WHERE TO SPOT INDIA’S MOST ICONIC SPECIES

For rhinos

Kaziranga National Park Another “out of Africa” yet essentially Asian wildlife experience can be had at Kaziranga, in the north-eastern state of Assam – home of the endangered greater one-horned rhinoceros. The sight of a mother and calf emerging from the tall elephant grass on a misty morning is unforgettable, whether you are tracking them by jeep or by boat – both options at Kaziranga.

As well as rhinoceros, herds of Indian elephants, wild water buffalo, swamp deer, gharial crocodiles and occasionally even Royal Bengal tigers can be seen on dawn and dusk game drives in the national park.

Greaves India (020 7487 9111: greavesindia.co.uk) offers a seven-night itinerary from £2,299 per person, staying four nights at Diphlu River Lodge.

The price includes game drives, most meals, private transfers, and domestic flights from Delhi.

For snow leopards

Hemis National Park

This high-altitude protected area in Ladakh has the highest density of snow leopards anywhere in the world – and is also home to the Tibetan wolf and blue sheep. The spectacular location of this wildlife park – high on the elevated Tibetan Plateau among the high-altitude deserts of Ladakh, surrounded by towering snow-covered Himalayan peaks – is in itself a good reason to venture here. Snow leopard sightings cannot be guaranteed but other exotic fauna are commonly seen, from golden eagles and bharal (blue sheep) to herds of shaggy mountain yaks. Beyond its wildlife,

Ladakh is one of the last places on earth with a living Tibetan Buddhist culture, in which crimson-robed monks issue morning calls to prayer by blowing long horns from the rooftops of ancient monasteries.

Greaves India (020 7487 9111: greavesindia.co.uk) offers a 10-night itinerary from £4,750 per person, staying five nights at the Lung Mar Camp. The price includes game drives, most meals, private transfers, and domestic flights from Delhi.

For leopards

Aravali Hills

This is the best place to see wild Indian leopards in a desert environment, with unlimited access day and night via walking safaris, night drives and off-road trails. The sublime Suján Jawai lodge offers Africanstyle luxury glamping and employs local Rabari villagers as wildlife guides. Leopard sightings are almost guaranteed, as the predators emerge at dawn and dusk to survey a surreal landscape strewn with granite boulders, in search of potential prey. Several species of rare birds, deer, crocodile and porcupine also populate the wilderness.

Greaves India (020 7487 9111: greavesindia.co.uk) offers a seven-night itinerary from £4,799 per person, staying five nights at Suján Jawai. The price includes game drives, most meals, private transfers and domestic flights from Delhi.

For tigers

Pench Park

Located in Madhya Pradesh, which is mostly wilderness, Pench Park has been a long-time participant in Project Tiger and boasts a high density of both tigers and leopards – so sightings are frequent in this lush jungle location in central India. It was the setting for Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 novel The Jungle Book, and most of the wildlife featured in the story – from sloth bears to wolves – can be spotted on safari here. The stylish Jamtara lodge is the first wildlife property in India where guests can spend a night sleeping in African-style Star Beds. Secure beneath a mosquito net and suspended above the forest on an elevated platform, you can slip in and out of sleep to a soundtrack of jungle sounds under a night sky free of light pollution.

The lodge also runs excellent outdoor cooking lessons under a beautiful big banyan tree.

Greaves India (020 7487 9111: greavesindia.co.uk) offers a seven-night trip from £3,399 per person, staying four nights at Jamtara Wilderness Camp. The price includes game drives, most meals, private transfers and domestic flights from Delhi.