The Oberoi Vanyavilas Ranthambore

Ranthambore Fort # 1

by grets

If you want some exercise on this otherwise sedentary holiday, take a walk up to the top of Ranthambore Fort. The fort has a stunning location at the top of a 200 metre high rocky escarpment in the middle of the forest. It can be seen for miles around, and would have provided a mighty stronghold for defence. The fort is enormous, with a circumference of 7 km. It is one of the oldest forts in India, dating back from 944 AD.

Ranthambore Fort # 6

by grets

The sandstone fort is dotted with beautiful temples such as this 8th century temple dedicated to the Lord Ganesha. Letter to the God (mainly wedding invitations) by devotees are brought up to this temple daily by the postman. This is one of the most important Ganesha temples in the state of Rajasthan.

Ranthambore National Park

by wispofcloud

Ranthambore National Park

In November 2001, three of us: Husain, Rishabh and I took a car trip down to Ranthambore National Park. Situated close to the town of Sawai Madhopur, this is perhaps the second most famous Tiger park in the country. It is certainly the easiest place on earth to catch a glimpse of that majestic animal, the Royal Bengal Tiger.

NOTE: All the pictures on this page are the copyright of Husain.

Journal: Donna & Sandy in Ranthambore

by Donna_in_India

"Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur by Train"

PREVIOUS STOP: JAIPUR

We were awake early, packed, had breakfast and were on our way to the train station by 10:00. We left Jaipur at 11:25 on a scheduled 10:45 train. We had seats in the first class compartment. We were going to Sawai Madhopur, which is the closest town to Ranthambore National Park. This was my first “real” train trip here and I really enjoyed it.

We took several breaks to stand in between the train cars and watch the landscape go by. Pretty quickly we slowed down coming through Sanganer. Along the tracks lying in the sun to dry were many brightly colored fabrics that had been block printed. I enjoyed watching people going about their day, herding goats and buffalos, working in the fields, cleaning their houses. The landscape was changing, becoming more rural – a lot of farmland. We made a stop in Bansthaliniwai and Sandeep got off the train to get some chai for us. The chai came in little clay cups that are disposed after you have the chai. Of course I kept ours instead of disposing them and will use them for a small planter. (We also collected sand from the desert and various stones during our trip that have been added to our collection of shells and stones from other trips.)

At 2:45 we arrived in Sawai Madhopur and quickly found a jeep to take us the short distance (about 12-14 km) to our hotel – Tiger Moon Resort. It was located a few kilometers outside the park. Our room was a cottage that connected to one other room and there were several cottages on the property. There weren’t many people there while we stayed there and it was a nice enough place. The grounds were nicely maintained with flowers, a pool (that wasn’t too clean) and hammocks. We got settled and a sandwich was brought over for us since lunch was over. Then we took a break in the double hammock. That part was wonderful – soooo relaxing!!

"Freezing at Tiger Moon Resort"

Since we had missed the afternoon safari we took a walk off the property. We went down the dusty dirt road leaving the resort. Alongside the road were fields and since it was now dusk we met many people coming out of the fields on their way home after working. We met a group of children and they walked a long way with us. I really enjoyed this town a lot. Everyone was extremely friendly and although I didn’t take too many photos, it was a wonderful place for photography.

It was a little warm in the room that night when we went to sleep so we left a window open. Somewhere in the middle of the night we woke up freeeeezzzzing. We had a wake up call at 6 a.m. and since it was still so cold, skipped our showers, got dressed and went to breakfast. We were picked up at 6:30 for our morning safari. We were bundled up as headed to the park in the semi-darkness – about a 10 minute ride.

"Arriving at Ranthambore"

The officials at Ranthambore control the number of vehicles in the park each day. If you want to go by jeep, it has to be reserved 2 months in advance and even then you are not guaranteed a jeep. What we had to go in was a canter, which is a 22-seater open “bus” type vehicle. The canter arrives at our resort last after picking up people at other resorts so you just got whatever seat was available. It wasn’t easy to see from the canter and it’s not the best way to go through the park.

We arrived at the entrance to the park and soon the canter was swarmed with hawkers selling hats, t-shirts, etc., etc. The entrance procedure was very different then at Bandhavgarh. It wasn’t very organized or “official” and there was no park guide assigned to go with you. IF there is any naturalist on the canter it is one that has been provided by one of the resorts. That morning it was one from our resort who really didn’t turn out to be very good. Unfortunately there are canters that go with no guide/naturalist at all so it’s just like a bus ride through the park. It’s an awful way to go through the park. The canters are noisy and not easily maneuvered so they really just get on a trail in the park and keep going forward. There is no “tracking” of tigers as there was in Bandhavgarh. Overall the experience at Ranthambore was not that good and we wouldn’t go back. We did see some new animals (for us – in the wild) and we were fortunate to meet a nice “birding” couple from the U.K. and some nice people at the resort including one guy who stepped up to be a “guide” one day when our canter didn’t have one.

"No Tigers at Ranthambore & Visiting Dastkaria"

The terrain of the park was very dry and very “open” along the vehicle trails – not a lot of tiger hiding spots. The park is hilly with 3 major watering holes and we saw a lot of birds at the water including some cool painted storks. That first morning we saw a mongoose, Chinkara (India’s smallest antelope), chital and sambar deer, langur monkeys, marsh crocodiles, a jackal, Nilgai (“blue bull” – India’s largest antelope) and many birds including peacocks, parrots, and kingfishers (which are beautifully colored). After about 3 hours – the last hour of which it finally got just warm enough to take our jackets off – we headed back to the resort for breakfast.

After breakfast we took a jeep back to the train station to get our onward tickets and stop to do some shopping at Dastkaria – a co-op that sells mostly clothing items made by local women enabling them to earn an income using their skills. Then it was back to the resort for some lunch before our afternoon safari.

"Still NO Tigers at Ranthambore!!"

That afternoon we saw most of the same things as during the morning safari. About an hour before we were to leave the park, it started getting cold. On the way out that night we saw a fresh kill – a chital – lying on the side of the canter path. Apparently an animal was carrying it off into the bush and our canter scared it away.

It was back to our resort for showers and a little relaxing time before dinner. The trips to the jungle don’t leave you much time to relax. You go sleep early because you have to wake early and sometimes in seems that it’s always time for a meal! That night we kept the window closed but it was still freezing!

The next morning we bundled up with scarves bought at Dastkaria covering our faces, hats and jackets. During the safari we got a good look at a hyena. We watched him run and scratch his back in the dirt. Then he sat and stared back at us for a long time before taking off. It was a good spotting because the hyenas usually only come out at night. For me it was the highlight of Ranthambore. I was surprised at how big he was – he even had stripes that made him look like a tiger when we first spotted him. And just for the record – he didn’t look anything like the hyenas in Lion King!! That morning we had another “rare” spotting – a jungle cat. He was very small – almost like a house cat, but it was cool to see him.

"STILL NO Tigers at Ranthambore & Ranthambore Fort"

After breakfast we went to Ranthambore Fort. From the top there was a good view of the park and with binoculars you could make out the deer, etc. below. The fort was large and spread out and although a good part of it was closed off, we walked around for a while. The Ganesh temple with monkeys all around is the major attraction of the fort.

After lunch we left for our afternoon safari. This was our last chance to see a tiger but it was not to be. We did see many birds (there are over 300 species are in the park) including an eagle, and a vulture on a nest.
Soon it was back to the cottage to pack (again!!). That night we asked for a heater(!) in our room but unfortunately that still didn’t keep the room warm enough. I woke up with a stuffed nose and a miserable cold, which would stay with me for the next several days.

NEXT STOP: AGRA

Sawai Madhopur / Ranthambore National Park

by JonnyMiller

The reason for going to Sawai Madhopur is to visit Ranthambore National Park, one of India's best tiger reserves. Most visitors do not spend any time any the small town itself, they typically stay in a luxury lodge on its outskirts as part of their package holiday.

I experienced the good and the bad in travelling when going to Sawai Madhopur. Having decided to bypass Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur, I set off on a 10hr journey from Ajmer (near Pushkar) on an economy Govt bus. It wasn’t too busy a route, except for a couple of stretches, including one where there were 4 of us plus my backpack on a seat designed for 3 bums. Duting this time (and after) my (male) neighbour repeatedly and unashamedly placed his hand on my leg (not far from my crotch), oblivious of my pushing it away every time. He kept looking at my watch, commented on my bathing suit (which was sticking out from beneath my shorts), and asked to buy my T-shirt from me, and every time used this as an opportunity to put his hand back on my leg. Needless to say this made me very uncomfortable.

It was dark by the time we reached Sawai Madhopur. It was slightly unnerving as it immediately felt like I was the only tourist in town, but many people shouted a cheery Hello as I walked by, especially children, the bravest of whom were eager to shake my hand, and expressed delight after we'd done so. This is what travelling is all about.

I headed for the train station, where I befriended the station enquiry attendant. We engaged in a conversation about, among other things, English marriage ritester we’d done so. I spent the night in a train station Retiring Room, sharing with a couple of small lizards (but I was accustomed to that by now) with half a dozen monkeys keeping guard on the balcony just outside. I was pestered somewhat by a mosquito – one of the rare few that I encountered in India.

I woke up weak and dehydrated (with hindsight I underestimated how much water I needed to drink in India's oppressive heat - probably 5-7 litres a day). As I was wilting under the morning sun, I had to return to bed for a nap, which together with some food, restored my strength.

I realised that I didn’t have enough rupees to go to Ranthambore AND get to the nearest town with a proper bank/ATM, but some very sympathetic Aussies agreed to exchange US$10 from my emergency stash with me.

Ranthambore is a 1500km2 park beautifully surrounded by steep hills/cliffs, containing approx. 30 tigers in the wild. I joined a 3-hour tour on an open-top truck. The park was very dry - Rajasthan hadn’t had proper rain in 3 years, and this winter monsoon was particularly disappointing. In the bush we saw monkeys, peacocks, deer (tiger food), wild boars, an antelope, and 2 crocodiles. Our guide hadn't seen a tiger in his last 6 tours. We had gone past the two most likley spots for seeing a tiger and were only 15 minutes from the end of the trip, when we finally saw a tigress walk up the dust road towards us, then alongside us (on my side of the truck) only 3 metres away. To my annoyance I missed the best photo opportunities because of fiddling with my zoom and flash.

My friend at the station made sure that I got myself on the 2nd class sleeper train to Agra. I actually slept well!