Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

Tadoba Andhari is Maharashtra's oldest and largest tiger reserve, and among the most reliable places in India to see a wild tiger. The name comes from Taru, a village god whose shrine still stands beside Tadoba lake; Andhari is the river that runs through the southern forest. The habitat is dry deciduous teak and bamboo with open meadows and a few lakes, and in the hot months, when the bamboo has dropped its leaves and the water shrinks back, sightings become extraordinary: tigers lying in the shallows of Telia lake to cool off, sloth bears at the salt licks, dholes hunting in packs, and Indian gaur, the world's largest wild cattle, standing head-high to a jeep.

Safari zones split between the core, entered at Moharli, Kolara, Navegaon and Khutwanda, and buffer zones such as Junona and Agarzari that stay open through the monsoon when the core closes. Between drives there is little to do, which is rather the point: lodges sit among Gond villages, and the afternoon heat is spent under a fan waiting for the four o'clock gate. Nagpur, three hours north, is the nearest city, and the reserve pairs easily with Pench across the Madhya Pradesh border.

Book zones the day permits open, because the good gates sell out within minutes.