Day Trip from Goa to Anshi National Park (Kali Tiger Reserve)

The reality did not meet our expectations

A scenic, but very long car ride to the reserve (3.5 hours one-way) on bumpy roads. The driver had snacks/water for us and made a short stop for lunch. The reserve itself was fairly disappointing. We arrived around 1:00 and had to wait until 3:30 at a small visitor center for the next tour. There wasn't much to do, although we did try to explore a bit in the surrounding area. The actual park tour itself was only about 1.5 hours long and consisted of a jeep drive with a short stop at an overlook. There was no narration at all and we would have loved to learn something about the park. We saw one deer and several peacock, but unfortunately no panther or tiger (although we knew that might happen). The final stop was at an enclosure where chained elephants were available for selfies with the tourists. They didn't appear to be poorly cared for but my wife felt bad that they were confined. On the long drive home, our driver told us that other tourists are also often disappointed in the experience. While it was not a miserable day, we would have chosen to do something else with our vacation time had we more known more. Viator did give us a few dollars back after we complained. It was only a small amount but we appreciated the gesture from them and would use them to book a different tour in the future.

Kali tiger reserve

We booked the trip without the rafting with the hope of seeing tigers. We did not see tigers but saw a spotted leopard, monkeys, wild boar and birds. Our driver Mr Deepak was very good and pointed out places along the way. We had an enjoyable trip though it was very long, getting back after 10pm at night.