I’m privileged to have lived in India and spent a lot of time sampling it’s national parks, I’ve run a lodge in Kanha National Park and written a book about the experience too!
Here are some handy hints about the small things that REALLY matter whilst on safari.
1. Buy a good sports bra. At good lodges and reserves, your guides will take you off road, often. The roads might not be great and if you have to go off road, well…..
2. Dress in layers. You’d be surprise by how many people turn up on safari with just a t-shirt or a light sweater. 
From Nov – Feb in particular IT WILL BE COLD in the very early morning, outside temperatures plus there’s the wind chill factor. However, the day heats up as the sun rises. If you’re wearing layers, you can shed a layer as you go along. You’ll start with layers, gloves, hat, scarf and huddled under a blanket with a hot water bottle (if staying in a posh lodge). The first to go is the blanket and by the end of the safari, chances are you’ll be down to t-shirt and trousers.
3. Take a hat! Most safari vehicles in India are open-topped. You’ll fry otherwise. Though to be fair, in winter it will first stop you freezing before you fry.
4. If you have long hair, don’t forget a scrunchy/bobble to tie it back with, at times, you will be traveling at speed!
4. Wear closed shoes, no matter how hot. Chances are, you won’t get out of the vehicle but you just never quite know. If there’s a flat tyre or other emergency, there might be walking involved and that’s not great in the forests open shoes. If visiting Satpura National Park then there’s also the opportunity to head out on walking safari in the core zone, and you’ll definitely need closed, practical shoes.
5. Tell your guide if you’ve been on safari before, and whether you have special interests. Many guides in India are used to focusing just on the key species, that being, the tiger, unless you’re in Gir, in which case its the Lion and in Kaziranga, the Rhino. If you are in a private jeep be clear about the species that you are looking for, that way they’ll focus according to your needs, and probably be quite grateful too! I’ve had guides who’ve loved having the pressure taken off and who can then share the park and not just focus on finding one species. As the motto of Jim’s Jungle Retreat say, ‘Seek the tiger, find the jungle.”
6. If you don’t wear prescription glasses, take along sunglasses AND a pair of clear-lens specs as well. When you drive back to camp at night, there are hundreds of little bugs that get attracted to the vehicle’s lights and fly into your eyes. Or just keep your sunglasses on, but then you miss what’s happening in the villages, and that can be special too, particularly in Kanha National Park.
7. A buff/snood (whatever you call them). They double as a scarf or a mask and also keeps your face warm and those proverbial bugs and dust out of your mouth when bouncing around on the safari tracks and belting from and to the lodge pre or post safari.
8. Take spare camera batteries and memory cards, sods law there’ll be an incredible sighting just as your battery runs out or memory card fills up. Also, if photo’s are important, don’t rely on a mobile phone, they don’t have the reach of an SLR plus, some parks (i.e. Tadoba) don’t allow them into the park.
9. Carry a good pair of binoculars. Despite what social media would have you believe, some animal sightings are distant and birds, even when close, are much easier to see with some help!
10. Have your camera on and out ALL the time. The best things happen at the most unexpected moments. Remember flash photography is prohibited.
11. That being said, there’s such a focus on photography these days that people often forget to just watch what’s going on and to enjoy the moment. I didn’t have a camera the whole season I worked in Kanha, it was a great lesson in just enjoying the moment and capturing the memory rather than the photo.
12. Remember to speak softly in general and keep quiet when close to animals. Also, listen to the guides and the sounds of the jungle, they speak, animals communicate with alarm calls and the guides use these to guide you to sightings.
13. Take time out to sit, with the jeep engine turned off and listen, take in the sights, sounds and smells of the jungle and have a good look around, you may be surprised at what you may see.
14. Don’t imitate bird/animal sounds to attract them. Point to note: “Hey kitty kitty,’ doesn’t work either!
15. Wear safari colours to blend in with the jungle.
16. Don’t wear perfume on game drives. The idea is to blend into nature as much as possible and animals can smell you a mile off. If you stop to observe them, there’s a strong chance they’ll move away.
17. Remember to carry your passport, you’ll need to get into the park.
18. I recommend for you to carry your own reusable water bottle which can be refilled from the filter water at the lodge, which is perfectly safe to drink. This saves on plastic use.
19. You’ll be allocated a park guide and, in many cases a driver at the park gate who are not associated with your lodge, remember to carry some notes to tip them.
20. Remember, you are in the jungle, not a zoo! Sightings can not be guaranteed. It is better to head out on safari with the intention of discovering India’s vast natural heritage, if you see the key species you are looking for, it will be the icing on top of a very wonderful cake!
For advice on travel to India contact philippa@indianexperiences.com or visit www.indianexperiences.co.uk
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