WILDLIFE SAFARIS

INDIA’S BIG FIVE

TIGER - INDIAN ELEPHANT - ASIATIC LION - INDIAN RHINO - INDIAN LEOPARD

India is without doubt the world's best place to sight tiger in the wild. The size of its tiger population and number of accessible, well-managed National Parks located throughout the country is unmatched. India's unique 'Big 5' mammals are found in different habitats throughout the length and breadth of the country, from the rhino's in the north, lions in the west, elephants in the south and central India as the core stronghold for tigers and leopards. Our Big 5 itinerary takes you on a comprehensive and breathtaking journey that traverses these diverse regions, leading to encounters with so many of India's other wild wonders along the way.

INDIA’S BIG CATs

TIGER - SNOW LEOPARD - ASIATIC LION - INDIAN LEOPARD (including melanistic leopard or 'black panther')

India is home to a number of enigmatic big cats, with the Royal Bengal Tiger arguably regarded as the world's most loved animal. While tigers and leopards are found in National Parks throughout the country, we partner with guides and operators in specific parks that are well-known to us, so you receive only the best experiences that India has to offer. Highly-specialised tours that focus on specific and rarer cat species, such as the snow-leopards of the Himalaya and the few pockets where you can sight the melanistic morph of the leopard - also referred to as the black panther. Gujarat in west India is the world's last refuge for the wild Asiatic lion.

INDIA’s SMALL CATs

PALLAS CAT - EURASIAN LYNX - RUSTY-SPOTTED CAT - CARACAL - JUNGLE CAT - ASIATIC GOLDEN CAT - DESERT CAT -CLOUDED LEOPARD - LEOPARD CAT - MARBLED CAT - FISHING CAT

Small cats are our passion! We have spent years travelling through different parts of India, working and researching with some of the best naturalists in the field to discover these shy, beautiful and rare cats. The result is that Vana Safaris is able to offer completely unique small-cat safaris that no else in India can offer. As with all wildlife, sightings of rare cats can never be guaranteed, but you can be assured that we go to all lengths to make our trips as successful as possible. Small cat safaris are for true wild cat lovers and adventurists who embrace off-beat experiences. 

MAMMAL-WATCHING SAFARIS IN INDIA

sloth bear - dhole (wild dog) - Binturong - Asiatic Grey Wolf - Bengal Slow Loris - Stump-tailed Macaque, Short-nosed Fruit Bat

Over many years of travel, our wonderful encounters with so many of India's rich and diverse mammal species have enabled us to design a number of tours that can be tailor-made to take you to some of India's finest natural habitats, getting you close to the mammals you have dreamed of sighting in the wild. As well as visiting some of India's more accessible National Parks, our tours include well-researched and fully-guided journeys to India's north-east, in search of nocturnal mammals like the shy and rarely-observed Binturong. We also create tours focusing on specific family groups, such as wolves, bats and primates, and we will soon be offering marine-watching tours. If you have a specific mammal that you want to see, we have the expertise to help you achieve it.  

"We are spoilt Avi, a whole national park to ourselves and a Chinese pangolin in the wild!" - Marc and Peggy, US, April 2016

ENDEMIC MAMMALS OF INDIA

NILGIRI TAHR - NILGIRI MARTEN - LION-TAILED MACAQUE - JERDON'S PALM CIVET - SOUTHERN TREE SHREW - BROWN MONGOOSE - TRAVANCORE FLYING SQUIRREL - MADRAS SPINY DORMOUSE & MORE…

India has an impressive list of endemic mammals, many of which are rare, shy and quite a few are nocturnal. Our detailed research has enabled us to design very specialised and fully-guided tours for mammal-watchers and photographers. Tracking rare and shy mammals requires skill, patience and a certain amount of luck, and an encounter with these unique mammals is highly rewarding. We partner with the best guides who practice responsible and sensitive tracking methods, so you can be assured the best experience as we try to fulfil sightings of our target species.

RED PANDA SAFARI

RED PANDA - MASKED PALM CIVET - BINTURONG - YELLOW-THROATED MARTEN

A Vana Safaris favourite! This fully-guided or semi-guided tour takes place in India's north-eastern forests which - in addition to the joy of seeing this unique mammal - gives you the opportunity to explore this lesser-frequented region, with opportunities to see small cats and other rare mammals. Join us on this exciting journey as we discover new, lesser-known habitats for this magnificent mammal.

"It was a fantastic trip and the pandas were the cutest wild mammals!" - Robin Hamilton, UK - Nov 2016

BIRD-WATCHING HOLIDAYS IN INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

SPOTTED ELACHURA - BLUE-NAPED PITTA - SIBERIAN RUBY-THROAT - MOUNTAIN SCOP'S OWL - GREY HYPOCOLIUS - GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD - BENGAL FLORICAN & MANY MORE…

With the diverse habitats of the mountains, deserts, forests and coastal belts, the Indian Sub-continent is home to some 1100+ bird species. We offer a wide choice of birding tours throughout India, Nepal and Bhutan, all led by either Avijit or one of our top birding partners. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned birder, a bird-artist, photographer or sound recorder, we will design a tour tailor-made to your specific interests and targets. Look out for our birding tours to Thailand and Borneo, coming soon.

"We travelled north from Roing into the heart of the Mishmi Hills, over the Mayodiya Pass, and north up the Dirang River Valley to Anini, Mipi and Dumdin, in order to search for birds in this remote and little-known area." - Ben King and Julian Donahue, US, 2004

ENDEMIC BIRDs of india

MISHMI WREN-BABBLER - WHITE-BELLIED BLUE ROBIN - NILGIRI BLUE ROBIN - GREEN AVADAVAT - MOTTLED WOOD OWL - PAINTED SPURFOWL - WHITE-NAPED TIT - SYKES LARK 

Around 79 endemic bird species can be found in India, mostly in the rainforests of the Western Ghats and the beautiful, richly-forested Andaman islands. Few species can also be found in northern and western India, as well as the north-east. We offer fully-guided and semi-guided, tailor-made tours and we have a high success rate in finding our target bird species, which makes these tours enormously rewarding. 

BUTTERFLY & MOTH-WATCHING AND ODONATA (DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES) TOURS IN INDIA

BIRDWINGS - DRAGONTAILS - KAISAR-I-HIND - KOHINOOR - BHUTANGLORy & many more…

1318 species of butterflies, over 1300 species of moths, more than 500 species of dragonflies and damselflies... a lot to see! Join us as we take you through a specially designed tour to find these little winged jewels. Bring your kids and fill their life with joy as they watch these beautiful creations of nature, while you shoot happily with your lens or sit and paint/sketch them.

HERPING & AMBPHIBIAN-WATCHING TOURS IN INDIA

TOKAY GECKO - DECCAN GROUND GECKO - KING COBRA - OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLE - BLUE-EYED BUSHFROG - DANCING FROG - STAR-EYED BUSHFROG & SO MUCH MORE…

610 species of reptiles; 410 species of frogs - with new discoveries occurring as you are reading this page! We create tours to watch endemic reptiles & amphibians, lead by experts from the field who will help you observe and photograph these minute wonders.

BOTANICAL HOLIDAYS IN INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

RHODODENDRONS - HIMALYAN LILY - STROBILANTHES - HIMALAYAN BLUEPOPPY - CYPRIPEDIUMS - SAUSSEREAS - BARRINGTONIA - INDIGOFERA & SO MANY MORE SPECIEs…

From the Rhododendrons growing in western and eastern Himalayas to the beautiful bloom of Strobilanthes in the Western Ghats, or the special fresh-water mangroves in Assam - we can create tours to watch and learn about the botanical diversity of India with leading experts traveling with you to help you find, observe and photograph/paint these beautiful plants in pristine landscapes.