Encounters Asia

Encounters Asia is an established, family-operated boutique DMC specializing in tailor-made FITs and expedition group travel across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. Dedicated to working exclusively with the travel trade, their team of local experts crafts itineraries that provide travelers with an up-close and personal view of some of South Asia’s most incredible wonders! Whether it is experiencing larger-than-life cultural festivals, remote wildlife safaris, or personal transformational journeys, their trips bring each destination to life and leave travelers with lifelong memories.

India

A country that contains the wonders of a continent! India offers vastly varied wildlife, colorful living cultures and breathtaking landscapes – the world’s largest democracy offers an enormous range of exciting adventures for travelers.

Sri Lanka

Described by Marco Polo as ‘the finest island in the world,’ Sri Lanka has something to offer for everyone. Rich history and traditions coexist elegantly with the new modern Sri Lanka. The country boasts beautiful nature, wildife and some of the world’s finest tea!

Bhutan & Nepal

The Himalayas conjure images of the world’s highest snow-capped peaks, but there is so much more to the region. Bhutan offers a rare, utopian escape from the modern world, while Nepal is a playground for the adventurous soul!

What Makes Encounters Asia Unique?

30+ Years of Creating Inspiring Experiences: A proven track record of offering travelers top-notch service, hand-picked stays, smooth logistics, and exceptional guides as they carefully curate every property and experience for each guest.
Unrivaled Local Expertise: With deep local knowledge (and local offices) across each destination, they navigate the complexities of each region with ease and enthusiasm—offering everything from high-altitude trekking in the Himalayas to world-class tea plantation tours in Sri Lanka!
Specialized Wildlife Expeditions: From tracking the “Grey Ghost” (snow leopard) in Ladakh to safari adventures searching for tigers and rhinos, they provide access to some of the most exclusive and untamed wilderness areas.
Photography Experts: The team spends hours on the ground, finding the best locations, vivid experiences, and the best times of year to capture fascinating subjects in the right light.
Unparalleled Creativity & Customization: The sky is the limit when it comes to creating extraordinary experiences for each guest. From exploring the desert on horseback, to bespoke luxury camping, to private jet journeys and behind-the-scenes Bollywood experiences, they will curate the ultimate dream trip.
Deep-Rooted Conservation Legacy: With a family history tied to the founding of Project Tiger—India’s first tiger conservation program— they champion sustainable travel to ensure each experience gives back to the community as much as it gives to the traveler.

Camps & Lodges

As a full-service boutique DMC, Encounters Asia works with properties of all levels throughout the country. Additionally, they own and operate a portfolio of unique lodges and camps in some of India’s premier national parks.

Jamtara Wilderness Camp

Kanha Jungle Lodge

Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge

Jamtara Wilderness Camp

Jamtara Wilderness Camp

Jamtara Wilderness Camp was built to provide an unforgettable Indian safari experience with sustainability as its cornerstone. The 10 artistically designed luxury tents are nestled among the ancient forests that once inspired Rudyard Kipling’s stories in The Jungle Book. Guests can choose to spend a night in the Star Bed under a blanket of a million stars. With an ideal location on the quiet side of Pench National Park and away from crowds (being the only camp in the area), wildlife passes freely through the camp.

Visit the Jamtara Wilderness Camp website to learn more.

Kanha Jungle Lodge

Kanha Jungle Lodge

Kanha Jungle Lodge is set in the midst of a rich Sal forest and is well camouflaged in its environment. It was tastefully developed with low impact on the land and the environment. With 18 well-appointed rooms and 2 deluxe cottages, it was designed to provide a friendly, informal and relaxed environment with much to observe, understand and learn, and to support conservation. Located close to Kanha National Park (and closest to the Mukki entrance gate), guests can listen to the sounds of the jungle day and night – listening to the alarm calls of the deer or an occasional roar of the tiger.

Visit the Kanha Jungle Lodge website to learn more.

Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge

Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge

Located within walking distance of Bandhavgarh National Park’s main gate, Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge was developed on the theme of an Indian village. With fourteen thatched twin-bedded cottages around an inner courtyard, as well as one separate 4-room villa, its tranquil environment invites immersion into the jungle. Fruit trees and bushes have been planted to attract a variety of butterflies, birds and insects. Its proximity to the national park means that spotted deer and the Langur monkey can often be seen in and around the Lodge. It was founded on strong principles of being environmentally friendly, and every aspect of its development and operation is sensitively synthesized towards nature conservation.

Visit the Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge website for more information.

Travel Trade Resources

For trade-related information and resources for Encounters Asia, please visit our travel trade hub here. If you’re not already registered, please sign up for access here.

Videos

Webinars

Meet the Encounters Asia Team

Amit Sankhala – Managing Director

The grandson of a forest officer and a son of a renowned wildlife tour operator, Amit has rambled in the remote forests since he was a month old. Wildlife conservation has remained an integral part of the Sankhala heritage. Shri Kailash Sankhala (Amit’s grandfather) was a celebrated personality in the field of wildlife conservation. He was a distinguished forest officer with the Indian Forest Service and Founder Director of Project Tiger, launched in 1973, acclaimed as the most successful conservation program of that time. Pradeep Sankhala (Amit’s father) a renowned wildlife tour operator, who acquired much of the expertise of his father, successfully developed Kanha and Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodges. Both lodges provide the optimal experience in wildlife travel within India today.

Amit Sankhala has continued the legacy of the Sankhala family by carrying forward the mission of nature conservation and wildlife tourism. As the Managing Director of Encounters Asia, Tiger Resorts Pvt. Ltd and Jamtara Wilderness Camp, Amit has vast knowledge and boundless enthusiasm in the field of tourism, which enables him to succeed in his profession. He has had the privilege of experiencing first-hand Rudyard Kipling’s version of the Jungle Book, growing up seeing the national parks of India as they should be and knowing the importance of the country’s flora and fauna. He has also been involved with various innovative projects, such as Tiger Nation, which has created one of the biggest databases of Tigers in India. It is a citizen science project whose purpose is to bring attention to the actual number of tigers existing in the wild. He also sits on the board of Wild Landscapes based in the US, whose primary idea is to conserve larger habitats and work on human-animal conflict.

Amit is also a trustee of Tiger Trust, developed in 1989 by his grandfather. The Trust has been educating children on wildlife, setting up medical camps in rural villages surrounding the national parks, working on legal cases against wildlife crime, and is involved in capacity-building programs. To futher understand conservation and how to move forward in his camps and for the wildlife tourism, Amit has traveled and studied other wildlife conservancies, parks, concessions and sanctuaries around the world, from places like Okavango Delta in Botswana to the rain forests of the Panatanal with its jaguars; from the polar bears in the Arctic to the pumas of Chile; mountain gorillas of Uganda to the astonishing underwater life of the Galapagos. His expeditions to see snow leopards have gained popularity amongst the wildlife community and have helped set the standard for others to run these expeditions.

Observing the politics and models of wildlife around the world, he has brought the best of these ideas back to India. One of the models, which he has put to use in his own Jamtara Wilderness Camp, was a community sharing model through one-of-a-kind ‘Star Beds’. Amit has lectured across the world on sustainable and eco-focused tourism.

Encounters Asia

India

India

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Bhutan & Nepal