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For the wildlife photography enthusiast, Kabini needs no introduction. This region is part of the Nagarhole National Park and encompassed by the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve – one of the largest contiguous forest habitats. Well known for its charismatic megafauna, including Tigers, Leopards, Elephants and Gaurs, these dense forests hold a veritable diversity of animal and plant life.
Join us on this roller-coaster Wildlife Photography Tour of Kabini – for a weekend of exploration, experience, sharing and learning. Photograph the rich diversity of wildlife by vehicle, boat and on foot. Observe natural history and learn how to record and interpret it. Make new friends who share your passion.
Jump to ◆ Tour Highlights ◆ Is this tour for you? ◆ Tour Price ◆ Itinerary ◆ Expert ◆ Sign Up
Tour Highlights
On the banks of the River Kabini, the world-renowned Kabini River Lodge has been a haunt for wildlifers and wildlife photographers for many decades. It has become so famous that the safari region is now affectionately referred to as “Kabini”. In fact, it is part of the Nagarhole National Park, one of India’s finest tiger reserves. In addition to the National Animal of India, the forest is well-known for its elephant herds, stealthy leopards, mighty gaurs and its stunning birdlife. This photography tour aims to rediscover the joys of exploring the forest and learn about the wildlife and how to photograph it with a different perspective.
A wildlife photographer is a story-teller who interprets natural history through her/his photographs. To tell a strong story through a photograph, the photographer needs to have a good understanding of nature, in addition to photography techniques.With a wide range of learning and experience activities, this is one tour that will give you a 360-degree view of wildlife photography, and provides a balanced approach between natural history and wildlife photography.
Tour Highlights
Is this Tour for you?
This tour is designed for photographers of all levels of expertise – amateur and expert – who would like to photograph the beautiful forests and the rich biodiversity of Nagarhole National Park. In our classroom sessions and on-the-field guidance, we discuss wildlife photography and natural concepts and observations from the fundamental principles. As in all our tours, the group size would be limited so that the Darter Photography Expert can interact closely with every participant.
Wildlife enthusiasts who are not photographers, but are keen to see and experience the forests of Nagarhole National Park, are also welcome to join this group. This trip will keep you enthralled from start to finish.
Our tour is designed in such a way that we
Tour Price
The price of the Jungle Tales Photography Tour of Kabini is Rs.28,950 per person. The tour starts and ends at Kabini River Lodge.
The price includes:
The price does not include:
Please note that the above is subject to favorable weather and other conditions. In case of any obstacles, we will do our best to make alternate plans. The cost of the tour or any part of it will not be refunded in the event of unfavourable conditions during the tour days.
Cancellation policy for the Jungle Tales tour of Kabini is as follows:
– 20% of full tour fee is charged as cancellation fee for cancellation on or before August 31, 2018
– 50% of full tour fee is charged as cancellation fee for cancellation between September 1 and September 6, 2018
– 75% of full tour fee is is charged as cancellation fee for cancellation between September 7 and September 14, 2018
– No refunds for cancellation on or after September 15, 2018 or for no-show
Join this Tour
Please email us at photography@darter.in or call us at 9740083260 (Shreeram M V) to join the tour or if you have any further queries.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 (Friday). Reach the Kabini River Lodge at Karapura (run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts) by noon. We check into our tents, relax for a bit and gather for lunch. After lunch, we have a welcome session where we go through a round of introductions (in case we haven’t done that already) followed by an orientation on the tour and wildlife at Kabini by the Darter Photography Expert.
It is then time for the first safari of the tour. We get into the vehicle allotted to us and head out into the jungle for the evening safari. The cool breeze and the greenery of the forest keeps us company as we experience and photograph the myriad forms of life in the forest – the mighty elephants, the huge herds of Chital, the colourful birds…may be even a big cat.
After the safari, we gather for a session on Fundamental Techniques of Wildlife Photography followed by reviews of all the photographs clicked on the evening drive. After dinner, we retire for the day.
Day 2 (Saturday). At dawn, we wake up, have a cup of tea and head out for our second foray into the jungle. Every safari in the forest is a delightful experience and, on a sunny day, the soft morning light might give us some wonderful photography opportunities.
After breakfast, we head out for a nature trail around the resort. We encounter many species of wildlife in the undergrowth – butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, ants and a few birds.
After lunch, the Darter Photography Expert will review the photographs taken during the morning safari. We’ll have a session on different kinds of Light in Wildlife Photography.
It’s time again for the third safari. This time with a difference. We head out on the boat safari along the Kabini Reservoir. Be prepared to fill up your memory cards as we encounter flocks of Cormorants, Egrets, Darters and Painted Storks, raptors like the Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Osprey and Peregrine Falcon, Otters if we are lucky and, who knows, a big cat out for a sip or a hunt! The setting sun plays out an elaborate drama over the reservoir and we’ll try to photograph different perspectives of the forest at sunset.
After the safari, we have a discussion about the observations of the past two days in the forest and photography learning/experiences of all the participants. We’ll head out on a night walking trail around the resort before dinner.
Day 3 (Sunday). The last morning of the tour is here. We head out into the forest for our last safari to photograph the magnificence of the forest. After breakfast, its time to bid goodbye to the amazing forest, with many memories and (hopefully) full memory cards.
In addition to the above, the accompanying Darter Photography Expert would help you with:
Please note that the itinerary above is subject to fair weather and other factors. Darter Photography reserves the right to make changes to the above itinerary at any point of time. Also, please note that photographing the wildlife mentioned above and pictured in the slideshow is indicative and dependent on various external factors, including weather and the wildlife being spotted during our safaris.
Your Photography Expert
Shreeram M V is a professional outdoor photographer, specializing in wildlife and travel photography. He is the co-founder of Darter Photography that specializes in providing photography services such as workshops and outdoor photography tours. He lives in Bangalore, India.
What started off as a fascination for birds in a lake behind his house turned into a journey to different parts of India. For this IIM Bangalore graduate, the passion for wildlife and travel enabled him to charter his own course outside the corporate world. He has explored places as diverse as the rainforests of the Western Ghats, the salt marshes of Kutch, the grasslands of Tal Chapar, the deciduous forests of South and Central India, the high-altitude plateau of Ladakh, the coasts of peninsular India, the forests of North-east India and the islands of Andaman. Beyond India, he has explored some of the world’s greatest wildernesses in Antarctica, Africa and New Zealand.
He has served on the evaluation panel for Karnataka Eco-Tourism Development Board’s Naturalist Certification Program, where naturalists from Jungle Lodges & Resorts and other resorts across Karnataka were evaluated and certified in the first-ever program of its kind in the country. He has also spent over a month at Kabini River Lodge in the summer of 2014 evaluating their naturalists and formulating training requirements to help them interpret the forest better.
See some of his work at Visual Quotient
Registration Details
You can register by making a payment using the gateway below. For alternate payment options or for more information, please fill in the form below. You may also email us at photography@darter.in or call Shreeram (+91-9740083260).