Face the Fear by Spotting Tigers at Ranthambhore National Park

Ranthambhore National Park

It was in October when I visited Ranthambhore National Park. With the idea of getting some relief from exhausting schedule, I undertook the trip. Visiting India second time did not cause me much trouble as I was ready to go for a mindful journey to India. I along with my wife Jenny reached Delhi in an evening of weekend. Assured by our travel operator in Delhi for every arrangement, we went to the hotel and after relishing our dinner, we fall off to sleep. Our next day was dedicated to the visit to this national park.

We took a flight to reach Jaipur in Rajasthan and from there we headed towards Ranthambore Bagh Resort where our stay was already confirmed by our tour operator in Delhi. It took us around 4 hours to reach the Ranthambhore National Park.

That is how the excitement to see wildlife began! Jenny, my wife is truly a photography lover. She carried her camera and we left for Ranthambhore National Park, the popular wildlife destination in Rajasthan.

We had one gypsy booked so that we could enjoy photography as well. Entering that picturesque zone, we first came across the lakes and great bird life. Our first halt was at Padam Lake. The wildlife creatures we came across were egret, snake, bird and parakeets. Moving ahead, we captured the sights of spotted deers, owls, watching eagerly and grey heron.

Our excitement to see tigers made us to stop at the park for the time being. The guide suggested us to keep mum as our voice could be irritating to animals. Unfortunately, sighting tigers did not happen that day and we had to rush back to the resort as we were too hungry.

Ranthambore Bagh Resort

After reaching the resort, we filled our hungry stomachs with delicious food. The night spent with bonfires, folk music and sharing the first day's experience. Staying in a camp with all the amenities and surrounding greenery coupled with a homely feel relaxed us.

Choosing Ranthambore as our wildlife destination from various India wildlife tour packages brought reward to us as the next day, we spotted a tiger. The thrill was rising and we came to a standstill as soon as we felt the presence of tiger around us! While Jenny was concentrating on clicking to capture tigers without disturbing them, I was closely observing his activities. Roaming around majestically, the tiger seemed bit scary with his mighty built.

Well, we left back to the resort as we had to fly back for our country next morning. Our tour to Ranthambhore brought us a truly rewarding experience!

Ranthambore National Park Tour

Wilderness, enchantment, adventure - these three words govern my wildlife-obsessed heart. And the bait of enchanting wildlife was enough for me to take the Ranthambore National Park Tour once again. I can never have enough of wildlife which makes me visit wildlife destinations of India time and again. With my friend Vaidehi I visited this Park with some expectations in my heart.

Ranthambore National Park Tour

We were booked in the heritage Hotel Nahargarh Fort Ranthambore which is located just a few km from the National Park. The hotel is fashioned like a traditional hunting lodge. We liked the old-world charm of the hotel and mesmerizing interiors. One of my friends had told me about this wonderful heritage hotel of Sawai Madhopur district. We had reached here at night and after gorging on traditional Rajasthani cuisine we retired to bed dreaming about the wildlife we would soon get to see.

The next morning I woke up to the melodious chirping of birds and cool breeze which was no less than some movie scene for me. What a pleasant beginning of the day it was! We had our morning tea and left for a jeep safari to Ranthambore National Park.

As we entered the Park we got overwhelmed by its sweet fragrance and soothing hues. Everything was so beautiful and admirable. Every now and then different beautiful birds would pass over us and we would try to catch a glimpse of them. Our guide could recognize some of the birds.  

Ranthambore National Park is a famous wildlife destination of Rajasthan where wildlife enthusiasts come from all over the world. Located in Sawai Madhapur district, the Park sprawls over an area of 392 sq km. This Tiger Reserve remains open from October to June. Rich in bio-diversity, the Park has three lakes namely Raj Bagh, Malik Talab and Padam Talab.

While exploring the Park we came across several wonderful creatures of nature such as Sloth bear, Marsh crocodile, jungle cat, sambhar, deer, Indian hare, nilgai, mongoose, porcupine and Monitor lizard. It was so good to see these creatures. We did have a desire to sight a tiger but his absence in our list of ‘wildlife sighted’ didn’t dampen our spirit. It is purely a matter of luck. So telling ourselves ‘better luck next time’ we moved to the Ranthambore Fort. Built in the 10^th century, it is one of the oldest forts of Rajasthan. We were amazed to see the huge Banyan tree in the fort. It is the second largest Banyan tree in India. Many monkeys were jumping from one branch to another as if flaunting their fitness. Overall experience of the Ranthambore Park was a good one. We left the Park with a desire to come back soon to enjoy its wilderness.

While coming back from the Park I and Vaidehi were discussing the tiger issue in India. The future of this enchanting creature is gloomy and the word endangered seems to be inseparable from the word tiger. It is so sad to know that now only 1411 tigers are left in India. I wonder is it the same India which was once the home of thousands of tigers. These enchanting creates of Mother nature are very much a part of the heritage of India which we must save with the best of our efforts.

Ranthambore National Park: The Land Of Tigers

“A country is known by the way it treats its animals.” - This statement by

Ranthambore National Park

Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, has always been a lesson to me. It was my last day in Jaipur, and I was seeking to explore some alluring site. Being a great fan of Ramesh Bedi, a veteran wild-life writer and photographer, finally decided to take an excursion tour to Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary. It was an awesome deal where I could capture the tigers and other fauna in my camera. To enjoy the tour into this sanctuary, I hired a jeep that took me in the deep forests without any fear.

I was in the eastern part of Rajasthan at a distance of 130 km from Jaipur. The very first fascinating factor was the natural beauty of the surrounding Aravali and Vindhya mountain ranges. My driver-cum-guide told me that Ranthambore National Park used to be the hunting ground of Maharajas of Jaipur. It was first declared a game sanctuary in 1955 and later became a National Park in 1980, and came under the Tiger Project. The Park is actually an eye treat for the lovers of wild-life. Various natural rivers and man-made lakes flowing through the National Park add some extra charm to it.

After a drive of hardly two kilometers, I spotted langurs, caracals, hyena, jungle cats, marsh crocodiles, jackal, bear, sambar, chital, nilagai, gazelle, mongoose, wild boar and a few other animals. But I was still searching for the roaring tigers and speedy leopards. The driver then took me to the Padam Talab, Raj Bagh Talab and Milak Talab. While on the way to these lakes, he told me that we could easily spot tigers there. And surprisingly, withing next 15 minutes, I was clicking the best tigers of India, in their relaxing moments. Hunting is strictly prohibited in the grounds of this National Park.

Ranthambore National Park has some areas open for the tourists to travel around and explore the flora and fauna of the park. There was a small restaurant, where I enjoyed a cup of coffee with some light snacks. The chaiwala told me that the Park has the largest and most diverse collection of wildlife species in India, including 300 trees, 50 aquatic plants, over 300 species of birds, 12 reptiles and 30 species of mammals. Ranthambore Park is also classified as a heritage site because of some of the ruins of old monuments. As I was running out of time, I paid short visits to the Jogi Mahal (has the second largest Banyan tree in India), Ranthambore Fort (probably the oldest existing fort in Rajasthan) and the Padam Talao. The Cenotaphs and Old Citadels date back to thousand years. The trip was very exciting and I returned back to my hotel with some remarkable moments in my camera.