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If you’ve ever read Rudyard Kipling, chances are you’ve dreamt of exploring the jungles of India, home of the world’s most elusive big cats: tigers. The greatest wild concentration of these animals live in reserves throughout the central state of Madhya Pradesh (and it’s dwindling: from 40,000 animals in the early 1900s to an estimated 1,500 today). Last year, Taj Hotels teamed up with renowned tour operator CC Africa to create two exceptional camps: Baghvan at Pench National Park and Mahua Kothi at Bandhavgarh National Park, which are about an eight-hour drive apart. (Two other camps are in the works to open later this year and will complete a circuit of special accommodations bordering Madhya Pradesh’s tiger reserves.)

I recently arrived at Baghvan—after a short flight from Mumbai to Nagpur, followed by an adventurous three-hour drive—and felt like I had left the real India and entered a dream version of it. The main lodge is built around a fragrant courtyard, outfitted with turquoise rattan day beds and heavy ebony chests set under black glass chandeliers. Chris Browne, who designs the romantic interiors for all of CC Africa’s lodges, created an eclectic, post-Colonial look here. The twelve cottages feature machans, covered rooftop platforms covered in pillows, where I dabbled with reflexology massages in the evening. I also loved my outdoor shower, and the mischievous Langurs (monkeys) that nipped at the folded towels. Beyond my cottage, the forest with its dense teak trees, rocky hills and streams seemed straight out of The Jungle Book.

There are two game drives each day, one early in the morning and one late in the afternoon. The forest and rocky outcrops of Pench Park provide fine hideouts for tigers, so it took patience on our part—and our guides’ skill—to spot them. (Tip: travelers who are coming to India with the main focus of seeing tigers in the wild should consider booking sister camp Mahua Kothi, at Bandhavgarh National Park, has the higher density of tigers.) One afternoon, we abandoned our vehicle and designated dirt roads in favor of a less comfortable and far ricketier platform: an elephant’s back. We were rewarded with the view of two young tigers sleeping soundly under lantana shrubs. Cottages $750 per person during high season.

Getting there: From the East Coast, Jet Airways flies from New York to Mumbai, with a short stopover in Brussels. Micato Safaris is the best company for arranging local logistics. For instance, their drivers went out of their way to help us when my husband and I missed our international connecting flights.

When to Go: Baghvan is closed each July through September for monsoon season. Winters are the most comfortable months to visit in terms of temperature, but it’s the most difficult to see animals during this time. Spring is your best bet for spotting tigers, as they approach watering holes during the hotter months. When I traveled there in October, I did take malaria pills but did not get stung by mosquitoes.

Who Should Go: Seasoned safari-goers who want to experience the Indian countryside and jungle, and who are not traveling just to see the animals. Also, conservation-minded travelers will be happy to know that CC Africa and Taj hotels are both deeply involved in and committed to programs designed to better the lives of surrounding communities.

Who Should Not Go: Children five years and younger cannot participate in game drives. Older children might be bored tracking tigers for hours and may resent having to wake up before dawn.

Indagare Tip: If you’ve never been on safari, I wouldn’t recommend this as a first. See the Big Five in Africa first, then graduate to a full jungle experience in India. Tigers are solitary animals and you may leave the camps having spotted just their pug marks.

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Mahua Kothi at Bandhavgarh National Park, the first lodge opened by Taj Hotels and CC Africa, was unveiled in the fall of 2006 (since then, a second lodge, Baghvan at Pench National Park, has opened and two others are in the works). The name Mahua comes from the stunning Madhuca indica tree, more commonly known as Mahua or butter tree, which grow in the region. If Baghvan was inspired by the blues and greens of teaks and rice paddies, Mahua Kothi is all reds and oranges, like the earth around it.

The landscape at Bandhavgarh is varied, with vast savannahs, bamboo forests and hills covered in hanging ferns. Spotted deer devour the leftover leaves that langur monkeys drop from the trees. Peacocks strut around, dragging their long tails across grassy clearings away from inelegant wild boars. Hundreds of macaques populate sacred figs and the solitary tigers prowl their domain and roll kittenishly on sandy riverbeds. Bandhavgarh National Park has a larger tiger population than Pench, where Baghvan is based; and the tigers also seemed less reticent to show themselves.

Mahua Kothi has twelve kutiyas (jungle village huts) that were built on the grounds of a former tented camp (so no trees had to be cut down). They have mud floors and small inlaid windows and thatched roofs that let in the sounds of nature: the chirps, hoots and beating wings. Interiors are outfitted with air conditioning (though ceiling fans are the more natural way to go) and supremely comfortable beds, where I slept soundly each night. Perhaps I was exhausted due to the fact that I found myself in a constant state of excitement, as days were spent trying to spy what was hiding in the jungle. Or perhaps like Lord Vishnu, I was already dreaming a new universe into existence. Cottages $750 per person during high season.

Getting there: From the East Coast, Jet Airways flies from New York to Mumbai, with a short stopover in Brussels. Micato Safaris is the best company for arranging local logistics.

When to Go: Mahua Kothi is closed each July through September for monsoon season. Winters are the most comfortable months to visit, but animal sightings are rare during this time. Spring is your best bet for spotting tigers.

Who Should Go: Seasoned safari-goers who want to experience the Indian countryside and jungle, and not just the animals. Also, conservation-minded travelers will be happy to know that CC Africa and Taj hotels are both involved in programs to better the lives of surrounding communities.

Who Should Not Go: Children five years and younger cannot participate in game drives. Older children might be bored tracking tigers for hours and may resent having to wake up before dawn.

Indagare Tip: If you’re trying to choose between Baghvan and Mahua Kothi, I would opt for the latter at Bandhavgarh National Park, since it has the higher density of tigers. Also, the tall bamboos and Sal forest give Mahua Kothi camp a more dramatic jungle feel. I was glad to have experience both, especially since there was lots of down-time spent by the camps’ beautifully designed pools with large daybeds.