Pugdundee Safaris takes pride in being at the forefront of bespoke wilderness experiences. It is keen on breaking new ground in creating wildlife experiences for its guests that not only thrill, but also enrich their understanding of the panoply of wildlife that is found in India’s forests.
Staying true to this intent, it has taken up the responsibility of diversifying the experiences and creating unmatched wildlife photography hide adventure across two of its lodges. One of these hides at Pench Tree Lodge is now operational & is named ‘The Kipling Hide’, for all the natural reasons.
The Kipling Photography Hide at our Pench Tree Lodge is the first of its kind, professionally designed, luxury underground wildlife photography hide in India. It gives photographers and wildlife lovers the freedom to get close to wildlife safely and discreetly, without disturbing or impacting the animals. And while it allows wildlife to behave and interact with each other with complete freedom, photographers gain a unique eye-level perspective from up close.
The objective of the hide is to further encourage non-vehicular, low impact, greener and sustainable experiences for our guests. The hide will be complying to the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 which prohibits feeding and baiting the birds. The Kipling Wildlife Photography Hide will also serve as a fantastic tool for conservation, by serving a post for documentation of animal and bird species, observation and recording of behaviour. It opens onto a reflection pond which acts as both, a water source for wildlife, as well as a photography feature for reflection images of the wildlife, that come to the water, to either drink or bathe.
Talking about the new innovative addition, Manav Khanduja, Co-Founder Pugdundee Safaris said, “Pugdundee has always been on the fore front of innovation in wildlife tourism and this is our newest offering. Few years back we had pioneered walking safari with camping in Satpura and also cycling
between Tiger corridor forest of Pench and Kanha. Promoting greener activities is the need of the hour specially with limited carrying capacity of Tiger Parks.
He further added, “Our Pench lodge is more than 40 acres of re-wilded forest and it’s a pleasure seeing animals making a comeback. The hide can also be used by guests to observe animal behavior closely.”
It comfortably accommodates 4 photographers, has a coffee station, fridge, charging stations and professional bean bags for photography. The Kipling Hide is the result of the synergy of an ecologically sensitive approach, combining sustainable design and ergonomics keeping in mind long hours of photography, comfort and complete safety of the guests.
The hide can be used for photography tours, bird photography masterclasses, various documentary productions and can be booked for either morning or evening slots. Being in a close vicinity of Pench National Park, considered to be a wild playground harboring country’s maximum density of prey animals.
“The challenge for me as the designer, was to create a luxury wildlife photography hide that offered world-class comfort and ergonomics for long hours of photography, while being sensitive to the ecology, respecting the wildlife and creating a sustainable built environment that becomes a part of the ecosystem. Working with the naturalists and stakeholders at Pugdundee, understanding the potential opportunities, recognizing ecological constraints, and aligning our vision, culminated in a design that is a first of its kind luxury wildlife photography hide in India that we are extremely proud of,” said the key architect, Zhayynn James.
The hide is built in a roughly 150 square foot area whereas the reflection pool is accommodated in almost double of its area to give subjects enough space & reason to pay a visit.
In addition to several species of birds, some of the common mammals that regularly visit the waterhole are wild pigs, Jungle Cat, Jackals, four horned antelopes, palm civet, porcupine, mongooses & small Indian civet. On rare occasions one can also record honey badger & leopards.
Guests can book a single seat slot costing INR 2000 for up to 3-4 hours where the photographer can share the space with other photographers. If on the other
hand guests wish to indulge in a more private experience they can even rent out the entire hide by paying INR 5000 for the same duration.
