Ranthambhore National Park , also spelled Ranthambore, is a national park and tiger reserve located in the Rajasthan state in western India .

Understand

The park, which is one of the finest tiger reserves in the country, is one of the best places in the country to see these majestic predators in the wild. It also contains abandoned fortress and lakes. Its 'friendly' tigers have made it one of the most filmed wildlife reserves in the world. Ranthambore was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and became part of Project Tiger in 1973.

The Park covers an area of nearly 400 sq. km. It is set between the Aravali and Vindhya hill ranges, and located very near to the outer fringes of the Thar Desert. The varied topography of the national park is home to animals like the jackal, mongoose, sloth bear, leopard, and of course, the tiger. Its deciduous forests were once a part of the magnificent jungles of Central India .

Ranthambore Wildlife Park is dream for wildlife lover and photographers who are interested in wildlife photography. This park has very good accommodation facility and transportation facilities inside the park. This park is opened from October and closes around May every year. Park is famous for its tiger sightseeing, which is captured in various different books.

Climate

Ranthambore National Park is open from 1st October to 30th June (July - September closed to visitors). A good time to visit is between November and May when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common.

Tourists should always carry the cloths according to the season, they are visiting the Ranthambore National Park as summers are very hot and winters are very cold.

In summer time tourists should always expect a hot day out in Ranthambore Park as the day temperature can soar in between 35 to 47 degree centigrade. Tourists can expect this temperature, if they are visiting this park in the month of April and June.

Winter season is totally opposite to the summer time. Winter season, especially from November to February, morning drives in the park can be very freezing and even if you wear many layers of cloths, they can be insufficient for you. Day time remain pleasant during winters and you can even enjoy the outing in thin layer t-shirts but again in the evening it starts freezing cold.

Flora and fauna

Ranthambore National Park is famous for its Tigers and is a favorite with photographers. For a relatively small area, the park has a rich diversity of fauna and flora - species list includes 300 trees, 50 aquatic plants, 272 birds, 12 reptiles including the Marsh Crocodile & amphibians and 30 mammals.

For the wildlife savvy, Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary today offers an intense diversity of flora and fauna. Tigers, the park's pride makes it one of the best places in the country to observe them. Apart from that a large numbers of Sambar, Chital, Nilgai, Gazzelle, Boars, Mongoose, Indian Hare, Monitor Lizards and a large number of birds.

The landscape is dotted with ancient Banyan Trees, Dhok & Pipal trees, clusters of mango trees and crisscrossed with evergreen belts. The terrain is made up of massive rock formations, steep scarps, perennial lakes and streams and forest suddenly opening up into large areas of Savannah. The terrain of Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary fluctuates between impregnable forests and open bush land. The forest is the typically dry deciduous type, with Dhok, being the most prominent tree.

Getting there

Nearest Town is Sawai Madhopur, situated on the Delhi- Mumbai railway line and also linked with Jaipur and Agra by rail.

Near by Airports - Jaipur and Kota.

Distance by rail: Delhi - 362 km, Agra - 227 km, Bombay 1027 km, Kota - 108 km, Jaipur - 132 km

Distance by road: Delhi - 480 km (via Dausa), Jaipur - 180 km (via Tonk)

See

• National Park (Ranthambore National Park ), Rajasthan (Sawai Madhopur ), Ranthambore National Park located in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan is one of the most visited wildlife parks in India. The main attractions of Ranthambore National Park are its tiger and bird population. The main faunas of Ranthambore are Tigers, Leopards, Striped Hyenas, Sambar deer, Chital, Nilgai, Common or Hanuman langurs, Macaques, Jackals, Jungle cats, Caracals, Sloth bears, Black bucks, Rufoustailed Hare, Indian Wild Boar, Chinkara, Common Palm Civets or Toddy cat, Coomon Yellow Bats, Desert Cats, Fivestriped Palm Squirrels, Indian False Vampires, Indian Flying Foxes, Indian Foxes, Indian Gerbilles, Indian Mole Rats, Indian Porcupines, Longeared Hedgehogs, Ratels, Small Indian Mongoose, Small Indian Civets and Common mongoose. Various species of reptiles are also found in this park.

• Ranthambhore Fort, Founded in 944 and initially named "Ranath Bhawar Garh" which means "a place of Rajput warriors".

• Bakula: Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is mostly covered with thick forest. Bakula is one of the thickly forested regions. Bakula region has various pools and water holes as well as a dense forest part, due to the forest cover and easily available water, abundance of wildlife is easily found in the Bakula Region. Tourists can easily see tigresses with their young cubs near the water holes. Bakula dense forest is an excellent place for tigresses and their young cubs to hide.

• Kachida Valley: Kachida Valley has many outcrops and low hills. This valley is located near to outskirts of Ranthambore national park. Tourists should go through Jeep Safari, while exploring this area. Panther population of Ranthambore National Park is found here, they avoid venturing in the main area of jungle, which avoids their conflicts with tigers. Beers are also found in a good number here.

• Lakarda Anantpura: Lakarda Anantpura is located in the north and north-west part of the Ranthambhore National Park. This area is ideal location to visit Sloth Bears. Tourists can also find lots of ant hills, favourite of beers. It is a rare chance to visit these beers, but Hyenas and their pugmark can be easily seen over here.

• Jogi Mahal: This fort is among the must watch places in Ranthambore national park. This fort is located near to the park and offers amazing facilities to the tourists, to make their journey more comfortable.

Things to do

Take all the safaris you can (in the morning at 6:30 and in the afternoon at 14:30). You need a certain amount of luck to see a tiger (about 1 in 4 chance), but there are plenty of other wonderful sights. It is better to book the safaris via the official website the same time you book your hotel. Your hotel will also be able to secure tickets for you (in some cases, this maybe the only way to secure a "Gypsy" vehicle at late notice), but you will likely be charged a higher mark-up compared with purchasing the tickets from the government website yourself.

There are two choices of vehicle for going on the safari, an all wheel drive jeep called a "Gypsy" (which seat up to 6 visitors) or 16 or 20 seater safari bus called a "Canter". The 16 seater is the petrol version and is a bit quieter than the 20 seater diesel version. A diesel/petrol canter safari costs 500/530rs for a non-Indian and a jeep safari 600rs for a non-Indian, but jeeps are more mobile and everything is better seen from them.

Jeep safari: This is one of the famous and best ways to explore the park. Tourists should do the advance booking for the jeeps as thousands of tourists come to visit this park and there are only few number of vehicles are allowed in the park.

At the entrance to the Park your guide goes to the drawing procedure in order to get one of the five tracks you will be allowed to drive (since the park is a nature reserve only a limited number of cars can enter it and they are obliged to follow only one of the five routes). A good guide asks also a representative of the tourist group to be present at this procedure.

Safari can be booked directly on the government website for a small convenience charge, avoiding any hassle or hotel/agent commissions . Otherwise, tickets can be obtained the hour before each safari start time directly from the ticket window. This tends to be a chaotic process as the agents are also trying to finalize their safaris. This is a convenience charge / mark-up free way of purchasing tickets and most of the agents will be happy to assist you in dealing with the ticket window. Ensure that you have obtained and filled out a indemnity form prior to requesting tickets. These forms are available around the corner from the ticket window at the main entrance security desk. You may have to request one from a guard standing behind the gate

Sleep

• Ranthambhore Forest Resort . Friendly and welcoming, it is efficiently run and a very pleasant place to stay. The restaurant provides good Indian food, and there is a shop on-site. Wi-fi is available in and around the reception area.

• Hammir Resort. The manager is very attentive to the guests from outside India and does his best to flannel them. There are luxury rooms in a separate building and standard rooms in the main building. If you travel in winter it is better to choose standard rooms. Although there is much more noise there and these rooms are smaller and a bit more dirty, but it is warm inside, while in the luxury rooms the warming of conditioner is switched off and it is impossible to be inside the rooms during the night.

• The Pugmark Resort The Pugmark wildlife resort is located near the Ranthambore National Park, Sawai Madhopur. This resort is spread over the area of 5 acres and situated at the edge of the Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan.

• Ranthambore Regency Nice resort with a very inviting pool and lawn and cottage like rooms around it. Food is great and usually included in the tariff.

• RTDC Castle Jhoomar Baori +91 7462 220495

• RTDC Hotel Vinayak +91 7462 221333

Safety

It goes without saying that it is NECESSARY to take warm things (including gloves, caps, fur-coats and blanckets) for the morning (and even evening) safari in winter. Since it is very cold before sunrise and after sunset and you will drive in an open car, you can get frozen through.

Fees/Permits

At the entrance to the park you will have to pay ONLY for usage of your video-camera. Foto-cameras are used free of charge.