Ranthambore is famous for tigers and its beautiful topography. Located in eastern Rajasthan, it stretches over an area of about 1800 sq.km of forest and grassland.
I went to Ranthambore last week, post Diwali celebrations. We hired an Innova from Jaipur and started at about 9:30 am in the morning. It is approximately 180 Kms from Jaipur, and it took us around 3 hours to reach as the roads were good and not very crowded.
I had booked Tigress Resort and Spa which was approximately a 10 minute drive from the main entrance of the safari. The 4 star property had villas, rooms, and cottages. We booked a villa and stayed on the first floor. The rooms were spacious with a bathtub, heater and many facilities. They arranged pool side morning/ evening tea and local dance/ music at night with dinner which made the stay very interesting.
We stayed in Ranthambore for 4 days. On the first day, we visited the Ranthambore Fort. We drove our Innova and the general charges were about Rs 1500-2000 for this drive. It took us about 20 minutes to reach the Fort. The Fort had about 200 steps and it’s top was divided into 2 parts, one which went to the Ganesh Temple and the other which went to the Dargah and the Badal Mahal. We chose to visit the Dargah and Badal Mahal Ruins as it was less crowded. We could see peacocks and other birds roaming around nearby.
Over there, there were a few places which had a great view of the lake, forest, and the Fort. The place was beautiful and serene but would often get crowded owing to the popularity of the Ganesha Temple amongst the villages nearby. I was a little apprehensive to venture out alone and thought it best to stay in a group as few places could get very isolated. My fears were proven right as while we were getting down, we heard that a tiger had been spotted enroute and was sitting on the road for a long time which we luckily missed by 5 minutes. You must carry water and snacks as there is nothing there, except an old lady who sits by the water sometimes.
The Ranthambore forest is divided into 10 zones which are numbered from 1 to 10. The allocation of the Zones are random and is a matter of luck unless you book the same in Tatkal. We booked 2 safaris in Tatkal and 2 normally.
Zone 1 to 5 and Zone 10 are famous for big cat sightings. The Zone 10 is the farther most from city and takes about 45 minutes to reach. The safari timings are 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the morning and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in evening. You can hire a Gypsy or get a seat in a canter. We hired a 4 seater Gypsy as it is more convenient than the Canter which cannot take difficult turns and stays on the drivable yet undeveloped roads.
The first 2 safaris we got were in Zone 7 & 8, both were hilly zones where we had a good chance of spotting leopards and sloth bears. However, luck didn’t favour us and we couldn’t spot any.
The next two Zones were 1 & 3. Zone 1 was extremely beautiful and had lakes and few isolated places which looked as if they were straight out of Hollywood movies like Avatar or King Kong. We heard the deer call of tiger and drove in the direction of the sound for almost 30 minutes but could not spot the tiger.
Zone 3 had 3 lakes and many birds and is the most sought after one being famous for spotting tigers. Alas, we were unable to spot a tiger here as well.
Kept hidden from the masses as if a secret, Sawai Madhopur houses the beautiful and unique Chambal Gharial Safari. About 45 kms from Sawai Madhopur on the highway to Gwalior, a smooth and motorable road leads towards the Pali Village where we hired the boat services of Mr. Rudra Pratap Singh.
A exclusive boat cost us Rs 2400/- and took us to a secluded place where the 3 rivers – Chambal, Dwarka and Parvati merge into one. These rivers have almost 300 Gharials and Crocodiles. A photographer’s dream, the river sand beds not only had many birds but also Gharials soaking in the Sun. Infact, we even saw a few Sambhars and a Neel gai ( Blue Buck) on the other side of river.
The safari took about 1 hour and we came back by noon having nothing else to do. The lack of amenities might be inconvenient and hence, one is advised to carry water and snacks while going for the safari. We saw 6-7 Gharials, about 10 crocodiles, a pied kingfisher and a few other birds and 1 turtle. It is advisable to carry your binoculars for better visibility along with a good sunscreen and a hat with you.
All in all, the place is not only family and child friendly but is also the perfect place to experience the beauty of nature with many birds and animals roaming around in their natural habitat.
