Ranthambore National Park is part of the much larger
Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, and lies in the Sawai Madhopur district of Eastern Rajasthan, a state in North western India. Ranthambore is one of India's most popular national
parks

because the chance of seeing a tiger in the wild, is greater here. Ranthambore is an important conservation area for Indian Wildlife. The Chambal River forms a natural boundary of the park towards the east, and to the northeast of the park flows the Banas River - a tributary of the Chambal.
Ranthambore's royal past manifests itself in the
picturesque ruins the dot the Park. There are lake palaces, chhatris,
old fortifications and a majestic thousand year old fortifications and a
majestic thousand year old fort on a height overlooking the Park. The
forest rest house at the foot of the Ranthambore fort is located in the
lovely Jogi Mahal. It overlooks a tank the pretty Padam Talao, afloat
with water lilies.
A heaven for a multitude of wild animals,
the park boasts of playing host to tigers, leopards, the elusive
caracals, striped hyenas, sloth bears, jungle cats, wild boars,
crocodiles and so on. Besides, there are over 300 species of birds, from
the rare Indian Courser to the beautiful Painted Sand Grouse. You can go
for National Park rides, jeep safaris, camel rides, bird watching
excursions and nature walks.
Best time to visit Ranthambore National ParkOctober
to March. The park is closed from June to October. While May and June
are hot, the increasing scarcity of water as summer approaches makes
wildlife sighting easier as the animals flock to the water holes.
Sawai
Madhopur is a small rural town, and serves as a market for the rural
hinterland. It is known for its winter guavas, red chilies and mustard.
Besides this, tourism and transportation are the mainstays of the local
economy. Ranthambore National Park is contiguous with the Sawai Madhopur
town, and the gate from where tourists enter the park, is about 12 kms
from the heart of the town. Once a tiger came into town, and had to be
tranquilized and was released back into the park. The small town of
Sawai Madhopur does little to prepare a first time visitor, to the
remarkable merging of nature and history. Overrun by vegetation, the
scattered remnants of chattris, graves, step wells, summer palaces and
crumbling guard posts can still be seen - a historic past set within a
wild present. The entrance to the park is through an old stone gate with
battlements on either side constructed originally to protect the Kings
of Ranthambore. Now it protects a magical world whose value is
unimaginable - one of the most beautiful tiger habitats of the world.
This land where endless battles were fought between warring Kings, has
another ruler - the tiger - India's national animal and the symbol of
Indian Wildlife.
As Ranthambore is a dry deciduous forest,
wildlife is invariably concentrated near water. This is what makes
sighting animals so easy in Ranthambore. A chain of three lakes and
streams and rivulets that criss-cross the park attract the ungulates and
the carnivores. Often tigers walk through the grass at the edge of the
lakes in anticipation of a kill. The lakes have marsh crocodiles, and
there have been conflicts between tigers and crocs. Some years back
tourists watched an epic battle between these two predators - the
crocodile paid the price by losing its life.
Fishes in
RanthambhoreRanthambore due its numerous water bodies has a
relatively large variety of fish to boast of. These species consist of :
Bita (Labio Rohita), Catla (Catla catla), Greyei (Chhana matulion),
Lanchi (Walago auto), Mahseer (Tor tor), Mirgal (Cirrchinus mrigala),
Rohu (Labio rohita), Savank (Chhana punctatus), Seenghari (Mystus
seenghala).
How To Reach Ranthambore
- Air
Jaipur at 145 km is the nearest airport from
Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary.
- Rail
Ranthambore National Park is around 11 km away
from Sawai Madhopur railway station, that lies on the Delhi to
Bombay trunk route.
- Road
A good network of buses connect Sawai Madhopur,
the nearest town from Ranthambore to all the major cities within the
state of Rajasthan.