Location of Ranthambore: - The famous Ranthambore National Park is located in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan India. It is just 180 kms from the state capital Jaipur, the national capital Delhi is also not very far (297 kms) by road.
By Road -The wildlife park is very well connected with all the major cities via broad highways, A same day tour of Ranthambore is very popular from Jaipur city, the road to Sawai Madhopur from Dausa has been recently widened. Drive to Agra also takes around 6 hours from Ranthambore national park.
By Train- Sawai Madhopur which falls on the main Delhi-Mumbai rail track is the nearest railway station from Ranthambore national park. Sawai Madhopur is an important railway station with all major trains stopping at this station. The train ride from Delhi to Sawai Madhopur usually takes 4-5 hours.
By Flight- Jaipur is the nearest domestic and international airport from the Ranthambore national park. The jaipur airport is very well connected with all major Indian cities and international destinations. From Jaipur a smooth ride of 180 kms will take you all the way to the Ranthambore national park.
These dry regions which are also a part of the desert state of Rajasthan have long stretch of grass lands supporting a good population of deer, this area also has low level Aravali ranges thus the tigers have both food and shelter in abundance. The Ranthambore national park was included in the project tiger reserve in year 1973. The project tiger is an initiative of the government of India to increase the dwindling tiger population. The project has been fairly successful and Ranthambore in particular has a healthy count of the royal Bengal tiger.
The main attraction at Ranthambore national park are the royal Bengal tigers. This national park is known for the maximum density of the tigers in a limited area, this factor increases the chance of sighting the animal multiple times. The tiger reserve was a protected game sanctuary declared in 1955 after the launch of project tiger the Ranthambore national park was declared a tiger reserve and since then is famous for its tiger population. The Ranthambore has a large area of around 1339 square kilometers the core area itself is around 400 square kilometers unlike the other national parks like Jim Corbett the vegetation at Ranthambore is dry grassland so sighting is very easily done as the animal has less chance for camouflage in dense woods.
The national park has a rich flora and Fauna apart from the tigers the national park has a significant number and varieties of deer, Indian sloth beer, leopard, hoofed antelopes, otters, crocodile, monkeys, black faced monkeys, monitor lizard etc . The avian species at Ranthambore are around 360, the Surwai lake hosts lots of migratory bird species from cold nations of Europe and Siberia.
The forest of Ranthambore comprises of Kikar, Sheesham, Julia flora, Neem and many other varieties of trees. Ranthambore national park in recent years has been filmed extensively by channels like National geographic and Discovery, they have documented lives of the Ranthambore tigers and these tigers have been made famous Machli (T-16) was also extensively filmed and it made a big news when she died, similarly there are other famous tigers and tigress dollar (T-25), Sitara (T-28),Bina one and Bina two. Bill Clinton the US President also did the Ranthambore Park Safari on his India tour and he was fortunate to sight a tiger.
November to March is the best time to visit the Ranthambore national Park as the summers are excessive hot in this part.
The Ranthambore Jungle Safari are conducted by Jeep and the canter vehicles, jeep can seat 6 adults while canter can unfortunately seat 20 adults these vehicles are guided and escorted by trained naturalist who lead the tourist for successful sighting. Private vehicles are allowed only till the Ranthambore fort, these private vehicles are not allowed to enter the core forest area. The safari are held twice a day once in the morning shift and then in the afternoon shift the timings alter according to the prevailing season. Currently there are ten zones at the Ranthambore national park the first five are the best to sight tigers while the zones 6-10 have been added later.
Ranthambore Safari Timings
Winters-------------------------------Morning Shift------------------------Afternoon Shift
October-January----------------------7 am to 10:30 am----------------------------2 pm to 5:30 pm
February- March----------------------6:30 am to 10:30 am-------------------------2:30 pm to 6 pm
Summers---------------------------- Morning Shift--------------------------- Afternoon Shift
April-May----------------------------6 am to 9 :30 am----------------------------3 pm to 6 :30 pm
Tiger Safari Charges
Natinality-------------------------Foreigner’s-----------------------------------------------Indians
Jeep Safari------------------------INR 2500 per person------------------------------INR 1500 per person
Natinality-------------------------Foreigner’s------------------------------Indians
Canter Safari---------------------INR 2000 per person----------------------INR 1000 per person
Plethora of accommodation options exist is Ranthambore from tents to plush five star category resorts, every category is available at Ranthambore. Even budget category hotels are easily available at Sawai Madhopur.
The safari are booked on first come first serve basis, its best to book safari online or through agent at least 24 hours in advance. Current booking of safari is not possible. You require an identity documents like Adhar Card for Indian nationals and a copy of passport for the foreign nationals.
