Travel+Leisure has rounded up India's best wildlife safaris.

This caught my attention as I was lucky enough to visit Rajasthan's Ranthambore National Park last March. In just two days and over two safaris I saw four tigers. One solitary male and three cubs. It was, quite simply, incredible.

The male was walked right in front of our jeep after waking up from his afternoon siesta (see photo above). We spotted him again later in the afternoon with a kill. The three cubs were playing in the afternoon sun as their mother was away hunting.

If you decide that Ranthambore is a must for your India travel itinerary there are several fantastic luxury tented safari options. The Oberoi and the Aman have both set up shop on the outskirts of the park. A cheaper option is Ranthambhore Bagh run by Aditya and Poonam Singh. This is where I stayed and, although not as luxurious as the Aman or Oberoi, it is fun and relaxed with food that's out of this world.

Here are Travel+Leisure's "10 Amazing Indian Safaris":

Hemis National Park, Ladakh

Best for: Snow leopards, Tibetan argali sheep, Ibex, Urial (a wild mountain goat), Blue sheep, chukhar, snow cocks, golden eagles. More...

Sasan-Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat Peninsula

Best for: Asiatic Lions, leopards, hyenas, pythons, jackals. More...

Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan

Best for: Tigers, spotted deer, wild boar, jackals, painted storks (300 bird species overall), plus impressive ruins, forts, and temples. More...

Kaziranga National Park, Assam

Best for: One-horned rhinoceros, tigers, (wild) elephants, wild buffalo, monitor lizards, and water birds like the bar-headed goose, grey-headed lapwing, and spot-billed pelican. More...

Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh

Best for: Tigers, swamp deer, mongoose, leopards, wild boar, golden jackals, 300 bird species. More...

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats

Best for: Giant Malabar squirrels, (wild) elephants, guar (giant bison), bird life. More...

Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Rajasthan

Best for: Storks, cranes, eagles, and hawks, pythons, porcupines, wild boar, nilgai (literally 'blue cow'), India’s largest native antelope. More...

Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh

Best for: Tigers, leopards, nilgai, hog deer, wild boar. More

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, boarders Bhutan and Assam

Best for: Tigers, water buffalo, rhinos, (wild) elephants, golden langur (a rare orange-furred monkey), Bengal florican (an endangered two-foot-tall bird). More...

Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand

Best for: Tigers, wild elephants (as opposed to the ones you can ride), crocodiles, 600 species of birds. More...

Photos:

*Kaziranga Rhino _IGP4259 by Ken McChesney via Flickr (Creative Commons); Bharatpur by yaatra via Flickr (Creative Commons); Corbett Tiger Reserve signage by Dena v.d.Wal via Flickr (Creative Commons); golden langur by spo0man via Flickr (Creative Commons)*