Ranthambhore National Park

Ranthambhore National Park is located in Rajasthan state near Sawai Madhopur district. Ranthambhore is a semi-desert national park and quite famous in India for tiger sighting. This national park is merely 130 KMS far from the pink city and the capital of Rajasthan i.e. Jaipur. During feudal period, Ranthambhore was a hunting ground for the erstwhile Royal family of Jaipur state. Ranthambhore's terrain attracts many wildlife enthusiasts. Ranthambhore is spread in an area of 1334 Sq KMS including Mansingh Sanctuary and Kaila Devi Sanctuary – the nearby wildlife sanctuaries. Ranthambhore is an excellent reserve to view the Royal Bengal Tiger. The park has various lakes, where numerous birds reside and most of the time, one can spot here the tiger too.

Ranthambhore National Park is situated in the Eastern part of Rajasthan ideally at the place where famous Aravalli Mountains and Vindhyan plateau meet. In Ranthambhore, famous two rivers flowing are Banas River and Chambal River. Government of India declared Ranthambhore as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955. It was give the national park status in 1980. Ranthambhore is a tiger reserve too which is a part of well known Project Tiger of India. Ranthambhore National Park may also be termed as a heritage site of Rajasthan as it hosts marvelous fort ruins, sacred Ganesh temple and also the cenotaphs. The spectacular Jogi Mahal and beautiful Padam Talao (Lotus Lake) are the prominent characters of this park.

Ranthambhore has more than 300 species of plants. Since the park gets very low rainfalls, hence the flora out here are the dry and deciduous kind. The main noticeable planet in the tiger reserve is the 'Dhok' known as Anogeissus Pendula. Few well-known other plants found here are Banyan tree (Ficus Bengalensis) and also the sacred tree for the Hindus Pipal. In Ranthambhore, one can see some very ancient Banyan trees. Neem tree (Azadirachta Indiaca), which is quite famous for its medicinal values, also found here. Some significant fruit plants of the tiger reserve are the Mango, Jamun, Ber and Tamarind. Many other trees also found in the national park as Babul, Gum, Kadam, Khajur, Khair, Mahua, Ronj and Tendu.

Few significant fruit plants of the park are the Mango, Jamun, Ber and Tamarind. Few more trees are also found in the national park as Babul, Gum, Kadam, Khajur, Khair, Mahua, Ronj and Tendu.

In Ranthambhore, the tiger can be seen easily in comparison to few of the other prominent tiger reserves of India. Ranthambhore has healthy populations of few other important wild animals as leopards, hyena, jungle cat, jackal, wild boar, porcupine, sloth bear, Langur, marsh crocodile, Indian gazelle, Sambhar (Asiatic stag), spotted deer and Nilgai (blue bull). The Langur - the only monkey spotted here, is in the good number at Ranthambhore.

In Ranthambhore, a bird watcher can view about 270 bird species including migratory birds. Some other species of the birds spotted here are eagles, the great Indian horned owl, parakeets, kingfishers, spoonbills, partridge, storks, quail, owls, ducks and geese. The most popular bird, which is viewed in Ranthambhore is, the peacock, the national bird of India.

The name Ranthambhore is taken from the ancient fort known as Ranthambhore Fort located on a hillock within the park. Ranthambhore Fort is of 10th Century and one of the ancient in Rajasthan. Jogi Mahal is another popular attraction of the tiger reserve. Apart from these monuments, Ranthambhore has got the very sacred and popular Ganesh Temple which is frequented by huge number of pilgrims from across India.

The best time to visit Ranthambhore is from October to June. The park remains closed during the monsoon period.

Air: Jaipur is the nearest airport located 130 KMS from the park. Jaipur is connected by air from major cities of India and also has few international flights.

Train: Sawai Madhopur is a very important railway station located just 15 KMS away from the park.

Road: Jaipur 130 KMS, Agra 270 KMS, Delhi 434 KMS, Bundi 125 KMS, Kota 165 KMS, Pushkar 210 KMS, Ajmer 175 KMS, Bharatpur 250 KMS