Meet Lala

Apurv “Lala” Isaac is one of India’s premier wildlife photographers, filmmakers, safari hosts, and musician based in the Nilgiri Hills of South India.

For over a decade, Lala has dedicated his life to telling stories whether through a camera, a film, a guitar, or an unforgettable experience in the wilderness. His work has taken him across some of the world’s most iconic wild landscapes, from the tiger forests of India and the savannahs of East Africa to the wetlands of Brazil and the mountains of North America.

As the founder of Atlas Wild Experiences, Lala designs and leads carefully curated wildlife expeditions that combine exceptional guiding, luxury hospitality, and meaningful encounters with nature. His safaris attract wildlife enthusiasts, photographers, filmmakers, and conservation-minded travellers from around the world who seek more than just sightings they seek connection, understanding, and adventure.

Beyond guiding, Lala is a passionate visual storyteller. His photography and films focus on revealing the beauty, behaviour, and conservation challenges of the natural world while inspiring audiences to value and protect it. Through educational content, workshops, and documentaries, he strives to make wildlife accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Before dedicating himself fully to wildlife, music played a defining role in his life and continues to do so today. A guitarist, performer, and teacher, Lala believes that music and nature share a common language: both have the power to move people, tell stories, and create lasting emotional connections.

Whether he’s tracking tigers through the forests of Central India, filming frogs in the Western Ghats, hosting guests on safari, or picking up a guitar after sunset, Lala’s goal remains the same: to help people see the world with greater wonder, curiosity, and appreciation.

When he’s not travelling, you’ll usually find him in the Nilgiris, planning his next expedition, working on conservation storytelling projects, or searching for wildlife in his own backyard.

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Witness the wild, travel beyond the mundane.

Tailor-made wildlife safaris across India with big cats, wild places, and stories you’ll never forget.

At Atlas Wild Experiences, we craft unforgettable wildlife experiences for travelers who crave raw nature, expert guidance, and intimate encounters with the wild. Whether it’s tracking Bengal tigers in India, we take you beyond the brochure into the beating heart of the wild. Led by passionate naturalists and award-winning photographers, our safaris combine authenticity, comfort, and conservation.

What Our Clients Have to say

Lala is an incredible tour guide, one of the best that I have ever had! He is so kind, caring, patient, respectful, enthusiastic and goes above and beyond to give his guests the absolute best experience. He is an ethical tour guide and photographer as he truly cares about the welfare and safety of the wildlife. We had the most incredible wildlife sightings and photography opportunities on this tour and it is thanks to the tireless efforts of Lala and his selection of local guides. He was willing to find lodges that were within our budget,  comfortable, and had amazing staff and meals. It is clear that Lala puts a lot of time and effort into planning tours and throughout the guest’s stay.

Carly Voight, USA 
A Tryst With Tigers – Bandhavgarh and Kanha

Incredible rewarding experience!! Lala was fantastic! Every aspect of the tour was planned for from the hotel, transportation and guides in the reserve. Lala took care of each individual on the trip. I highly recommend this adventure!! I want to go back!

Steve Howa, USA
A Tryst With Tigers – Bandhavgarh and Kanha

A once in a lifetime trip I can’t wait to do again! Lala is an incredible host and ambassador of India. He works seamlessly and tirelessly to make the trip perfect. We had excellent sightings of tigers and a leopard. The guides and drivers on his team were incredibly passionate about their jobs and so friendly and welcoming. They respect the wildlife and used many years of experience in tracking to always seem to be in the right position to make lasting memories. The food was also amazing and our group came away with the photos that we were hoping to get. Lala is an incredible photographer and has a vast knowledge photographing these animals and knows the intricate history behind literally everything which makes it such a fun learning experience. I enjoyed it so much I stayed in India for another 2 weeks. Highly recommended!

Justin Smith, USA
A Tryst With Tigers – Bandhavgarh and Kanha

The safari at Kanha was one of the best ones I’ve experienced. Not only because of the magnificent sightings but also the way Lala explained everything and went above and beyond to make sure we document everything in a safe and sustainable way – keeping the wildlife at the centre of everything while also making it fun

Sejal S
Kanha National Park

This was my first safari ever and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to curate my experience. From sorting logistics to teaching me so much about the jungle and ofcourse taking me to just the right places that helped me witness so many tigers, a leopard, deer, sloth bears – my trip was nothing short of perfect. Lala also makes for great company and conversation. Cannot wait to take my next safari with him 🙂

Meghana Bhogle
Kanha National Park

Great family time enjoying the parallel world that is the jungle. The sightings were insane and it was interesting for me to observe the differences between my earlier safari in Bandipur (also with Lala) and this one in Kanha. It was a real education in not just the variation in fauna but flora as well. Can’t wait for the next one!

Maalavika Manoj
Kanha National Park

We saw thirty tigers in six days—but what really stood out was the care, warmth, and attention we received from Lala. From start to finish, he delivered. He helped with everything—from planning and flight routes to visa logistics—and had an answer for every question we threw his way.

Once we hit the parks, Lala’s deep knowledge of the land, the wildlife, and their patterns turned every drive into something extraordinary. His photographic instincts helped us be in the right place at the right time, again and again.

This wasn’t just a safari. It was the trip of a lifetime—and somewhere along the way, we stopped feeling like clients and started feeling like friends. We even swap recipes now.

Bill Masure, USA
A Tryst With Tigers – Bandhavgarh and Kanha

Lala was an excellent guide and trip organizer. We were so taken care of at every moment, whether during wildlife sightings or in the lodge. His wildlife tracking is exceptional – those ears don’t miss an alarm call in the jungle! His positioning of the game viewers for photography is specific, thoughtful and perfect to make sure we were constantly in the best positions – no jeeps behind the subject and also anticipating animal behavior and movement. I learned so much about wildlife from him, as well as conservation issues in India. He was wonderful to be around, always helpful, positive, funny. Also, the teams he works with for the driver and local guide are hardworking, get what we want, and are such nice guys. Great teams all around. I could not recommend a private safari with Lala enough! One of the best trips of my life!

Katherine Ochsman, South Africa
Tiger Thali Tour – Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Tadoba, Corbett and Gir

Truly Magical. After 64 years around the sun this was my first ever Safari. I honestly did not know what to expect. Lala helped us navigate through the magical forests of Khana. He lucidly explained the various zones and what is exclusive to the region. He patiently told us the numerous names and why they originated of each of God’s creations as we passed by them. The adrenaline started pumping as we sighted a gorgeous leopard. She was so beautiful and bold. She saw us, pranced around the rocks, sat down, looked at us, smiled and gently walked away into the forest. The most amazing moment when we heard a few alarm calls, Lala explained the calls, triangulated the exact location where this absolutely stunning Tiger would appear. It was fascinating to see how all the other guides and jeeps were following our jeep, it was as if everyone knew that Lala and his team of people were the only ones that knew. Just as Lala predicted, there emerged the gorgeous Sunaiyna. What a beauty, she walked by our jeep. Stopped. Looked at us and then sauntered away into the forest behind us. Thank you Lala and team for a truly magical time. Thank you for showing me a world that I have missed out for such a long time.

Peter Isaac, USA
Kanha National Park

First class is the starting point. From the trip’s inception to our final goodbye and every moment in between, Lala attended to all of our needs and requests (no matter how small or how detailed). He went above and beyond, making this trip not only unforgettable, but also unbelievably deep and personal. As for the in-between, (air and car) travel was exceptionally comfortable to and between the parks. Kings Lodge and Soulacia were first rate and made us feel welcome and thoroughly comfortable. Although the days were incredibly long, they were filled with so many exceptional tiger sightings (thanks to our incredible drivers and guides, who regularly tracked the tigers to the alarm calls coming from the langurs and the deer – typically keeping our vehicle at the tigers’ heads while many other visitors had only a rear view), delicious food, lots of lemon water and exceptional company, as well as much-appreciated contextual history and legend recounting. From seeing our first pug marks and our first tiger, from witnessing our first kill to our first nursing mama tiger, from our first sunrise to our first sunset, from seeing our first lucky mongoose to experiencing our first moments in this enchanting land … those vignettes will live forever in my heart and be conjured every time I tell the story of these magical days. Ending our safari with a visit to Earth Focus to learn more about the buffer communities and how they can thrive alongside the tiger reserves was particularly gratifying. This trip would not have been the same without Lala conducting this extraordinary symphony of sightings, sounds and moments. His knowledge, enthusiasm, photographic skill, good humor and thoughtfulness made this a trip of a lifetime. I cannot wait to do it all over again!

Kris Stern, USA
A Tryst With Tigers – Bandhavgarh and Kanha

Wonderful trip! It exceeded my expectations in so many ways. The wildlife was incredible, the accommodations were fantastic, and Lala was so kind, helpful, patient and knowledgeable. Can’t wait until the next visit!

Lydia Ripplinger, USA
A Tryst With Tigers – Bandhavgarh and Kanha

I couldn’t recommend a safari with Lala higher, who in my opinion, rises above all others as he gives you a lot of context to your adventure. He shares his knowledge and experience rendering a new perspective about the landscapes and animals and how they coexist. Nature doesn’t always guarantee you a sighting but with Lala, you know you’ll get a refreshing insight into the lives of these wonderful animals as you enter their world.

Rhys D’Souza
Kanha National Park

From our very first virtual contact, to our final tearful good bye and beyond, Lala has been an intuitive, gracious and ever-so detail-oriented host for our travel in India. I cannot recommend highly enough the quality of his services!

We arrived and spent our initial night in Delhi, where our driver and hotel were on point and in close contact with Lala, ensuring that no detail was overlooked.

From there, we traveled by plane (booked by Lala) to Jabalpur, then by car (awaiting our arrival at the airport) to our superb accommodations at Banghavhar Park.

The next morning we embarked on our first three utterly captivating full day safaris. While the main subject of our excursions were the magnificent tigers, which did not disappoint, Lala and his carefully selected park driver and guide were very knowledgeable on every aspect of Bandhavgar wildlife, botany and history. Due to their immense collective experience and intuitive guiding approach, we were treated to an immersive experience, and time spent quietly sitting with tigers in their domain. I believed that this exhilarating experience could not be surpassed… however…

We then traveled, again by comfortable and courteous car and driver, to Kanha National Park. Again, we were greeted by the solicitous staff at our thoughtfully selected accommodations. As with everywhere we traveled, it was evident that Lala is respected, and I daresay adored, by all, which reaped great rewards for us!

We could not have guessed that our second three full day safaris, this time in Kanha, could have topped our Bandhavgar experience! Again, due to the synchrony built by countless hours spent on safari together, Lala and his friends (our park driver and guide) lead us on a captivating, tiger-ful experience of nature and life in Central India’s beautiful wild places.

Finally, our journey was made complete by a visit to Earth Focus, an NGO whose work focuses on building the ecological and socio-economic resilience of the forest-dwelling communities of Kanha’s buffer zone. This integrative experience leant insight into the complexities of conservation and human/wildlife coexistence. We left with our knowledge and our hearts vastly expanded.

“It’s the beginning of a happy journey where I will be meeting myself.”

Nicole Gryler, USA
A Tryst With Tigers – Bandhavgarh and Kanha

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