Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, India; named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, is one of the largest tiger reserves of India. Spread over an area of 1,334 sq. kms; it is bounded to the north by Banas River and to the south by Chambal River. Initially established as Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, it was declared one of the ‘Project Tiger’ reserves in 1973 and a national park on 1 November 1980.
In 1992, the Tiger Reserve was further expanded to include the adjoining Keladevi Sanctuary in the north and Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary to the south along with other forested areas. The tiger reserve area covers the entire area of the national park. The park is divided into 10 zones, with zones 1 to 5 considered best for sighting tigers.
The National Park
The highlight of the national park is Ranthambore Fort built in the 10th century by the Chauhan dynasty, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The highlight and the biggest tourist attraction at the park are three historic red Karauli stone temples inside dedicated to Lord Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji. There is also a Digamber Jain temple dedicated to Lord Sumatinath and Lord Sambhavanath.
These temples were reportedly constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The National Park comprises of dry deciduous forests and open grassy meadow; dense tropical dry forest, open bushland with over 300 species of plants, and rocky terrain interspersed with lakes and streams. The National Park also includes Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests. The Aravali mountains, extends deep into the park. There are several lakes inside the park, like Surwal Talao, Malik Talao, Raj Bagh Talao; all these lakes are considered important locations to spot tigers.
The lakes are a great place to watch variety of birds, and with over 300 species of birds; Rathambore park is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Out of these lakes, Padam Talao is the largest lake in the park. Jogi Mahal, a red sandstone resting place for Jaipur royal family when they came here on hunting expedition, built at the edge of the lake. A gigantic Banyan tree, considered to be India’s second largest, can also be found near the lake.
Wildlife in Park
The Ranthambore National Park is home to huge variety of wildlife including Royal Bengal Tiger, Indian Leopard, Indian Elephant, Wild Water Buffalo, Gaur, Nilgai, and Barasingha. Other animals found in the park are Black Buck, Chinkara, Chousingha, Wild Boar, Sambar, Indian Muntjac, Indian Hog Deer, Spotted Deer, Striped Hyena, Dhole, Indian Wolf, Bengal Fox, Desert Fox, Golden Jackal, Caracal, Jungle Cat, and Indian Porcupine. Some other animals found here are Indian Hare, Lesser Bandicoot Rat, Honey Badger, Indian Flying Fox, Greater False Vampire Bat, Indian Gerbil, Indian Pangolin, Sloth Bear, Southern Plains Gray Langur, Rhesus Macaque, and Mugger Crocodile.
Tigers of Park
Ranthambore is best known for its large tiger population, including ‘Machli’, the legendary tigress also known as “The Lady of the Lakes”. She was the worlds’ most famous and holds the world record of being the most photographed tigress. At 20 years old, Machli was the world’s oldest living tigress in the wild when she died in August 2016. She was single-handedly instrumental in boosting the flow of tourists into Ranthambore National Park. Her bravery and power have been the subject of many wildlife documentaries, and TV shows. Machli’s daughter T19 (Krishna or Unis) is the current queen tigress of Ranthambore national park. Another famous tiger of Ranthambore is T – 25 also known as ‘Zalim’. He sent observers and tiger researchers in a tizzy when he cared for his 2 female cubs’ he had fathered with a female tigress who had died due to a disease
In past few years, however the tiger population at the park declined due to poaching and other reasons, including fatal human-tiger conflict. The forest officials have made serious efforts to curb poaching, by giving incentives to villagers and even surveillance cameras were installed across the reserve. This helped increase tiger population at Ranthambhore. Subsequently tigers were relocated from Ranthambhore to Sariska Tiger Reserve where tiger population was unfortunately wiped out due to poaching. According to the 2021 census of tigers, there were over 80 tigers in Ranthambore National Park.
The Tourist Destination
Today, the Ranthambhore national park located at a distance of 180 kms from Jaipur; is the most popular tourist destination for tiger lovers not just in India but also the world. The tourists can enjoy jeep safari, twice a day in morning and evening. As the national park is famed for numerous popular tigers, thousands of tiger lovers visit the park daily from all over the world. Other places worth visiting in and around the park are Rajiv Gandhi Regional Museum of Natural History, Ranthambore School of Art, and Dastkar Ranthambore souvenir market.
Best time to visit the Ranthambore National Park is from October to June, as the park remains closed to tourist for tiger sighting between the monsoon season from July to September, also the mating season for the tigers. The Ranthambore National Park has a moderately warm in daytime and cool weather at night. Also worth visiting is Kacheeda Valley, inside the park, which is famous for sightings of panthers and bears, along with ruins of historic Raj Bagh palace, surrounded by deciduous forests.
The park is generally open from 7.00 AM to 10.30 AM in morning and 2.30 PM to 6.00 PM in evening during winters; and from 6.30 AM to 10.30 AM in morning and 2.30 PM to 6.30 PM in evening during summer. Well connected by road, the nearest railway station is Sawai Madhopur; with Jaipur Airport providing airlink to the park. There are numerous hotels, resorts and restaurants that provide accommodation and food to decent rates to the visitors.
