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Experiences in the Kanha Tiger Reserve

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Experiences in the Kanha Tiger Reserve Experiences in the Kanha Tiger Reserve Jeep safaris into the Park in specially customised 4x4 vehicles. These drives are offered twice a day. These safaris provide the best opportunity for all types of wildlife viewing and wildlife photography. Kanha offers over 300 species of birds, and a rich insect and plant life, as well as the chance of observing many mammals including large and small cats including tigers, leopards, and jungle cats, dhole, jackals, wolf, gaur, deer, and sloth bear. Trained naturalists use these drives to introduce the bio-diversity of the Park and to explore the myriad facets of the functioning of the eco-system that forms Kanha Tiger Reserve. Afternoon drives are predominantly experienced in the Mukki region of the Park focusing on tracking calls, bird watching and experiencing the activities that take place in a forest at dusk. Time Involved: Morning Safari 5 to 6 hours / Afternoon Safari 3 to 3.5 hours Schaller’s Kanha One of the first scientific studies on wildlife in India was a book titled the „The Deer and the Tiger‟ by internationally renowned wildlife biologist Dr. George Schaller. A morning can be spent revisiting the areas where Dr. George Schaller undertook his research and discussing Kanha as he knew it with comparisons to today. Time Involved: Morning Safari 5 to 6 hours The Jungle Book & Mowgli special safari (Kanha for Kanha’s children) Take a morning to give a special present to some tribal children from Kohoka Village. Take two children with you into the Park to show them the world that exists on the other side of the fence. Typically, most children from the buffer zone do not 1 have the opportunity to visit the Park. At no extra cost to yourself, invite two children to fill the empty spaces in your Safari Vehicle and get the opportunity to experience how the visit to the Park allows Children to see the natural heritage they are the guardians of. Time Involved: Morning Safari 5 to 6 hour Optional Day Trip to Phen Sanctuary Kanha Tiger Reserve comprises of 940 km2 of core area, with 1009 km2 of buffer zone and a satellitic micro-core – the Phen Wildlife Sanctuary. A one day trip to the nearby Phen Sanctuary includes visits to rarely frequented areas offering visually stunning panoramas and good opportunities for ornithology, and chances of viewing the 22 species of mammals found in Kanha and Phen. Time Involved: One day Village Experiences Village Market and Cattle Fair Mohgaon, Baihar and Sarekha are three village marts, on different days of the week, which offer a chance to experience the charming chaos of traditional markets. On offer you will find fresh farm produce, seeds and saplings, spices, bamboo wares, earthen pots and ethnic jewellery, the local tailor making instant blouses, the repair shop for transistor radios, the cobbler, knife sharpener, ear cleaner, local barber holding forth in his shop under a tree and congregations having a shot of “chai” at the tea stalls all to the accompaniment of local music blaring from a small chai stall. In addition, once a week at Mohgaon there is cattle fair where several hundred cattle are brought for sale or barter. 2 Time Involved: Two Hours / held twice a week (Thursday’s & Sunday’s) Village visits Visit our village Kohoka. Be a guest in a tribal home, see cow dung patty cakes being made for fuel wood, kitchen gardens and local produce being dried in the sun, watch the women work in the fields, paint intricate designs on their walls and floors, see the temple, and understand the harmony of their lives with nature. Time Involved: One Hour Meet the tribal potters of Baihar An opportunity to meet the traditional potters of the area by visiting their colony. See them at work using the traditional potter’s wheel, try your hand at casting a pot, and see them mix the clay, stack pots in their kilns and get the chance to buy the wonderful black pottery of the region. Your visit encourages the survival of a local craft and lends support to a much neglected section of artists. Time Involved: One hour or more Experiences in the Buffer Zone and Surrounding Forests The Jungle through the Six Senses Walks take place in the buffer forest that adjoins Singinawa along the river Tannaur. The walk is aimed at experiencing the forest through all five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch and awakening the sixth sense – intuition or instinct. Being on foot allows the senses to be permeated by the Jungle and opens a secret world that is normally missed when in a vehicle on safari. The focus of the walk will be on wildlife viewing but with a focus on interpretation of tracks and jungle signs. The length of walks can be tailored but typically last a couple of hours, stopping en-route for refreshments/ picnics. Time Involved: 2 to 3 hours 3 Paghdandi Bicycling trips Take a Paghdandi (footpath) into the interiors of the forest on a 20km track using special all terrain Firefox bicycles to Jaldidand Baiga Village in the interiors of reserved forest. The village is a showcase of traditional Baiga Tribal life with beautifully painted mud huts belonging to a primarily agrarian tribal society. Life in these villages remains untouched by modern development and allows a rare insight into the anthropological heritage of Madhya Pradesh. The village location also allows for panoramic views of the landscapes and forests of the area. (Recommended for groups of not more than 4 people) Time Involved: 5 hours Singinawa Farms An organic farm across the road from the Lodge that supplies farm fresh produce, home grown wheat, and rice to the Lodge. An ideal place especially for those interested in gardening or for children to experience a traditional Indian farm complete with cows, bullocks for ploughing the fields, free ranging chickens and goats. Also a great place for water birds especially the resident kingfisher colony that lives on the edge of the dam adjoining the Farm. Time Involved: One Hour Singinawa Foundation Add a new dimension to your holiday. Use some of your time at Singinawa to join the Foundation in its daily activities with the Buffer zone community. Visit the School that has been adopted by Singinawa; plan your holiday to include some voluntary work with the Foundation. The foundation has in the past built 5 water holes for the core area of the Park, held 4 health camps for 56 villages in the Buffer zone of the park treating 2300 people, helped procure seven 4x4 vehicles for each of the forest ranges within Kanha and are now working closely with the government authorities in connection with health care, education and other activities. Time Involved: Personalised to suit your requirements Costs Involved: A donation in kind would be appreciated for the project you choose to work with The S p a at S i n g i n a w a The Spa at Singinawa is carefully designed to help you relax, rejuvenate and renew yourself to add to the complete holiday experience. Started as an attempt to offer an alternate means of economic benefit to the local community, the therapists at the Spa are members of the local community who have been trained in India and Nepal in the arts of massage and reflexology. All the therapies have been carefully designed with a balance of Indian and oriental healing treatments, incorporating all that is required to promote physical, mental and spiritual equilibrium. The Tannaur Treat Take a day off. After a lie in and a leisurely breakfast, or the morning Park Safari, head to the Tannaur river beach for the day. An ideal place to relax with a book, and some binoculars (the river and its bank are rich in bird life), enjoy the tranquil sounds of the water, the calls of the wild, and perhaps dip your toes into the cold, refreshing waters of the stream. Lunch is cooked fresh and served piping hot by your cook and attentive personal waiter under a charming gazebo set up especially for the occasion. Follow this with a leisurely Signature Reflexology or Oriental Oil free Massage treatment, soaking in the sun in surroundings that are truly magical. Choose to head back or just enjoy the peace. After a picnic tea head back to the Lodge in time for your favourite sun downer. (Recommended for groups of not more than 4 people.) Time Involved: Personalised to your needs 5 Singinawa Eco-restoration Walk The Lodge grounds have been painstakingly restored to provide habitat for the wildlife of the Buffer zone of Kanha Tiger Reserve. The grounds have resident herds of Chital deer. Occasionally glimpses can be had of visitors like muntjac, jungle cats, leopards, wild boar, sambar, and swamp deer and at the last count over 150 species of birds. With a 2 km nature trail on the Lodge grounds covering over 58 acres, Singinawa offers a unique eco experience at your doorstep with naturalists explaining how degraded forest land can be restored back to optimal habitat using a combination of simple replicable techniques. Time involved: One Hour Children’s Activities We offer activities for children specially tailored to different age groups. These include the chance to learn traditional Indian games like Gulli-Danda and engage in a friendly Kabaddi match with the school children from our village; try a traditional gulel (catapult), play marbles, pugmark identification, plaster cast making techniques, reading jungle sign, and kite making and kite flying the traditional Indian way. Learn to make rangolis (intricate patterns with dry colour) on the ground, make fresh marigold garlands the Indian way.
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