Responsible wildlife vacations in India
Wildlife vacations in India have had a rapid turnaround really in just a couple of generations. Conservation only started properly in the 1970s when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi put a stop to the massacre not only of tigers but other creatures around the country. Poaching does still happen, however, and that is because there is still a pretty price on the head of tigers, for example, fuelled by the ridiculous market of Chinese medicine. Climate change and loss of habitat also plays a role, but thanks to many conservationist organisations, local communities are starting to realise that these wondrous creatures are worth more alive than dead, if wildlife tourism is carefully and sensitively managed.
Our India wildlife Vacations
Golden Triangle with Ranthambore tour, India
Brilliant experiences including Tigers and Temples
Tiger tour in India, land of the Tiger tour
Wildlife tour through India
Kerala tailor made vacation, 11 days
Revitalize in Kerala - A most wonderful and balanced trip
Rajasthan cycling vacation with Taj & tigers
Enjoy cycling tour in Royal Rajasthan with Taj and Tiger.
Tiger watching vacation in India
A chance to see the majestic tiger in the wild
Wildlife vacation in Central India
Best of Indian wildlife with tiger, leopard and sloth bear.
Rajasthan 15 day tour
A well crafted northern Indian and Rajasthani experience
Tadoba National park tiger safari, India
Tadoba the best tiger reserve of India
Kerala birdwatching vacations, Western Ghats
An endemic birding tour through the Western Ghats of India
India bird watching vacation & Taj Mahal
Bird watching at two of India’s premier wetland reserves.
Kanha tiger safari & cycling tour, India
Safaris plus gentle cycling in the heart of rural India
Golden Triangle & tigers in India
Rajathan's palaces, the Taj Mahal & tigers
Tigers and rhinos tours in India
Go on safari & see Bengal tigers and Rhinoceros
Snow Leopard tracking in the Himalayas
Join expert guides and track snow leopards in the Himalayas
Snow leopard tracking in Ladakh, India
A quest to spot the rare snow leopard in Ladakh
India wildlife safari tour of Kaziranga
Kaziranga- home of the one horned rhino
India big cats safari, lions and tigers
Search for three big cats in Gujurat and Ranthambore
Central India vacation, culture and wildlife
The very best of central India's wildlife and history
India tiger safaris
Stunning Tiger and wildlife safari in India.
Southern India tailor made tour, Jungle trails
Private journey to discover the unique beauty of South India
Kerala walking, culture & wildlife vacation, India
‘Feel’ the place through people, experiences and local food
Western Ghats and Sri Lanka bird watching Vacations
Western Ghats and Sri Lanka endemic bird watching tour
India vacation on a shoestring
Fantastic introduction to exploring Northern India
India tiger safari & Taj Mahal tour
Tiger safari in India's National Parks
North India wildlife vacation
Big Cats, Myriad Birds and the Magical Taj Mahal
Tiger watching tours in India
Discover the wildlife and scenery in four national parks.
Snow Leopard safari in Ladakh, India
A lodge based snow leopard safari in Ladakh
Southern India wildlife vacation, private departure
Explore the rich forests of the Western Ghats in South India
Wildlife & environment
Tigers are not magic
What you can do
Support lobbying charities such as WWF, Born Free and WildAid which work on the ground and at government level to prevent poaching and destruction of wildlife habitats. A very useful website is the Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFT), which not only leads strong campaigns for responsible tiger tourism in India, but has also developed a rating system that measures the ‘footprint’ of individual lodges and hotels in India’s wilderness regions, called the PUG Rating. Another great website is Tiger Nation a website created in India, where you can upload your photos or video footage, share them on social media, but also have the details added to scientific databases for vital research purposes.
Being taken for a ride
For these reasons, we have decided not to promote any elephant trekking or elephant riding trips on Responsible Travel. While elephant safaris do generate income that can support conservation of endangered tigers and rhinos, we feel that, on balance, riding elephants is not an activity that is necessary or ethical.
What you can do:
Read more about the pros and cons of riding elephants in our Elephants in tourism guide, and please do not support the temples which have elephants chained up as a way of raising money, nor ones that perform for tourists either. Same goes for elephants that are painted and decorated for festivals, particularly popular in Jaipur.
“I think that name ‘tiger watching’ should be banned. Don’t go with tigers as your sole focus, there is so much to see in India’s national parks and spending the whole of your safari charging around the park on a hunt for a tiger is such a wasted opportunity. Ask your guide and driver to stop for ten minutes by a lake or stream, listen to the sounds of the jungle, watch the birds, enjoy the beauty of the light coming through the forest. SO much more fun than just thumping along in a jeep.”
People & culture
Wildlife guiding in India
One of the issues of wildlife vacations in India is that there is still no national wildlife guiding association and national park rules vary per state. Very often guides are hired from the local community which, in theory, is a good thing. However, in India, if guides are hired from within certain tribal communities, they are considered ‘untouchables’ within the caste system, something that is still carries weight particularly within the older generation of Indians, many of whom are vacationing at home and on safari. The relationship between tourist and guide can, therefore, come across as more like servant and master, and does not always promulgate a positive wildlife watching environment. With 95 percent of tourists being from India, this can create a feeling of discomfort for international visitors.“Some states train their guides, others don’t, some are naturalists, others aren’t. Sometimes it is a case of a local tribesman turning up at the gate, putting on a uniform, if you are lucky, and being told they are guides. And in fact, they are more like policemen who are to manage tourists, than guides. Some are exceptionally good, but this is the minority sadly. In addition, the guides are very aware of their position within the caste system and just do what they are told by the tourists. And these tourists are also not aware of responsible tourism at all, as they are still catching up with the issues. This is the undercurrent of the guiding fraternity here, which makes the notion of training the majority of these guides very tricky.”
Wildlife or people?
There is often controversy around protecting wildlife habitats, and India is no exception. In 2015, the National Tiger Conservation Authority announced the opening of three new tiger reserves, meaning that the country will soon have 50. The problem is that local people are displaced in these reserve areas and moved into ‘buffer zones’. But even in these buffer zones, their activities are restricted. Yes, these people may be offered employment in the national parks and reserves, but much of this work is seasonal so poaching is still an attractive way to make a living for many. The reason they poach is, predominantly, to sell the tiger body parts to China for the traditional medicine market. Which is why supporting all local initiatives within these areas, not just the parks or reserves, is vital. Stay at homestays, eat locally, use porters as well as local guides and buy local handicrafts.For more details on India’s complex journey from obliteration to conservation of wildlife, treat yourself to local environmental historian Mahesh Rangarajan’s books: India's Wildlife History and The Oxford Anthology of Indian Wildlife.
Responsible travel &
India wildlife vacations
“I’ve really struggled with people whom I’ve specially asked to dress modestly (we operate in a very under-visited part of India where people aren’t used to seeing white people, let alone bare white legs and arms) who’ve then emerged in shorts and a strappy top and asked the guest house owner if they’re ok as they are. Hotel owners are far too polite to say anything, and although everyone is lovely in the part of India in which we work, the local people are embarrassed and that infuriates me.”