart racing. With no separation between you and wildlife the experience is truly exhilarating.

Game drives by jeep and boat are also available and we can combine a stay in Satpura with safaris in Pench, Kanha or Tadoba National Park for a rounded view of wildlife across the central India region.