Ranthambore National Park, a Tiger Sanctuary

Jul 7

Jul 7 Ranthambore National Park, a Tiger Sanctuary

Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan is the perfect weekend getaway if you are spending time in Delhi. When I found out I headed to Delhi for a business trip for a few weeks, I was so excited to visit a tiger sanctuary and see tigers in their natural habitat. Ranthambore National Park came up several times as the place where you would be the most likely to see tigers in their natural habitat. It also happened to be relatively easy to get to from Delhi, about a 6 hour car drive and a 3 - 6 hour train ride, which was important to me and my coworker.

About the park

Rajasthan National Park is a tiger sanctuary, about 65 tigers live in Ranthambore. There were about 18 tigers in 2005 and as of 2017, there are currently 65 tigers in the park. It sounds like a lot but seeing a tiger is still considered rare and a sign of luck! The Indian Government created several policies to protect and help the tiger population grow. The park is divided into zones to prevent tourists from overcrowding the tigers. Zones 1 - 5 are considered premium zones because they have the highest chance of seeing a tiger.

The park itself is a combination of deciduous forests and open grassy meadow forests, so the climate varies significantly depending on the month and will impact your trip so make sure you plan well. During the wet months, monsoons turn the forest green and fill up the rivers. In the peak summer months, temperatures get well above 40 degrees celsius, and personally I would not want to be driving around during that heat. Animals also tend to be less active, especially tigers! May and June are recommended as the best months to visit the park. Don’t come during monsoon season, zones 1 - 5 flood and the most of the park is closed.

The locals consider tigers, leopards, and sloth bears the 3 rare animals to see. Everyone comes here for the tigers, which are rare, but leopards are rarer and sloth bears are the rarest. Leopards and tigers are natural enemies because they hunt the same prey, so leopards tend to hang out on higher ground to avoid the tigers. Sloth bears are nocturnal and spend their time in higher elevation, so it’s more difficult for cars to get good views.

What to bring (if you're going in the warmer months)

If you’re staying with a nice hotel, they may pack cold water and juice when you embark on your safaris. If not, make sure you bring water to stay hydrated. It can get really hot and the climate is very dry. The safari vehicles are completely open and the roads can be very dusty if you are driving behind other vehicles, so bring a hat to protect you from the sun and a scary to protect you from dust.

What to expect

You are going to be driving through the real forest to see animals in their natural habitat. Part of the allure of Ranthambore is the fact that they have done an incredible job of maintaining the natural habitat. This means that the roads are dusty, rocky, and completely unpaved. Prepare to be jostling around and holding on to the car rails. When a tiger is spotted, there will be a rat race amongst the tourists to try to get there first. On the afternoon safari, the wind feels like gusts of hot air blowing on your face, like a blow dryer for your hair.

Safari 101

We booked 3 tatkal safaris with Tigerwalah. Tatkal refers to the ticket type and means the last minute booking system created by the Indian government. There are tatkal tickets for a variety of things, such as flights, trains, etc. Tatkal safaris are conducted in gypsies, the name of the jeep-esque car, they come with a driver and a guide. Normal safaris can be up to 20 people where as the gypsy safaris are just for you. The gypsy seat up to 6 people and I’d highly recommend booking a private over a normal safari. You pay extra but have the flexibility to move around (which you will appreciate when you see a tiger and want to get into a better position for your photo) and you aren’t fighting over other people for a view. I loved our guide from Tigerwalah. He spoke great English and was so knowledgable about the animals. There were times during the safari when he would pick a random viewing spot (or so I thought) and within 5 mins, the tiger would wander over straight over and we would have a perfect view.

Our private gypsy that is completely open

There are 2 safaris a day, one 3 hours before sunrise, and one 3 hours before sunset. The schedules are set and bookings are taken up to 90 days before.

Private tatkal safaris are significantly more expensive than the normal trucks but worth every penny. Be prepared to pay the foreigner price as well. But really, when you see the tigers eating and leopards right in front of you, the experience is worth every penny.

We booked 3 premium zone safaris to maximize our chances of seeing a tiger. The zone assignments are randomly given out the day of the safari.

Zone 4

The landscape in Zone 4 was beautiful. Unlike Zones 2 and 3, it had a wide variety of plant life. There were palm trees, green shrubbery, still lakes, and the occasional flower. I loved the way the sun rose over the mountains and you could see the outlines of the trees in the shadow. Our guide told us that all of the trees were very much alive and during monsoon season, they become lush with leaves and you can barely see through the forest. We saw a lot of brown deer with huge ears called Samba. They have slightly longer tails than spotted deer (think Bambi) and their fur is a dusty brown. There were also flocks of spotted deer grazing everywhere. Every time we saw a baby deer, we would ask the driver to pull over. Our guide soon realized that while we wanted to see tigers, we were equally excited about cute baby animals and were very happy to have the car stop so we could take a photo. There were also lots of monkeys hanging out on the side of the road. The females were holding onto their babies by the side of the road. They were super cute. Even though we didn’t see any tigers, we saw jackals, lots of cute deer, and peacocks.

Male deer shed their antlers every year.  These are the spotted deer. — Male deer shed their antlers every year. These are the spotted deer.

Zone 2

Zone 2 had the rockiest roads by far, however it also had tall grass and water, making it the perfect tiger habitat. We saw 3 tigers within the first 30 minutes and we would have left Ranthanbore content if we didn’t see anything else. But today was our lucky day.

Tigers are solitary creatures, they generally live on their own unless they are mating or moms are raising cubs. Once the cubs turn 3, they are considered adult tigers and they will leave their mother to find their own territory to guard. Noor (double check her name) currently lives in zone 2 with her 3 cubs, that are around 2 years old. We were lucky enough to see both the cubs and the mother cooling off in the water. Doors cubs were hanging out in a river with their eyes closed. They were quite far but with a zoom, we managed to get pretty great pictures of them.

She's not in a zoo, this is her getting out of a river in her territory. She looks so majestic.

After watching Noor and her cubs for about 2 hours, swapping locations of course, we decided it was time to head back. Our safari ends around 6 and our guide needed to make sure to exit the park on time. As we’re driving through our bumpy route, I made eye contact with a leopard who was just sitting on a rock.

Leopards are beautiful cats and terrifying when close in proximity.

Other photographers getting a close shot.

Our guide told us later that leopards are even more rare to see than tigers because they are nocturnal and tend to live in higher land. Tigers and leopards cannot coexist because they are both predators and tigers will not accept any competition for food.

4 tigers and 2 leopards later, we went back to the hotel drunk off excitement and adrenaline. Even our guide and driver were excited! According to our guide, leopards are rare, extremely shy, and he has gone months with only seeing a leopard once. S

Zone 3

After seeing all the animals yesterday, we were excited about our last safari but also very happy about seeing the tigers and leopards yesterday and had no expectations for our last.

Arrowhead, named after the black stripes in the shape of an arrowhead on her forward, was the first thing we saw. Apparently today was our lucky day, we watched Arrowhead go through her entire routine. She ate, she cleaned, she relaxed, and lastly, she pooped. Yes, she walked over to the row of cars, found her spot and promptly just took a poop. I learned, rather I smelled, that tiger poop stinks. Arrowhead is the grand daughter of Macchyli, the famous tigress that was featured on BBC documentaries. Macchyli lived in Ramthanbore until she was 19 years old and ruled the areas around the water. Ironically, her daughter defeated her to claim the territory, and her granddaughter, Arrowhead, defeated her daughter.

We saw her knawing at the remaining pieces of her kill, a Samba fawn from the looks of it, and I felt so much awe. It was unreal to watch nature, not on a TV screen, not on Planet Life, but about 20 meters right in front of your car.

Tigers are beautiful, incredible animals, very much capable of decapitating other animals but also cute like a housecat when it cleans itself after its meal.

She really looks just like a big soft house cat, minus the slightly blood stained fur.

Aside from watching Arrowhead and taking a million pictures, we also drove around the rest of the area and saw more cute animals. The fort below used to be the hunting fort and now it’s used as an office space. Situated across from the water, it was a really serene and relaxing view, watching the deer and wild pigs eat.

Peacocks are majestic birds, that can also fly.

Old hunting fort in the background with aligators and birds.

Our guide told us, you’ve seen tigers and leopards. All you need to see is the sloth bear, so we will go to the caves and find one! But they are very, very rare, the most rare of them all. A luck would have it, we saw one! Unfortunately it moved too quickly to snap a photo, but from afar it looked cute. Smaller than a grizzly bear, but still very much a bear.

Poaching

Tigers and leopards are in serious danger of extinction due to poachers. In order for the population of these animals to grow, poachers need to be caught and stopped. The Indian government has mobilized volunteers from local villages in an effort to leverage technology to not only monitor the tigers, but to catch poachers. They set up cameras in the tiger’s habitat to record footage. Every day, the local volunteer will collect the simcard and send the video to the X over WhatsApp. Through this, they have been able to act faster when they see a poacher and stop them before the tiger dies. The government has also set up schools for the children of the poachers. The poachers’ wives are taught textiles and craftsmanship, so that they can sell their crafts to make a living for their families. I found this effort to bring the families of poachers back into society so that they can have a better life incredibly thoughtful and admirable.

Final thoughts

At the end of the day, you can do your best to book safaris for zones 1-5 but seeing a tiger is all based on luck. These beautiful cats are territorial and roam their areas doing as they please. I’d highly recommend going on at least 2 safaris, you wouldn’t want to risk your chance to see a tiger all on one trip. Read the reviews before you book, guests at our hotel told us their poor experiences of being crammed into a large car or sharing a tatkal with random guests and having the guide only speak Hindi.

My coworker and I smiling after spotting tigers!

I hope you enjoyed these photos! These were taken with my friend Kathrin's Nikon. Ranthambore was one of the highlights of our trip to India. Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear what you think!

xoxo,

Emmie

Hi, I'm Emmie