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Aerial view over misty sal forest at first light, descending towards a red laterite path

Tadoba · Maharashtra

Where the forest keeps its own time.

Fourteen villas of stone and teak on the quiet edge of Tadoba–Andhari Tiger Reserve.

A red laterite path through misty sal forest leads to carved teak gates in a stone wall

PrologueThe Approach

Eleven acres, given back to the forest.

Tall carved teak doors in a dry-stone wall swing open onto warm light

or keep scrolling

IThe Gates

Built from what the forest gave back.

IIThe Villas

Fourteen villas. Each one a world of its own.

Choose a doorway

All stays include meals, naturalist-led activities and transfers from Nagpur. Rates are indicative, plus taxes.

A teak villa raised on stilts among sal trees, two guests on its deck

Canopy Villa · 6 villas

At the height of the langurs.

Raised on teak stilts into the tree line. King bed, outdoor rain shower and a wide deck in the canopy.

Guests
2
From
₹28,000 / night
Reserve this villa
A lime-plastered room whose screens open onto a still lake

Lakeside Pavilion · 4 pavilions

The room becomes a verandah.

Opens straight onto the reservoir. Slide the screens back, with a private plunge pool below.

Guests
2
From
₹42,000 / night
Reserve this pavilion
A courtyard with low cushioned seating around an old neem tree

Saal House · 4 houses

Together, and apart.

Two bedrooms around a private courtyard and an old neem tree. Made for families.

Guests
4 + 2 children
From
₹64,000 / night
Reserve this house
A lime-plastered courtyard around a neem tree with a long reflecting pool

Lime, stone and reclaimed teak. Every room opens to the forest.

Teak screens slide open onto a still reservoir where a tiger drinks

IIIThe Lake

Slide the screens. See who's up.

A Bengal tiger at the water's edge lifts its head and looks straight at the camera

She looked up once. Then went back to drinking.

IVNightfall

Drag the sun down, or keep scrolling.

At dusk a server lights two lanterns on a table set on the deck above the lake

The lanterns come on at seven.

A server in a cream kurta sets two brass thalis on the lantern-lit table above the lake

VMahua · The Table

Dinner is served where the tiger drank.

Overhead, two brass thalis of Saoji mutton, bhakri and chutneys between lanterns

The Vidarbha table.

Saoji spice, jowar bhakri, forest honey, and vegetables from village farms within thirty kilometres.

  • iSaoji muttonBlack-pepper heat, slow-cooked over wood.
  • iiJowar bhakriHand-patted, blistered on the tawa.
  • iiiSmoked brinjal bharitCharred in the embers, finished with garlic.
  • ivMahua-flower kheerThe flower the kitchen is named for.
At night in the forest: a leopard on a rock, a sloth bear at a termite mound, a pack of dholes, a gaur and a nightjar on a log

VIThe Night Walk

Who you share it with.

Move your torch through the dark. Find all five to walk on.Drag your torch through the dark. Find all five to walk on. 0 of 5 spotted

  • Indian leopardSeen less, felt more. Often on the rocky ridges at dusk.
  • Sloth bearShaggy and short-sighted, at termite mounds after rain.
  • DholeWhistling packs of wild dogs, astonishingly coordinated.
  • GaurThe Indian bison: a tonne of muscle at the forest edge.
  • Indian nightjarA churring call from the fallen log, then gone.

Sightings are never promised. Patience is.

Behind an open safari jeep on a red dust track through bamboo at first light

VIIA Day at Saalvan

The jeep leaves before the sun.

A day at Saalvan

  1. 05:30Core-zone safariDawn in an open 4×4 with our resident naturalist. Permits arranged.
  2. 08:00Birds of the meadowRollers, drongos and paradise flycatchers, with a flask of filter coffee.
  3. 11:00A Gond village morningTerracotta work in progress, and lunch in a family home.
  4. 17:00Forest bathingSlow stretches on the yoga deck under the sal canopy.
  5. 20:30The night trailNightjars, civets, and the sounds you never notice by day.
  6. 22:30StargazingNo city glow for a hundred kilometres. A telescope on the library roof.
Solar panels among bamboo beside a reed-bed pond at dusk, villa lamps glowing

VIIILight on the Land

Built to leave the forest better.

  1. 100%Solar-powered by day
  2. 0Single-use plastic, anywhere
  3. 14Villas on harvested rainwater
  4. 20 kmWhere most of our team comes from
  5. 1Reed bed that cleans our greywater
Aerial view over the Vidarbha plains: a road curving between fields towards a lake and the forest beyond

IXGetting Here

Three hours from the runway.

  1. NagpurBy airNagpur (NAG), about three hours by road. We collect you.
  2. ChandrapurBy railChandrapur station, about forty-five minutes away.
  3. SaalvanSeasonOctober to June is best. The buffer zone and Saalvan stay open through the monsoon.

XCome Stay

The lake, the tiger,
and breakfast in bed.

A letter to Saalvan

Dear guest,

Tell us when you'd like to come, and we'll keep a lantern lit.

Please tell us your name.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a phone number.

Please choose a date.

Must be after arrival.

Saalvan, Tadoba

+91 00000 00000stay@saalvan.example