Madhya Pradesh

You will be met on arrival at Nagpur airport and transferred to Pench Tree Lodge, a private camp set in 40 acres of jungle near the boundary of Pench National Park. The lodge has cottages at ground level and tree houses on stilts in the jungle canopy and will be your home for the next two nights. After your long journey to get here, today can be spent at leisure; perhaps you’d like to walk with a naturalist, learn some Indian cooking skills from the lodge chef or relax by the pool. In the evening Julian Matthews, Founder of TOFTigers, will give a talk on the history of the charity and its vision for the future of tiger conservation in these jungles and across India. Dinner will be at the lodge.

This morning we will be up before sunrise for a chance to see tigers, jumping into open-top 4WD vehicles with an expert naturalist and driving to Karmajhiri Gate, where we will enter Pench National Park. We will have a picnic breakfast in the jungle before returning to the lodge in the late morning. After lunch and some rest, this afternoon offers the opportunity to get to know your bike with a loop of the surrounding villages and, for those keen on a slightly longer ride, a visit to a local market. Again, dinner will be at Pench Tree Lodge, after a briefing about the adventure ahead.

Today marks the beginning of our journey from Pench to Kanha. We begin with a 30 minute drive to Rukhad Gate, where we enter the corridor of jungle linking the two national parks. Our route weaves through forests and agricultural valleys, dotted primarily with Gond tribal hamlets. The Gond people have a diverse social profile. Many still lead a close-to-nature lifestyle that includes agriculture and pastoral activities. Their religious practices center on the worship of clan and village deities, alongside ancestor veneration. With virtually no tourism in this area, the local customs and traditions remain strong and there will be much to see before we reach our camp in a jungle clearing just before sundown.

Mornings in camp are likely to be cool and your hot water bottle will have dipped in temperature, so you may have to drag yourself out from under warm blankets to begin your day in the saddle. We promise it will be worth the effort. After a camp breakfast, we continue eastwards, our route characterised by cultivated valleys flanked by forested hills and again, a succession of Gond and other tribal villages. Our second night camping will be spent in sparse jungle adjacent to a farm owned and run by a young local tribesman and his family.

Whereas until now the forests will have mainly been deciduous teak, today we ride through the enchanting, towering and evergreen sal forests of Kanha. It'll be noticeably less hilly today as we pedal through tribal villages and the earthy aroma of the forest combined with the gentle rustling of leaves and the harmonious calls of birds makes for an inspiring and serene day. There will be opportunities to meet and chat with locals, and even visit local homes. Our final destination today is Bagh Villas, a permanent luxury tented camp with both swimming pool and a massage room on the edge of Kanha National Park.

After breakfast we hop onto our bikes for the final leg of our epic journey, stopping briefly at the home of an extraordinary woman who has devoted her life to the empowerment of local tribal communities. Her story is one of compassion, resilience, and hope. Our adventure continues to a tribal museum and onwards to the Banjar River for lunch. In the afternoon we'll soak up the final stretch of our journey through India's forested Central Highlands as we pedal through our final few villages before arriving at Kanha Earth Lodge, our home for our final two nights.

This morning we will be up before sunrise for a chance to see tigers, jumping into open-top 4WD vehicles, again with an expert naturalist, and driving to Kanha Tiger Reserve. We will have a picnic breakfast in the jungle before returning to the lodge in the late morning. The afternoon can be spent at leisure - there is a lovely pool. Alternatively, you may wish to do another game drive (extra cost) although this will need to be booked well in advance. Dinner will be at Kanha Earth Lodge again.

After breakfast we will drive you to an airport of your choice: either Nagpur (5 hours) or Jabalpur (4 hours) for your onward domestic journey to either Mumbai or Delhi. If you are on the evening flight from Nagpur to the UK (via Doha), you may wish to enjoy another morning game drive (extra cost) in Kanha, for one last chance to see the Bengal tigers.