Land of the Tiger

In this first programme Valmik Thapar surveys the land of Kanha, where the tiger still rules the jungle.

Valmik Thapar travels along the great river basins of India, following the scared Ganges on its 1,000-mile path to the sea. Along the way he tries to avoid the famous man-eating tigers in the Sunderbans, the swamp that contains over 500 of them.

As Valmik Thapar cruises around the Indian Ocean, he encounters a member of the planet's largest fish species, manta rays, and elephants taking a refreshing dip after a hard day hauling timber on the islands.

Sweeping across north-west India, the Indian, or Thar, desert is teeming with life. Valmik Thapar learns how creatures such as birds, gazelle and antelope are revered by the desert dwellers.

Writer Valmik Thapar encounters a rich variety of wildlife when he travels through the world's highest mountain range - the Himalayas. He begins his journey in Ladakh, an ancient Buddhist kingdom on India's northern borders where faith plays a vital part in people's lives

On the final stage of his epic journey, Valmik Thapar travels to the rain forests of Assam, southern India's Western Ghats, and across the seas to Sri Lanka.