One can select zones or routes at the time of booking. Popular zones fill up quickly on the opening day of the safari date due to limited available vehicles.

Be cautious of individuals who claim that departments allocate zones or routes.

• Yes, one can book jeeps on private & sharing basis. You have to pay for 06 pax in case of private jeep. In sharing jeep, you may pay how much seats you require to sit comfortably.
• In Ranthambhore normal pricing all jeeps are booked on sharing as well private basis. But in Central Indian parks like Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Pench, Sanjay Dhubri 90% of the jeeps are booked on private basis.
• However, Tatkal / Instant quota jeeps everywhere are booked on private basis. These last-minute jeeps are very expensive

As every park has different ruling for safari, below is general idea. The more advance you plan the more you will save!

Let us understand the Blackout period of parks & destinations. This year is to be like this.

Diwali festival (28 Oct 24 to 15 Nov 24) & Christmas holidays (22 dec 24 to 05 Jan 25) time in North India are very busy every year. So, if your dates are falling this span then you must plan well in advance.

Beside these Holi festival (13 March 25 to 16 March 25) & Easter weekend (18 April 25 to 22 April 25) are tight enough.

Here is time window for planning any wildlife destination for black out periods.

• Jim Corbett: 60 days prior for Night stay & Day visit safari.

Central Indian Parks:

•  Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Pench, Satpura, Sanjay Dhubri :120 days prior.

• Tadoba: 120 -60 days prior.
• Ranthambhore: 120 to 180 days prior.
• Sariska: 90 days prior.
• Pilibhit Tiger Reserve & Dudhwa Tiger Reserve: 90 days prior.

Remember that Jeep & Canters are vehicles for safaris. Jeep has 06 pax capacity while Canter is18 to 20 pax capacity.

In Ranthambhore & Sariska the number of jeeps & canters is same for safari. So, selection of good zone is most important thing for safari for sightings. One should always prefer good zones rather than type of vehicle.

In Central Indian parks mostly, vehicles are jeeps. Here also good zones must be preferred.

Every Park has guides & drivers registered with them to conduct safaris. Normally these guides & drivers are allotted by roaster system for giving equal opportunities of employment. These guides are paid by tourists & drivers are paid by vehicle owner.

But one can select professional guide/ choice guide & drivers for their safari by paying extra fee prescribed by each park.

Normally people prefer to take choice Guide because Driver selection is expensive. We have a panel of senior guides in each park. If someone need, then let us know.

Driver of Choice is recommended when you are going for expensive photography trips

If you can plan your trip well in advance then you can select park of your choice.

But if you are late then do not run after particular park. Change the park with best zones available for sightings in other parks. For changing parks, one must be flexible in itinerary with 01 or 02 days.

For example, if Ranthambhore & Kanha etc.  is sold out then you can opt for other parks like Bandhavgarh, Panna, Pench, Tadoba, Sanjay Dhubri etc.

Now days over nights trains are there to connect you in other parks.

Normally people search for safaris online & they come a cross hundreds of websites from different agencies.

Some companies have direct safari booking system on their site. In those sites you find date, shifts, members details etc for filling form, which gives you feeling of official site. People get trapped to these sites. People think that they are booking safari on gov site or this agency has been authorized by forest department. But that is not the case. After taking all the details (in the form filled by you), they ask to make payment.

After making payment you will get your safari is confirmed by simple mail. They do not give zone details etc. People think that safari is done but sometimes no one picks phone when you reach the park. They do not tell you zone till end & simply say that zones are allotted by the department.

One can easily differentiate between a fake travel agency site & official safari booking site by department by checking the url.

• All parks safari sites end up with. gov.in or by gov.org
• None of the park in India uses .com site for their safari booking system.
• More details about url can be seen on our national park & safaris page of www.culturalsafaritours.com

We believe in Know well, Plan well & Enjoy well.

We are very transparent in planning. We share all ground realities with clients like the availability of good zones with tigers’ moment. Always keep our clients updated after tour being booked with us regarding zones booked by us.

All our planners are naturalists in different parks. We work as per their recommendation in selecting zone as they go to park daily. For Photographers if required, we organize google meet with our senior field experts during planning.

Previous years sighting record help us to recommend better park, zones for safari. One can know in our recent sightings section.

Besides this if someone is taking multiday wildlife tours or photography tours then we provided tour guides besides local guides. This is done to reduce communication errors while working in remote parks.

Although sightings are not in our hand but we believe that our efforts must be genuine