"Cottages and waterhole tents in Satpura, explored on foot, by canoe and cycle"
Satpura is the Madhya Pradesh tiger reserve where you can get out of the jeep, and Reni Pani Jungle Lodge is built around that freedom. The lodge deliberately favours non-motorised ways into the landscape: walking safaris, canoeing on the Denwa backwaters, cycling and overnight camping expeditions, with jeep and motorboat excursions for the classic game drives. Satpura's walking safaris are, on the lodge's own telling, possible nowhere else, and its camera traps have turned up Central India's first known population of Eurasian otters.
Reni Pani takes its name from a neighbouring tribal village, itself named for the reni tree, a berry whose abundance draws sloth bears and birds onto the property. The terrain here is the reserve in miniature: a seasonal nullah, stretches of teak and rugged hillocks. Twelve luxury cottages come in three architectural designs, built with indigenous materials and given viewing decks, large lounging bay-windows and generous bathrooms. The four luxury tents sit apart, ringed around a perennial waterhole 11 km from the tiger reserve, so the wildlife watching starts at your own doorstep, with an outside shower for good measure.
Your personal butler will arrive at your cottage to escort you to dinner and guide you in the dark.
This is the wilderness arm of Bhopal's Jehan Numa Group, 130 km from the city, and the hotel-family polish shows. Dinner happens at the Gol Ghar, the main dining area, bar and lounge with a central fireplace, and the lodge promises surprise venues beyond it. Between safaris there is a seasonal outdoor pool, a library and a massage menu running to five treatments. For the more ambitious, the lodge's Satpura Under Canvas programme walks guests through the forest on a mobile camping expedition, and its Pachmarhi trek follows the route Captain James Forsyth, the region's first western explorer, used to climb the hills. We think it is one of the most convincing cases in India for slowing a safari down to walking pace.
Near Sohagpur in Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh, about 130 km from Bhopal (BHO), the nearest airport, which the lodge puts at roughly three and a half hours by road. The tents sit about 11 km from the Satpura Tiger Reserve.
Anyone who wants to get out of the jeep. Satpura permits walking safaris, canoeing and cycling, which most Indian tiger reserves do not.
Twelve rooms and four luxury tents.
Every night on the Jungle Plan carries one jeep safari and one non-jeep activity, along with all meals and snacks. The non-jeep activity can be a motor boat, a canoe in the core, a buffer zone jeep safari or a walk.
Yes. Safaris run on a shared basis with four guests to a jeep, and guests staying on the same dates are grouped together, with the lodge setting the schedule. An exclusive jeep can be arranged at extra cost if you ask at the time of booking, and then you can suggest the timings. The motor boat safari is not offered on an exclusive basis.
No. The park authority has banned carrying a mobile handset inside the national park, both for photographs and for calls. Bring a camera if you want pictures. The authority has also discontinued night patrol.
The lodge favours non-motorised ways of exploring, walking, canoeing, cycling and camping safaris, alongside jeep and motorboat excursions, all led by its naturalists. A full day zone free jeep safari is available on any day except Wednesday, and horseback riding with a bush breakfast or high tea runs from 15 October to 15 March.
Yes, a seasonal outdoor pool. There are also massage therapies and a library at the lodge.
In the Gol Ghar, the main dining area, bar and lounge with a central fireplace; the lodge also lays on surprise dining venues.
The tents are set around a perennial waterhole, and the lodge says the reni berry trees it is named after draw sloth bears and birds into the grounds. A butler escorts you to dinner after dark.
Twelve cottages across three designs — nallah, forest and hill units — built from indigenous materials, each with a viewing deck, large lounging bay windows and a luxury bathroom. Air-conditioned, with tea and coffee maker, wardrobe and in-room safe.
Set around the lodge's perennial waterhole, so animals come to drink within sight of the deck; the reserve lies 11 km away. Air-conditioned, with a separate living room, wardrobe, in-room safe and tea and coffee maker.
Ten tented suites among billion-year-old granite, where leopards live openly alongside Rabari herdsmen. Twice-daily drives, Marwari horses, and candlelit brass baths under the stars.
Rates on request, usually back within the hour
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Rates on request, usually back within the hour
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Twelve campaign-style tents on the edge of Ranthambhore: brass bathtubs, a Tatler-listed jungle spa, campfire cooking, and India's most celebrated tigers a game drive away.
Rates on request, usually back within the hour
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