India Photography Safari with Paul Goldstein

Share your passion for photography on an Indian Safari with Paul Goldstein

At only 437 sq. km. Bandhavgarh is one of the smaller National Parks made up of grasslands, birch forests and bamboo that provide cover for the plentiful indigenous wildlife. In common with many other parks, Bandhavgarh is home to a wide variety of game including leopard, sloth bear, gaur, sambar, chital, jungle cat, wild pig and of course tiger. The healthy population of approximately 60-70 animals means that this park has the highest tiger density of any of India's reserves. Aside from the game and the tigers, the park also plays host to up to 150 species of birds including many on the migratory trail, such as the Steepe eagle. This trip is all about taking the time to not only see some incredible wildlife but to capture those once in a lifetime images that will bring back memories for years to come. You will be sharing this experience with fellow photography enthusiasts and our own expert Paul Goldstein. Conservationist and photographer, Paul is the man to help you improve your photography skills. His love of wildlife has resulted in three stunning books of  his most memorable images to date. Our local leader Himanshu Bagde will also share his infectious enthusiasm for India's wildlife while ensuring your trip runs smoothly.

People, Places & Planet

Back in 2020, Exodus Travels’ expert guide, award-winning wildlife photographer and conservationist, Paul Goldstein aimed to raise a huge £100,000 over two years for the protection and conservation of the endangered Bengal tigers by running both the London and Everest Marathons in his iconic 14ft Bengal tiger suit. This was fully supported by the Exodus Travels Foundation.

Due to travel restrictions with the COVID-19 pandemic, Paul postponed his marathons to 2021/2022. He has now completed an additional race, the Brighton Marathon, on the 12th September 2021. He also completed the London Marathon on 3rd October, and as a Grand Finale, travelled to Nepal to complete the gruelling Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon on 29th May 2022.

We are thrilled to confirm that to date, Paul has raised a remarkable £105,600 achieving his fundraising target and more due to the incredible generosity of so many friends, clients and Exodus Travels Foundation supporters – thank you to each and every one of you who has donated.

Money raised so far

All donations are going towards the rebuilding and equipping of two schools in Bandhavgarh, on the boundaries of the National Park famous for its tiger population. By providing well over 1,000 local children with an education effectively underwritten by conservation, this initiative will help highlight to the surrounding communities the benefits of their striped neighbours and contribute to the protection of tigers from poachers.

Despite delays to the building work caused by lockdowns in India, our partners have already been able to build the protective boundary walls around both schools and install solar water pumps, supplying schools with clean drinking water. They have also constructed school kitchens and toilets and planted hundreds of saplings in the school grounds. For more information about our People, places and planet please visit our website: www.exodus.co.uk/sustainable-travel

Exodus will donate £25 for every passenger travelling on this itinerary to support TOFTigers’ campaign to protect biodiversity and restore habitats through sustainable tourism.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring your own re-usable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable.

Visa

India

To avoid possible problems at immigration, make sure your passport is valid for a minimum of 180 days at the time of entry into India.

Travellers from the UK, US, CA and EU normally need a visa to enter India. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.
Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/india
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/india
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/India.html

Travellers eligible for an e-visa, which includes those from the UK, US, CA and EU, can apply at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html.

For more information on applying for your Indian Visa/eVisa, please click on this link: Indian Visa Information

Vaccination

India

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, hepatitis A, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and tuberculosis. The risk of malaria is slight, but you may wish to consult your doctor or travel clinic for further advice.

You will also require a yellow fever vaccination certificate if arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Proof of a polio vaccination may also be required by some travellers. Please confirm all requirements and recommendations with your doctor or travel clinic.

Additionally, dengue, a viral disease spread by mosquitoes, is a known risk in India. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available, so we strongly recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Some of our India trips spend time at altitude. In regions over approximately 6,560ft (2,000m), there is little risk of mosquito-borne diseases. For trips above 9,840ft (3,000m), there is a risk of being affected by acute mountain sickness. Our itineraries are designed to enable everyone to acclimatise to these altitudes, but you should be aware that it is still possible for you to be affected. Please see the Trip Notes for further information.

Eating and Drinking

7 breakfasts and 6 dinners are included

As breakfast at the park is taken after the morning safaris and afternoon tea is provided on some days most people find they don't need to have lunch. There is a restaurant at the resort that serves a variety of options if you wish to have lunches.

Weather

September to April is the ideal time to visit this area. Days are normally warm to hot and nights cool or mild. Little or no rain can be expected. In April it can get very hot during the day. Evenings at the game parks can be surprisingly cool, so bring a jumper or lightweight fleece as well as sun hat, sun cream and sunglasses.

Is this trip for you?

Activity Level: 1 (leisurely)

This tour is not physically demanding, and therefore graded leisurely, however please note there are a lot of very early morning starts as this is one of the best times to see tigers.

Game Drive regulations

Due to on‐going changes in the National Park game drive system, the following guidelines and conditions now apply to all bookings:

1) We cannot guarantee the operation of any departure until we have the necessary game drives secured. Our aim is to secure game drives from a variety of gates/zones as per the itinerary, but please be aware that this is subject to availability. The date at which we book the game drives will vary depending as to when the booking system allows us to do so for your departure. If for any reason we are unable to secure the game drives and we have to cancel the trip, you will of course receive a full refund.

2) It will sometimes be possible to book clients on to the trip after the game drives have been booked, however large supplements (add-ons) are likely to be incurred. If we have made initial game drive bookings for a departure we may need to wait until we have further clients ready to book before we can secure an additional jeep.

3) We must provide a list of client names and passport details at the time of booking each game drive. Once game drives are booked, name changes are not permitted. This means that you cannot change or swap jeeps during the trip.

4) It is important that we have your correct passport details at the time of booking. If you end up travelling on a different passport it is imperative that you carry your old passport, or a photocopy of it, with you. If this isn't possible you will need a letter from the passport agency regarding the change of passport, specifying the details of the old passport and the details of the new passport issued.

Photography permit requirements

The two full day game drives include photography permits and the conditions for these is the submission to the National Park of a few good quality sample photographs in high resolution from each jeep on the permits. These photographs should be with the date and timing confirming that these have been taken during the photography safaris in the park. So everyone travelling on this trip must be willing to submit sample photographs to the Tour Leaders before leaving Bandhavgarh. The leaders will assist in collection of the photographs.