Phillip Pham, Rashmi, and Margriet enjoyed a short wildlife escape to Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, experiencing Tarai winter safaris, a comfortable stay at Hotel Royal Kingdom, and two rewarding tiger sightings along with deer, monkeys, crocodiles, and barking deer during their relaxed 2-night, 3-day trip.

Report By: Mr. Sudhir Sharma

Mr. Philip contacted us for a 02-night wildlife destination within a week’s time. We checked all parks like Ranthambhore, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, and Panna for safaris, but all were sold out. Sanjay Dhubri & Philibhit Tiger Reserve were the only two options for them. As time was short, we could not waste time traveling to Sanjay Dhubri by overnight trains.

Finally, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve done, keeping Corbett aside due to sighting chances. In Corbett, only the Dhikala zone is best for tiger sightings.

Finally, it was a 2-night and 3-day trip planned for them. He wanted to relax, so only 02 safaris were given to them.

30 Nov 24: Delhi—Philibhit Tiger Reserve.

Manish started early from Delhi & reached Hotel Royal Kingdom by lunchtime. Delhi – Pilibhit is about 360 km / 06-07 hr if someone is in a relax mood. As there was no safari today, we relaxed .

This is the only 3-star-level hotel in the Pilibhit area. As this destination is in the developing phase, there are so many nice home stays you can find close to the gate. Hopefully in the next few years nice hotels will also come up.

01 Dec 24: Morning Safari / Zone 01.

The December cold is very tough in the Tarai region. Multilayer clothing is always recommended. We started from our resort, which is 18 km from the safari gate. It was foggy & cold winds were blowing during the safari. Open jeep safaris in chilling cold are a different experience.

We checked all possible points of different tigers in our zone, but no tigers were seen. Other animals like monkeys , deer, and crocodiles were seen.

01 Dec 24: Afternoon Safari / Zone 02.

This was our last safari for the short tour. Our guide collected information about tiger sightings in various zones. He got some clues about tiger spotting in Zone 02 in the morning shift. After entering the park, we directly reached that area. After waiting for 20 minutes, a huge tiger came from the forest on the main road just in front of our jeep. It was a great sighting. After that we moved to other tigers’ territory. We waited for the next few minutes & saw our second tiger.

What a great safari! 02 different tigers, crocodiles & barking deer, besides other common animals.