Kipling Camp, Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh

Two of India’s well-known wildlife conservationists are the force behind Kanha National Park’s oldest lodge. Anne and the late Bob Wright set up Kipling Camp in the park’s buffer zone with the motto of “treading softly in the jungle”. The camp works in close consonance with the Baiga tribal community, through a cooperative they established many years ago. The organisation supports local performing and fine art.

The owners turned the bare farmland on which the camp is located, into a verdant forest. Meals are served at different locations across the property: under a mahua tree, on a patio, or even under the stars. Visitors can go on a tiger-spotting safari or birdwatching tour with in-house naturalists, or hang out with the resident elephant Tara. Kipling Camp has 15 warmly lit double rooms set up with local materials and a private cottage that overlooks a waterhole. The water body was enlarged and contoured over the years, as catchment for rainwater and remains full even during severe drought.