DAY 01
Arrive in Bandipur
Meet in Bengaluru and transfer to Bandipur. Check in, prepare equipment and join the first scheduled wildlife session. Evening orientation covers tracking, photographic priorities and the expedition’s rhythm.
INTERNATIONAL FLAGSHIP EXPEDITION · PERSONALLY LED
The Wild South — Signature.
Eleven days for photographers who value a slower pace and repeated field time. An extended Kabini chapter and two full days in Bhadra leave more room to respond to wildlife, changing light and ideas worth pursuing.
Bandipur 3 nights · Kabini 4 nights · Bhadra 3 nights
$5,000 per person
The international edition includes a private room by default and the agreed Bengaluru ground journey. Twin sharing changes the room arrangement and price; the expedition experience and listed inclusions remain the same.
Prefer to share and save?
Travelling with a partner, friend, or comfortable sharing with another photographer? Choose twin sharing and reduce the cost of your expedition without changing the safari experience.
Twin sharing: $4,399 per person. Room pairing and availability are confirmed before booking.
Wildlife sessions, photography guidance, applicable inclusions, transfers and the expedition experience remain unchanged.
WHY THIS JOURNEY
Time changes
what you see.
Time is the defining difference. Revisit a composition, follow the forest’s changing activity and review the photographs already made. The longer stay supports a more considered portfolio of behaviour, portraits, birds and habitat.
THE JOURNEY, OPEN TO EXPLORE
11 days.
Room to observe.
The complete proposed journey. Read at your own pace. Every day is shown below. Transfer-day outings depend on travel time, park rules and the confirmed operating programme.
Download Expedition Itinerary · PDF ↓CHAPTER 01 · DAYS 1–3
Bandipur.
Dry woodland, grassy openings and denser forest give Bandipur a changing visual rhythm. A broad elephant portrait and a small detail in the undergrowth can belong to the same morning. The reserve forms part of the connected southern landscape that large mammals depend on.
DAY 02
Bandipur · Anticipate the moment
Morning and afternoon sessions with guidance on anticipation, positioning, exposure and composition. Midday is reserved for rest and optional image review.
DAY 03
Bandipur · Develop familiarity
Continue observing the landscape and wildlife movement across two scheduled sessions. Patient field time creates opportunities to refine your approach.
CHAPTER 02 · DAYS 4–7
Kabini / Nagarahole.
Kabini opens into the Nagarahole landscape, where wooded habitat and water create very different ways to frame wildlife. Its connection with neighbouring forests matters as much as a single sighting: this is habitat used by both large herbivores and predators.
DAY 04
Bandipur to Kabini
A final Bandipur session subject to programme, then breakfast and transfer to Kabini. The first Kabini outing depends on arrival and the lodge schedule.
DAY 05
Kabini · Subjects in their world
Morning and afternoon sessions centred on big-cat habitat, elephants, gaur, dhole and environmental storytelling.
DAY 06
Kabini · Refine the sequence
Continue tracking and photography in changing conditions. Midday review explores editing choices, sequencing and what each photographer would like to add to the developing story.
DAY 07
Kabini · The extra field day
A third complete Kabini day creates time to respond to recent wildlife movement and revisit photographic ideas. Two scheduled sessions with personal guidance.
CHAPTER 03 · DAYS 8–11
Bhadra.
Western Ghats forest and the Bhadra reservoir invite a shift of attention. A wooded shore, a bird in motion or the spacing of light across water can become the centre of the photograph. The landscape rewards an interest that extends beyond big cats.
DAY 08
Kabini to Bhadra
A morning session subject to the transfer schedule, breakfast and the journey to Bhadra. Settle into the reservoir landscape; any afternoon experience depends on arrival and lodge operations.
DAY 09
Bhadra · Forest and reservoir
Scheduled experiences may combine jeep and boat. Explore birdlife, mammals, backlight, landscape and environmental frames.
DAY 10
Bhadra · Look a little longer
A second full day opens up the reserve’s quieter photographic possibilities. Continue field photography, then finish with a structured image-review and post-processing discussion.
DAY 11
Final session & Bengaluru departure
An early wildlife experience, breakfast and the return to Bengaluru. Post-trip support for image selection and processing is agreed in the final departure package.
BETWEEN THE FIELD SESSIONS
A place to rest.
Time to reflect.
Meals, rest and selected image-review conversations fit around the forest programme. International flagship circuits include private room accommodation. Meals follow the selected lodge programme.
Bandipur
Bandipur Safari Lodge
Proposed viceroy cottage. Exact room category and availability are confirmed in your written offer.
Kabini / Nagarahole
Kabini River Lodge
Proposed maharaja cottage. Exact room category and availability are confirmed in your written offer.
Bhadra
River Tern Lodge
Proposed cottage. Exact room category and availability are confirmed in your written offer.
These are proposed bases, not confirmed reservations. No particular room, view, private vehicle or exclusive access is promised.
YOUR INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Know what’s
part of it.
The international edition includes a private room by default and the agreed Bengaluru ground journey. Twin sharing changes the room arrangement and price; the expedition experience and listed inclusions remain the same.
Included
- Single-occupancy accommodation throughout the expedition
- Meals supplied within the selected lodge packages
- Scheduled lodge wildlife experiences and forest entry charges
- Applicable camera and long-lens fees for scheduled wildlife sessions
- Ground transfers between the listed forests and the agreed Bengaluru arrival and departure points
- Personally led tracking, behaviour interpretation and wildlife photography guidance by Chetan Kumar
- Selected image-review and post-processing sessions
Excluded
- International and domestic flights
- Indian visa and travel or medical insurance
- Personal camera equipment and equipment insurance
- Alcohol, laundry, tips and personal expenses
- Additional activities, safaris or transfers outside the agreed expedition programme
PLANNING YOUR PLACE
A personal confirmation, at every step.
Enquiries are open; payments are not. The intended sequence is a 10% reservation payment, followed by total payment of at least 75% within 48 hours of written confirmation that the hold is secured.
The remaining balance date and full cancellation schedule will be agreed before any payment is requested.
Your next
forest story.
Review your dates and details, then send Chetan an enquiry. No payment or automatic reservation is made here.