With a presence across many of India’s leading wildlife destinations, Sterling is building wilderness travel as a distinct leisure category. Vanyatara brings Tadoba into this strategy while strengthening the company’s presence in Maharashtra.
The opportunity is larger than the safari itself. India’s forests differ in landscape, ecology, regional culture and culinary traditions, giving travellers reasons to return — not simply for another tiger sighting, but to discover another forest and a different way of experiencing the wild.
This also makes wilderness travel a richer family holiday. The anticipation of a safari can sit alongside comfortable stays, nature-led activities, regional cuisine and time together that engages different generations.
Vikram Lalvani, Managing Director & CEO, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited (SHRL), said: “India’s forests offer far more than wildlife sightings. Each has its own landscape, ecology, culture and cuisine—and therefore a different reason to travel. At Sterling, we see wildlife and nature-led holidays as an increasingly important part of our hospitality portfolio, and we are deliberately building depth in this category.
As Destination Architects, our ambition is to make the forest the experience, not just the safari. Sterling Vanyatara Tadoba strengthens that proposition while creating opportunities to connect destinations such as Pench, Tadoba and Tipeshwar into richer journeys for families and wildlife enthusiasts.
Our ambition is not simply to take travellers on more safaris. It is to give them more of India’s wilderness to discover.”
Located with access to five safari gates of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Sterling Vanyatara Tadoba has been purposely designed as an intimate 18-key wilderness retreat, allowing the stay to remain personal, quiet and closely connected to its setting. Indulge Rooms with Sit-out offer elegant furnishing with seamless connection to the outdoors, Forest Villas opens to private lawns and greater seclusion, and the Two-Bedroom Villas provide generous shared and private spaces with a private lawn. A swimming pool, spa and outdoor areas create easy downtime between excursions.
As a part of the weekly evening rituals a visual story telling sessions with Naturalists, cultural performances by the Gond tribe artists and Saoji cuisine showcase by the rural folks; all designed to offer immersive experiences beyond the Safari.
Vidarbha’s culinary traditions provide another connection to the region. At The Jungle Table, the bold, fiery flavours of Vidarbha’s traditional Saoji cuisine take centre stage. The choices here are Inspired by the popular street food of Nagpur and Shedgaon with the Zunka Bhakar with Thecha and Pitla -picked from hamlets of the Gond tribes, alongside a rich selection of Indian and international favourites. The dining experience extends beyond the restaurant with leisurely post-safari high teas and intimate private dinners beneath the stars, bringing a touch of indulgence to the wilderness.
Access to the Alizanza, Madnapur, Shirkheda, Belara and Shedegaon safari gates, subject to permits, provides flexibility in planning excursions into the reserve.
Ashok L Bhaiyya and Gaurav Bhaiyya, Partners, Sterling Vanyatara Tadoba, said: “What attracted us to Tadoba was the power of the wilderness and the opportunity to create a retreat where the experience continues after guests return from the forest. We wanted space, privacy and a strong sense of place to define the stay. Sterling’s understanding of Indian leisure travel and its ability to build richer journeys especially around the wildlife destinations makes it a natural partner for that vision.”
With Sterling already present in Pench and Tipeshwar, Tadoba can become part of a Pench–Tadoba–Tipeshwar forest circuit, allowing travellers to experience three distinct wilderness landscapes as part of one larger journey.
For SHRL, this is where scale begins to compound in value. Each new resort broadens traveller choice, enables new circuits and gives families more reasons to keep discovering India’s forests with Sterling.
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