Kanha was a joy to explore, complete with a grassland area where rare southern swamp deer thrive, having been brought back from the brink of extinction. With a core area covering 580 square miles, it is the second largest reserve (after Satpura) in Madhya Pradesh: I took in part of the west of the park from Kipling Camp and a southern stretch from my last port of call, Kanha Jungle Lodge.
Sankhala is certain I’ll see a tiger. He tells me this as we bump along the dirt roads of Bandhavgarh National Park, India’s tiger country – 1,540km2 of swaying grassland and tropical forest where the mighty Bengal tiger roams freely.
Today, Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge is managed by a member of the third generation of the Sankhala family – Pradeep’s son Amit. A trustee of the Tiger Trust, Amit also manages the Kanha Jungle Lodge, near Kanha National Park, and, like his father and grandfather, is regarded as an important Indian wildlife conservationist.