By: Anjali Singh Deswal

A growl and a roar, I mean a real one, you guessed it right, I am referring to tigers. Tigers make India renowned throughout the world and it is sheer enchantment to spot tigers in India. When I started my tiger safari I did not know where to spot the big cat but I found out five places where you can meet the wild in the eye.

There are 40 national parks in India where tigers can be found but my hunt for ‘The Tiger’ landed me at the following places.

The first step of my tiger safari was the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, ‘Hindustan ka dil’. I can convincingly conclude that it has the maximum density of tigers. Let me reveal it to you, there are over 50 tigers at Bandhavgarh alone, also known as the ‘Land of the White Tiger’. I also managed to get a peek at sambar, chital deer, wild boar, barking deer, leopard, in short, ‘wildlife at its best’.

Another stop for my awe-inspiring safari was the Ranthambore National Park. Let me tell you folks that this is the place where you can get the best tiger clicks in India. Don’t forget to carry your camera to Ranthambore, I managed some of the finest pictures my house today adorns at Ranthambore.

The most striking feature of Ranthambore for me was ancient ruins. I spotted many tigers and leopards at a fort situated amidst the ruins here. The definition of wild was redefined with even crocodiles being a regular here.

Next stop on the list was Kanha National Park. Made me remember my social science book in school that aptly described Kanha being one of the parks with open expanses where one can spot a tiger with utter ease. I also realized that I saw barasingha here and one can see this endangered species only at Kanha.

Another popular tiger safari destinations that caught my attention was Jim Corbett National Park. Being India’s oldest parks, one can spot tigers as well as soak up some wild experience with staying out in the jungle inside tents and hearing outlandish sounds made by animals throughout the night.

Jim Corbett also made me get au fait to elephants and is known as the ‘elephant park’.

The final halt of my journey into the wild was Satpura National Park. Though, I did not find many tourists here but saw tigers, black bucks, flying squirrels, bears, foxes et al and guess what, I saw them on foot as you are allowed to walk through the woods here.