To my delight, dinner is served outside that evening. Dining under the stars may sound like inflated marketing speak, but as I make my way to the table, I’m gobsmacked by the—yes—blanket of stars above us. As for the food itself: equally as captivating. The resort’s Executive Chef Sachin Kumar trained with the Royal Kitchen of Nagod, so you can expect local ingredients and heirloom recipes taking center stage. I pair shallow fried lotus stems and jackfruit dumplings simmered in rich tomato gravy with a beverage selected from the Jungle Book-themed cocktail list. (It should be known that Rudyard Kipling’s famed 1894 collection of stories were primarily set in Madhya Pradesh, as well as the region of Seoni.)
Photo: Courtesy of the Oberoi Group
Photo: Courtesy of the Oberoi Group
The next morning, it’s not my phone—set for 4:45 a.m.—that wakes me, but the hooping echoes of the male macaque. Nature’s alarm clock at its finest. After warm tea and biscuits at the main lobby, I hop in an open-air Gypsy with Nakul, a naturalist in partnership with Abercrombie & Kent, and we set off into the quiet morning darkness.
Bandhavgarh is split into three core zones: Tala, Magadhi, and Khitauli (as well as three buffer zones where villagers live). In addition to the park’s approximated 135 tigers, wildlife sightings can also include leopards, sloth bears (no relation to sloths), elephants, and over 250 species of birds. The landscape is described as a moist mixed deciduous forest, but in layman’s terms, it’s a striking combination of dense woodlands, sprawling plains, and a towering plateau in the distance.
The first time I see the tiger (about an hour in) a mix between awe and terror washes over. The simultaneous realization settles in that these impossible creatures actually exist…and that one is a mere 15 feet away from me and my flimsy human exterior. Heart rate rises, breath softens, and eyes glue to this magnificent 500-pound mammal that could rip me to pieces with the simple swipe of its striped paw.
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Photo: Courtesy of The Oberoi Group