* Bikram Grewal, birder
Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam
Near Jorhat, this isolated patch of forest holds mammals rarely seen elsewhere: the stump-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, slow loris, hoolock gibbon and capped langur.
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Assam
Few people know of this large park near Tinsukia. It holds some of the rarest birds in India, including the swamp prinia, marsh babbler, Jerdon’s bushchat and pale-capped pigeon.
Khonoma Village, Nagaland
The local council at this village has decided to stop all hunting and Jhum cultivation. This has created a haven for animals and birds. Rarities include the brown-capped, the striped and the Assam laughing-thrushes, the Naga wren babbler and the chestnut-vented nuthatch.
Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh
Made famous by the discovery of a new bird in 2006, the Bugun liocichla, this small undisturbed forest could be called India’s top birding hotspot. Birds that can be seen here include the beautiful nuthatch and the Sikkim wedge-billed babbler.
Neora Valley National Park, West Bengal
This park has brilliant birdlife as well as several species of mammals, including its star attraction, the red panda. Other animals are clouded leopard, musk deer, black bear, sloth bear, golden cat, leopard cat, goral, serow and barking deer. There are reportedly tigers in the lower reaches.
* Joanna Van Gruisen, naturalist and writer
Guru Ghasidas National Park, Chhattisgarh & Sanjay Dubri Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
When I last visited this large reserve, it was in undivided Madhya Pradesh and known as Sanjay National Park. It contains fantastic habitat around a stunning perennial river.
Manas National Park, Assam
It’s not exactly unknown but not visited in numbers commensurate to its beauty and importance. Its many different habitats—riverine grasslands to evergreen forests—mean the birds and animal species are incredibly diverse.
Indira Gandhi National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
Topslip and Grass Hills are two very different destinations within this one reserve. Topslip has fabulous forests with lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri langur and giant squirrels. Grass Hills are high rolling grasslands with rhododendron and Nilgiri tahr.
Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Jammu & Kashmir
This high-altitude desert with azure, self-draining lakes always provides something compelling to see, from the smallest vole to the larger kiang.
Dachigam National Park, Jammu & Kashmir
Another stunning location, in every season. It is also the only sanctuary of the highly endangered hangul.
* Mike Pandey, wildlife filmmaker
Desert National Park, Rajasthan
Despite an ecosystem that seems so desolate and barren, it sustains an astounding diversity of life. It’s noted for the great Indian bustard.
Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh
One of our largest parks, its inaccessibility has helped it remain largely untouched. Attractions include the snow and clouded leopards.
Dachigam National Park, Kashmir
Deep valleys, rocky outcrops, steep wooded slopes and rolling alpine pastures come together here. It’s home to the endangered hangul.
Blackbuck National Park, Gujarat
The only tropical grassland in India that has national park status. It hosts the handsome blackbuck and is also among the few places in the world where the wolf population is proliferating.
Marine National Park, Gujarat
Fish in the coral reefs, endangered birds in the mangroves, green sea turtles breeding on the beaches and whale sharks in the deeper seas.
* Pradip Krishen, naturalist
Madhav National Park, Madhya Pradesh
It’s small with dry scrub forest characteristics. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a recipe for natural beauty, but what a little jewel of a place it is. There are no tigers anymore, but you’ll find leopards and ungulates and arresting dry forest landscapes. That gorgeous tree, Anogeissus pendula (dhok, dhau, kardhai), is plentiful here, and so are the gnarled, twisty Boswellia serrata (salai) on the plateaus. Madhav doesn’t close for the monsoons, and that’s when its verdure is an unfailing treat.
Palpur-Kuno Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
It probably won’t remain a sanctuary much longer because it’s large and empty and has already been touted as the place where another gene pool of the Asiatic lion could be created. It’s Madhav-like in its trees and savannas but more hilly and rugged with a spectacular resthouse overlooking the Kuno river.
Satpura National Park, Madhya Pradesh
This is a place I know well, with some of the most wonderful vistas of forest-clad hills. Located in the central Satpuras, this is classic Gondwana country, made up of hundreds of feet of ancient sedimentary rock, which due to its softness weathers into breathtaking scarps and cliffs.
Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand
Lovely sharp hills and terrain and gorgeous monsoon forest. The Dhaulkhand area is the place I’m thinking of. I have wonderful memories of elephants encountered on a rau — those strange little, pebbly beds of streams that become deadly, fierce torrents in the rains.
Loghur forest, Madla district, Madhya Pradesh
I’ve been travelling hugely in MP for my book, and the place I’ve been most struck by is this patch of forest. It’s hilly and densely forested in a way that’s becoming rare in MP. It’s a mixed forest too.
* Valmik Thapar, conservationist
Wild Ass Sanctuary, Gujarat
Located in the Little Rann, it’s a flat landscape that’s incredibly beautiful. You can see flamingos, wolves, if you’re lucky, bird life and, of course, the wild ass. In the monsoon seawater travels 100km inwards and boats traverse the desert landscape searching for crustaceans!
Desert National Park, Rajasthan
One hour’s drive from Jaisalmer, this is the real Indian desert. This is where one can spot the great Indian bustard and countless chinkara. This is also a great area to observe demoiselle cranes.
Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa
Less than ninety minutes from the coastline, it’s marked by dense forests of the Western Ghats. If you’re lucky, you can see tigers here.
Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra
This is a little gem of a place full of gaur with a bunch of tigers that follow them around. One of the most amazing pictures of a gaur and a tiger quenching their thirst at the same waterhole was taken here. It’s a great place for birdwatching.
Eravikulam National Park, Kerala
It’s famous for the Nilgiri tahr, a magnificent landscape and a mosaic of forest and tea estates. And it’s great for long walks. Tigers pass through the area occasionally and it’s also frequented by leopards.
* Naresh & Rajesh Bedi, wildlife photographers
Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh
The dry deciduous forest supports a variety of wild animals and birds and has a healthy population of gaurs. Chances of sighting sloth bears and leopards at dusk around waterholes are high. Also, the Forest Department uses solar energy to run guesthouses and pumps to fill the waterholes.
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam
Barely 30km from Guwahati, Pobitora offers sure sightings of the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. A small sanctuary of about 38km with patches of forest, flat floodplains and a hillock, it’s overpopulated with 81 rhinos that survive in a 16 sq km area.
Singalila National Park, West Bengal
This high-altitude park offers exciting trek routes along the Singalila ridge and through virgin temperate forests. On a clear day it offers stunning views of the Kanchendzonga range. During March and April, rhododendrons bloom and clusters of primula, aconitum, gentians and blue iris adorn the forest clearings. With luck one can also sight rare tragopans, kalij pheasants or red pandas.