Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary
Ranthambore national park's abandoned fortress, lakes and above all it's `friendly'
tigers have made it one of the most filmed wildlife reserves in the world. More
so than at any other Indian wildlife reserve, tigers can be observed during
full daylight, lazing about or hunting, and rarely shy from cameras and jeep-loads
of tourists .
Nestling
between the Aravali and Vindhya hills, Ranthambore remains one of Rajasthan's
last sizeable stretches of verdant grassland and jungle. The terrain is rugged
with rocky escarpments, hills and valleys containing rivers and lakes. It's
forests were once part of the jungles of central India and is of the tropical
dry deciduous type, with dhok (Anogeissus pendulla) being the most prominent
tree. Ranthambore is fed by several perennial rivers and contains a number of
permanent lakes complete with resident crocodiles. Commonly observed wildlife
includes langurs, peacocks, sambar deer, spotted deer (chital), wild boars,
blue bull (nilgai), crocodiles, Indian gazelle (chinkara) and black buck.
Ranthambore was once the private hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur
and it's royal heritage manifests itself in the picturesque ruins that dot
the park. There are hunting lodges, chhatris, old fortifications and a majestic
thousand year old fort overlooking the park.
LOCATION
Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, India.
12 km from Sawai Madhopur town and the nearest train station.
130 km south-east of Jaipur city and the nearest airport.
170 km from Bharatpur (Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary), 230 km from Agra, 360
km from Delhi.
GETTING THERE
The easiest way to reach Ranthambore is to take a train to Sawai Madhopur. This
town is well connected with trains to/from Jaipur, Bombay and Delhi.From outside
the train station, rickshaws can be hired to transport you to your hotel.
ACCESS
› 
This
park is only open from 1st October to 30th June.
› Safari trips into Ranthambore are made in open-sided Jeeps or
open-sided mini trucks (Canters). Trips are only allowed twice a day, in the
early morning and again in the late afternoon, each safari lasts about 3 hours.
Private vehicles are not permitted into the park.
› Booking for Jeep or Canter safaris into Ranthambore must be made
at the Project Tiger office. This office is located half a km from the train
station. Follow the rail tracks south, under the overpass, and the office is
to your left.
› Jeeps can carry a maximum of 5 passengers and bookings can be
made up-to 30 days in advance.
› Only six jeeps are allowed into the park, but five of these six
jeeps appear to be permanently booked by the up-market hotels for exclusive
use by their guests. This means that for the independent traveller, jeep booking
are very difficult. There is also a lot of red-tape involved during the booking
process. In particular, the names of all the jeep passengers must be given when
the booking form is filled in and it is nearly impossible to ammend these details
later. For example, taking an extra passenger. It is very common and frustrating
to watch jeeps with only one or two passengers entering the park.
› Booking a seat on a Canter is usually straight-forward and can
be done about 24 hours ahead. Canters can pick up passengers from hotels situated
on the road between the Project Tiger office and the park entrance.
› Tiger sightings are equally common with both Jeeps and Canters.
However, Jeep safaris are preferable since Jeeps can use smaller tracks and
travel deeper into the jungles and grassland. Also fellow passengers on Canters
can be noisy and spoil your enjoyment.
Click
here for Reservation
»
India Wildlife Tour 
