Ranthambore National Park

Deriving its name from the pictorial fort inside, the Ranthambore National Park is one of India’s most renowned national parks. Located where the Aravali Range and plateau of the Vindhyas meet, Ranthambore National Park was once where the royals of Jaipur hunted. The national park is also considered a prominent heritage site due to the ancient ruins found inside.

The town of Sawai Madhopur is the gateway to the national park with a thriving biodiversity set among ancient religious structures, several man-made lakes and aesthetically-crumbling cenotaphs.

Although flanked by the Banas River to the north and the Chambal River to the south, the many lakes inside are not fed by either of the rivers’ waters. Having been declared a national park in 1980 with focus on protection of the endangered tiger, adjacent forests were merged with the Ranthambore National Park a little more than a decade later. The Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Kaldevi Sanctuary became part of the tiger reserve, making the national park at Ranthambore one of India’s largest.

You are bound to be enthralled to watch the splendid tiger roam about in its natural habitat, in the wild! Alternating between dry deciduous forests and swathes of grasslands, the Ranthambore National Park is recognised as one of the best places in the country to spot tigers. Today, sprawling across a little more than 1300 square kilometres including core and buffer area, the Ranthambore National Park is every wildlife enthusiast, photographer and a spirited traveller’s haven.

The Bakaula area is full of small watering holes, and the dense forest cover is a recommended region for spotting tigresses and her cubs. Zones 1-6 have been noted for a relatively higher number of tiger sightings. You are free to use your still camera without having to pay a fee, and the safari timings vary according to season. Usually, it is half hour after sunrise and half hour before sunset. In case a tiger had been spotted in a particular zone in the morning, it is highly likely that the predator is still in the vicinity in the evenings.

Or if the tiger has had a kill in a zone, it’s possible that the predator roams the area even 2-3 days after the hunt. To make sure you catch hold of the magnificent cat, multiple safari trips are a suggested way to raise the odds.

However, tiger sightings are fairly common at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. The hotter Ranthambore gets, better are your chances of catching the Royal Bengal Tiger in the wild. The tigers have grown used to human attention and do not feel threatened. Astonishing instances of the predator chasing and hunting down prey are recounted by guides, and if lucky enough, you might have your own first-hand experience by the end of it all.

Sloth Bears are another of the park’s secluded animals, coming out only during dusk. Lying in the rocky outcrops of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, the Sloth Bear is difficult to sight. Be on the lookout anyway—you might just get lucky.