There are wildlife destinations that live up to the hype, and then there are places that still feel genuinely undiscovered. Central India belongs firmly in the second category.

We’re incredibly excited to announce our brand-new Backcountry Journeys photography workshop: India: Tigers, Leopards & Wild Dogs — a ten-day wildlife photography adventure designed for photographers who want far more than a quick tiger sighting checklist.

This journey takes us deep into two of India’s most compelling and photographically rich reserves: Satpura and Pench. Together, they offer an experience that is immersive, diverse, and remarkably rewarding for wildlife photographers who value behavior, atmosphere, and storytelling just as much as dramatic predator encounters.

Satpura: India’s Most Underrated Wildlife Reserve

Our journey begins in Satpura Tiger Reserve, one of the most overlooked wildlife photography destinations in India and, arguably, one of the best.

Unlike many of India’s more heavily visited parks, Satpura offers a quieter and more intimate safari experience. Vehicle numbers inside the reserve are tightly controlled, allowing us to spend more time with subjects and work scenes patiently rather than rushing from sighting to sighting. For photographers, that freedom makes an enormous difference.

Even getting there feels like part of the adventure.

We access the reserve by private boat through the beautiful Tawa Backwaters, cruising past reed beds, flooded forest, and glassy morning reflections while photographing birdlife along the way. Ospreys, pied kingfishers, smooth-coated otters, and countless migratory waterbirds all become potential subjects before we’ve even arrived at camp.

Satpura itself is wonderfully diverse. Sandstone escarpments, river corridors, grasslands, and dense forests create an ecosystem packed with photographic opportunities. Sloth bears are one of the reserve’s signature species and are seen here more consistently than in many other parts of India. Their shaggy appearance and unpredictable behavior make them endlessly compelling subjects to photograph.

The reserve is also home to one of India’s most unusual mammals: the Malabar giant squirrel. With deep chestnut, burgundy, and cream-colored fur, these oversized squirrels look almost unreal as they leap through the forest canopy.
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And while tiger sightings are certainly possible in Satpura, this reserve is about far more than chasing big cats. It’s about slowing down, paying attention, and photographing the incredible depth and texture of an ecosystem that many photographers completely overlook.

Pench: Classic Predator Country

After Satpura, we shift to a completely different style of wildlife photography in Pench National Park.
If Satpura feels layered and exploratory, Pench feels electric.

This is classic predator habitat: open teak forest, cleaner sightlines, dramatic light, and some of the best opportunities in India for photographing tigers, leopards, and dholes. The reserve famously inspired Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, and it absolutely feels like stepping into that world.

Tiger sightings in Pench are consistently excellent, but what makes this reserve truly special is the diversity of predator encounters possible. Leopards roam the forests here in healthy numbers, while packs of Indian wild dogs, known locally as dholes, provide some of the most exciting wildlife action anywhere in Asia.

Watching a pack of dholes move through the forest in coordinated pursuit is pure adrenaline for wildlife photographers.
We’ll spend three full days exploring Pench on morning and afternoon safaris, allowing enough time to build familiarity with the animals and their territories rather than simply hoping for quick encounters. The best wildlife photography rarely comes from luck alone. It comes from time, patience, and understanding the rhythms of a place.

More Than Just Tigers

What makes this workshop especially exciting is the sheer range of photographic opportunities.

Yes, there will be opportunities to photograph tigers. But this trip goes much deeper than a traditional tiger safari.

Over the course of the journey, photographers may encounter sloth bears, leopards, smooth-coated otters, dholes, mugger crocodiles, gaur, giant squirrels, owls, kingfishers, hornbills, and an incredible diversity of birdlife and smaller wildlife subjects. Few destinations offer this kind of variety packed into a single itinerary.

The progression between Satpura and Pench is also incredibly intentional from a photographic standpoint. Satpura teaches patience, observation, and storytelling. Pench then builds on that foundation with faster-paced predator photography and dramatic wildlife encounters.
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By the end of the trip, photographers leave with far more than a collection of tiger portraits. They leave with a portfolio that genuinely reflects the complexity and beauty of central India’s forests.

Designed for Serious Wildlife Photographers

Every aspect of this workshop was carefully chosen to maximize quality photographic opportunities and create a deeper connection to the landscape itself.

From private boat access through Satpura’s backwaters to atmospheric wilderness lodges and stunning treehouse accommodations in Pench, this journey is designed to immerse photographers inside these ecosystems rather than simply placing them nearby.

This is not mass tourism. It’s a thoughtfully crafted photographic experience built around time in the field, flexibility, and meaningful wildlife encounters.

Join Us in India

Central India is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most exciting destinations for wildlife photography, and this new workshop is an incredible opportunity to experience these forests while they still feel wild, authentic, and relatively undiscovered.

If you’ve been dreaming of photographing tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears, and India’s extraordinary biodiversity in a truly immersive way, we’d love to have you join us.

Learn more about the new India: Tigers, Leopards & Wild Dogs workshop and reserve your spot!