WILD INDIA

WITH PHOTOGRAPHER BEN HALL

WILD INDIA

WITH PHOTOGRAPHER BEN HALL

PHOTO TYPE: Wildlife TRIP LENGTH: 11 days DATES: March 13-23 2021 GROUP SIZE: 8-12 guests PRICE: £ 3 850

Join Ben Hall, one of Britain’s leading professional wildlife photographers on a trip to India and explore and photograph its wildlife with tigers, leopards, sloth bears and rich bird life.

Amazing subjects can be found wherever we turn our cameras, as we stop to photograph a flock of langurs jumping from branch to branch, shaking the foliage. The action-packed photography is suddenly interrupted by a warning call that drowns out the murmur of the jungle. We start the Jeep and follow the warning call that slowly moves through the bush. The warning call comes from a sambar deer and with it a high probability that a tiger is somewhere nearby. After looking around carefully for a moment, we stop our Jeep and wait, full of excitement. After only a few minutes, from out of nowhere, a tigress steps out onto the road ahead of us. She looks around calmly before slowly walking right at us, a photography moment you will never forget.

Join Ben Hall, one of the UK’s most respected wildlife photographers, on a journey to the world of The Jungle Book, to photograph amazing wildlife with the Bengal tiger as the absolute highlight of the trip. In addition to visiting two of India’s best tiger parks, we will also spend a few days at one of the world’s best places for bird photography, Keoladeo National Park. In the beautiful wetlands that make up Keoladeo, we’re met by a rich bird life of over 350 species. We will photograph the mighty Indian painted stork, the world’s largest crane, the sarus crane, the steppe eagle and many more.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Two of India’s top parks to photograph tigers – Kanha and Pench.
A chance to photograph leopards in Pench.
Kanha’s beautiful surroundings, which inspired Kipling to write The Jungle Book.
The sloth bear in Kanha.
Keoladeo National Park with around 350 bird species.
Possibility of photographing nesting painted storks.
Photograph the world’s largest crane, the sarus crane.
Snakebirds and pelicans fishing.
Photograph the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.
Personal guidance and workshop from Ben Hall.

Book Now

PHOTO TYPE: Wildlife

TRIP LENGTH: 11 days

DATES: March 13-23, 2021

GROUP SIZE: 8-12 guests

PRICE: £ 3 850

Join Ben Hall, one of Britain’s leading professional wildlife photographers on a trip to India and explore and photograph its wildlife with tigers, leopards, sloth bears and rich bird life.

Amazing subjects can be found wherever we turn our cameras, as we stop to photograph a flock of langurs jumping from branch to branch, shaking the foliage. The action-packed photography is suddenly interrupted by a warning call that drowns out the murmur of the jungle. We start the Jeep and follow the warning call that slowly moves through the bush. The warning call comes from a sambar deer and with it a high probability that a tiger is somewhere nearby. After looking around carefully for a moment, we stop our Jeep and wait, full of excitement. After only a few minutes, from out of nowhere, a tigress steps out onto the road ahead of us. She looks around calmly before slowly walking right at us, a photography moment you will never forget.

Join Ben Hall, one of the UK’s most respected wildlife photographers, on a journey to the world of The Jungle Book, to photograph amazing wildlife with the Bengal tiger as the absolute highlight of the trip. In addition to visiting two of India’s best tiger parks, we will also spend a few days at one of the world’s best places for bird photography, Keoladeo National Park. In the beautiful wetlands that make up Keoladeo, we’re met by a rich bird life of over 350 species. We will photograph the mighty Indian painted stork, the world’s largest crane, the sarus crane, the steppe eagle and many more.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Two of India’s top parks to photograph tigers – Kanha and Pench.
A chance to photograph leopards in Pench.
Kanha’s beautiful surroundings, which inspired Kipling to write The Jungle Book.
The sloth bear in Kanha.
Keoladeo National Park with around 350 bird species.
Possibility of photographing nesting painted storks.
Photograph the world’s largest crane, the sarus crane.
Snakebirds and pelicans fishing.
Photograph the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.
Personal guidance and workshop from Ben Hall.

Book Now

DESTINATION INFO

AGRA

The city of Agra is a must when visiting India. This is because of its many fantastic buildings from the Mughal era, most notably the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, both of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, is a mausoleum that ruler Shah Jahan built out of love for his wife. The marble construction took over 22 years to complete and the result was a building that today, 400 years later. Agra Fort is a historical monument built by Emperor Akbar in the 16th century. It is known as ‘The Red Fort’ because it is built out of red sandstone from Rajasthan. The fort covers a radius of three kilometres and within its walls you will find some of the most exquisite architecture from the Mughal era.

KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK

Keoladeo National Park is located in Bharatpur about 55 kilometres from Agra and is a 29km² bird sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter months. The park has a unique mosaic of habitats that includes wetlands, forests, bushlands and grasslands and which supports an amazing diversity of both plant and animal species. There are over 350 species of birds in the park, which include 42 species of birds of prey and nine species of owls. In addition to this, the park is home to 34 species of mammals, 22 species of reptiles and over 30 spider species. Simply a wildlife photographer’s dream!

KANHA NATIONAL PARK

Kanha National Park, in Madhya Pradesh, is the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve, which was created in 1974 under the Tiger project. A strict conservation program for overall protection of the park’s animals and plants makes Kanha one of the most well-managed national parks in Asia. In the park there are great possibilities to see several species of birds, monkey, deer, wild dogs and of course the king of the park – the Bengal tiger. It was the Kanha National Park that inspired Kipling’s classic saga The Jungle Book.

PENCH NATIONAL PARK

Pench National Park is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh. The park has always been rich in wildlife and is especially famous for large herds of Gaur (Indian Bison), Cheetal, Sambar Deer, Nilgai, Wild Dog and Wild Pig. The key predator is the Tiger followed by Leopard, Wild Dog and Wolf. Other animals include Sloth Bear, Chousingha, Chinkara, Barking Deer, Jackal, Fox, Palm Civet, Small Indian Civet, Jungle Cat, Hyena, Porcupine etc.

TOUR ITINERARY

March 13-23, 2021

DAY 1, (13/3) – ARRIVAL TO INDIA AND AGRA

Gathering at Delhi International Airport in the morning, you’ll be met by Ben Hall and our local nature guide, who will be with us throughout the journey. Bus to Agra where we arrive in time for lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the mythical Agra Fort followed by a tour to Mehtab Bagh, a large garden complex on the Yamuna river. Here we are offered a magnificent view of the Taj Mahal at sunset and we are, of course, on site for the best photo light. Taj Mahal is very rewarding to photograph in both sunrise and sunset as the sun makes the building’s marble to shimmer in different colors.

In the evening we eat a nice welcome dinner at the hotel. After dinner, Ben will tell you a little about what to consider for the upcoming days of photography. (L, D)

DAY 2, (14/3) – SUNRISE AT THE TAJ MAHAL PLUS KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK

Early in the morning we will see a completely different side of the Taj Mahal as we visit this amazing monument from the inside and at sunrise. Sunrise over the Taj Mahal, as the marble of the monument continuously shifts in color while the sun slowly rises, is a photo opportunity you don’t want to miss out on and a memory you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. After breakfast and check-out from the hotel, our bus departs towards Bharatpur and Keoladeo National Park, which is located about 55 kilometers from Agra.

Upon arrival in Bharatpur we check-in at Laxmi Vilas Palace, the maharajah’s former palace. As the soft evening light starts to cover the surroundings, it’s time for our first photo session in this bird paradise. Using rickshaws, we make our way around this bird paradise with our experienced and knowledgeable bike guides. After a while the landscape opens up, and we are surrounded by a beautiful swamp landscape where the photo opportunities become more and more frequent the further into the park we come. Subjects are everywhere, and some of the species we photograph are the mighty Indian painted stork, the sarus crane, snakebirds and owls. (B, L, D)

DAY 3-4, (15-16/3) – BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY IN KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK

During the days we explore the park’s beautiful surroundings, and we immerse ourselves in developing our bird photography skills. The experience of looking out over the wetlands and waiting for the perfect photo moment is as tranquil as it is exciting, and you have to keep the camera ready as the right subject can show up at any time. If water levels allow, we will also go out with boats in the quiet morning air. Slowly we glide through the morning mist and into the wetlands where completely new perspectives and photo opportunities await us.

Ben will, during the photo sessions, provide personal guidance, tips and advice as well as show hands-on how he thinks when creating the perfect picture. When we’re not photographing, we will devote a lot of time to image editing and joint image viewings with constructive image critique. (B, L, D)

DAY 5, (17/3) – TRANSFER TO PENCH

After the morning’s visit to the park, breakfast and check-out, we head off to Delhi for our flight to Nagpur, where we arrive around 8 in the evening. After arrival, there will be a bus ride of about two hours to Pench where we check in at the first-class lodge Tuli Tiger Corridor. (B, L, D)

DAY 6 -7, (18-19/3) – SAFARIS AT PENCH

Filled with anticipation, we drive through the gates of our first morning safari in Pench National Park. Here we are met by a completely green and very hilly landscape. In the cool morning air, we move through the dense vegetation and watch the sun rise between the trees. In the mountainous areas it is important to keep a look-out over the steep slopes. With a little luck, we can see a leopard soaking in the warm morning rays of the sun and Ben will constantly alternate between the different Jeeps to best help you develop your photography skills. When the sun starts to rise, so does the temperature and we move towards one of the park’s many water holes where there is a good chance we might find a tiger cooling down. With a bit of luck, we can get beautiful reflection images when the majestic animal is mirrored in the water’s surface. Back after the morning’s safari and lunch there is an opportunity to relax by the pool before heading out on the day’s second safari. From our open Jeeps it is necessary to constantly pay attention to sounds and movements among the trees. Suddenly we will stop on one of the park’s winding roads and our guide points to an area to the left of us. With our lenses, we scan the area for a pair of black stripes that move slowly through the bush. When the female tiger comes out on the open plains, we see that she is not alone, and we are treated to an experience we will not soon forget. Close behind her are three small tiger cubs, quickly hurrying through the open clearing into the protective grass on the other side. After the last safari of the day, we have dinner and if there is enough time, we will go through the photo yield of the day. (B, L, D)

DAG 8, (20/3) – TRANSFER TO KHANA NATIONALPARK

Morning safari followed by check-out from the lodge and about four hours transfer to Kanha National Park and our lodge Tuli Tiger Resort where we arrive in the afternoon. Time for some relaxation and for some image editing. In the evening, dinner is served at the lodge. (B, L, D)

DAG 9-10, (21-22/3) – SAFARIS AT KANHA NATIONALPARK

Every morning we wake up early to head out for safaris at the Kanha National Park. We jump into our Jeeps for our first encounter with chitals, gaurs, langurs and hopefully the Bengal tiger. Inside the park we are greeted by a magnificent natural experience as the sun rises over the open meadows on some sambar deer. As we slowly move into the forest, we are met by a beautiful play of light as the soft morning sun finds its way through the foliage. Ben is always there and shares his great knowledge of how to take advantage of the opportunities that are constantly opening up in front of us. With our memory cards filled, we return to the lodge for a few hours of relaxation on our own, followed by lunch. There is now time to rest and download the morning photos. In the afternoon, it’s time to meet up with the wild animals of Kanha again, in the beautiful national park that once upon a time was the source of inspiration for Kipling when he wrote The Jungle Book in the late 19th century. As always, subjects are everywhere and with a little bit of luck we might even get to photograph the very shy sloth bear. When the sun starts to set, the chances of seeing the tiger increase and with a little luck we will have the opportunity to photograph this majestic animal in the soft evening light. (B, L, D)

DAG 11, (23/3) – DEPARTURE BACK HOME

Morning safari followed by relaxation at the lodge. After lunch, the bus goes to the airport for an evening flight back to Delhi. Upon arrival at Delhi Airport, there will be a transfer to the international terminal. Flight to the UK on your own. (B, L)