Ranthambhore National Park

Post Hindu Temple Visit!

The Ranthambhore National Park is spread over 282 square kilometers and lies in the Sawai Madhopur district of eastern Rajasthan. It is right now the only forest reserve in Rajasthan state where tigers exist. During the 19th century the forests of Ranthambhore were the private hunting reserves of the Jaipur and Karauli royal family. In the early 20th century there was an estimated tiger population in India of 45 000, in the 1970's a tiger census revealed only 1827 tigers and recently the estimate is only 1411 adult tigers in existence in all of India.

Due to the preservation laws over the last 3 decades Ranthambhore has became the best place in the world to see wild tigers. The tiger population has gradually recovered and in 2002 the Park counted nearly 35 tigers, a density of nearly 10 tigers per 100 square k.m. – which is one of the highest in the world. It is among the few places in the world where Bengal tigers can be observed at close quarters.


Ranthambhore national park is not just the home of the Tiger but also that of the leopard, striped hyena, sloth bear, jungle cat, wild boar, crocodile and over well over 300 species of birds over 35 species of reptiles and over 300 species of plants.

The preservation groups still fight illegal poaching of the tigers for their bones, skins, teeth, nails among other parts that are used in Chinese medicine. This contributes to at least one tiger death everyday in India.

Out tent hotel

The Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve is the single largest expanse of forest left intact in India and the areas surrounding the Tiger reserve have been totally deforested and as a result, the Ranthambhore tiger reserve is now an ecological island surrounded by farmlands and overgrazed pastures.

We arrived in Sawai Madhopur Friday night after a shockingly uneventful and easy train experience. The Ranthambhore Bagh is the name of our hotel...well, not hotel so much as tents in the forest....These aren't your normal camping tents! They actually pour foundation and have electricity and plumbing and a tall fancy tent on top of all this! This, of course, seemed horribly romantic and cool looking at the pictures on the website (and even in person) until.....well, lets just say we were not alone in our tent- having later discovered several points of access and egress for crafty wildlife!!!

I was rudely woke at 615am yesterday to a scurrying sound and opened my eyes to see a rather robust rodent climb down the wall of the tent 1 foot from my head...I bolted upright and armed with my flashlight peered from a crack in the mosquito nest in search of the intruder...to no avail. When our alarm went off at 6:30am I greeted Sue with "good morning" followed closely by "I don't want to alarm you..." We never did see the mouse again but too extra precautions with our luggage!

Then last night, as I am laying out my clothes for the early safari, I picked up my jacket which was hanging on a hook and as I grab onto the hood to unzip it I feel something move under my hand followed closely by a long tail poking out....I throw the coat on my bed and scream hysterically while a large lizard sits poking out of the hood of my coat. Sue started screaming...stopped to photograph it, followed by more screaming. Just as we were arming ourselves and plotting the plan for lizard removal he scampered off the bed and up the wall to the ceiling where he kept a close eye on us all night...I was so freaked out I made sue empty my entire luggage and search for wild life...I also made her tuck the mosquito net in under the mattress on all 4 sides so I didn't wake up spooning with anything.

OMG!!! A lizard in my jacket!!!!!

Extra mosquito net precautions!

Rouge lizard!

OMG!!!

Not to be stingy with the wildlife encounter stories...I was also chased by a monkey. Note to self: do not eat an orange in front of a wild monkey while trying to take a photograph of it at close quarters.

That was the monkey that chased me....

He was quite large and chased me for about 50 feet around the Ranthambhore fort screeching....I put the orange in my pocket and screamed like a school girl and he finally gave up. Talk about an adrenalin rush....I'm officially an idiot.




The Ranthambore Fort is located at the top of a rocky outcrop in the middle of the forest. The fort is huge and covers an area of approximately 7 kilometers in circumference. It is one of the oldest forts in the country and is said to have been built in 944 AD . Due to it's location and structure, it is considered to have been one of the most difficult forts to overthrow. It is said that more than ten thousand women committed mass suicide by burning themselves from the fort to escape being taken prisoner by Khilji and the barbaric invading armies. In 1528, the reign of the fort went into the hands of the Mughals and even the great emperor "Akbar" is said to have stayed at the fort between 1558 and 1559.

The first thing that hits you is the breathtaking view in every direction. The interiors of the fort are also stunning. The entire fort is dotted with beautiful temples and also a mosque. The most famous of these being the temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. It is said that devotees actually send in letters to the God at this temple, which are brought up daily by the local postman.
We took a tour of the fort through the hotel and it was really amazing....except for the monkey infestation! We went from saying things like "Oh! look at the monkeys!" "Aren't they cute?!" "Look! This one's posing for my picture" to within an hour: "those bastards" "fucking monkeys!" "Watch out for the monkey!!!!!" We were travelling with a nice family from Delhi and their 8 year old daughter was pushed over by one of the monkeys and later their 15 year old son, who was carrying a necklace in his hand which they thought was food, was attacked by 3 of them and they were hanging from his hand until he opened it to show them it wasn't food!

We took 3 safaris into the forest to search for the elusive tiger! One in the morning and two in the afternoon. We were very lucky and saw a tiger on our first safari...it was pretty amazing! The guides find them by listening to the alarm calls of different animals and following tracks. We also saw: crocodiles, owls, wild peacocks, wild boars, spotted deer, antelope, and tons of different birds! The animals are quite used to the jeeps and you can get very close to them.

Where's Waldo?? Can you spot the tiger?!

It's been an awesome 2 days here in the park and we had an amazing experience! Tonight we have a final meal here. They have the most delicious Rajasthani food I've tasted so far on this trip! Later we take a night train at 1135pm to Udaipur.

No more tents, thank god!!!! If only I could say the same for monkeys....