This is one of those lucky years. Two trips to Ranthambhore within three weeks. Both in the heat of summer with the mercury rising to unforgivable levels between 42 and 48 degrees (Celsius, mind) But this is also the best time to spot the striped wonder and 5 intrepid (and one very trepid) souls set forth for these amazing forests. The trepid one was my better half, always a reluctant traveler in the heat and the most intrepid was my 10-year old daughter, who is turning out to be a madder tiger devotee than yours truly. Joining the three of us were the now seasoned Ranthambhore veterans Nissim and Sriram and a notable debutant, the effervescent Ramesh Ganeshan.
Day 1 - Blanks and Blue-eyes
Straight off the Mumbai train and the reassuring figure of Rajesh Gujar was at the station to receive us. We drove straight to Zone 6 (sending our bags to Tiger Home in another vehicle). That particular zone, home to beautiful tigress T-8, her two male cubs and the majestic male Kumbha (T-34) While the boys had given us an audience earlier, her highness always proved elusive. And she not only repeated her vanishing act that morning, but also convinced the men to join her in hiding. We searched everywhere for the family but finally gave up; the first safari in nearly a month to not get a sighting in Zone 6. Ah well.
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| Blue Eyes |
That afternoon was reserved for another family, a particular favourite for my daughter. It was Krishna (T-19) and her latest litter who occupied the rocky valleys from Lakkarda to Semli/Bhakola in Zone 4. Again, this family had provided sightings galore over the past few months and we were salivating at the prospect of spending an afternoon with them. Much to our dismay she went missing too. We headed onwards to the Berda valley in the hope of sighting T-41 (Laila) and her male cub, Blue-eyes or Rocky. Madam was missing in action, but we spotted the male snoozing in a cave. We waited for him to emerge, which he duly did when the evening cooled down a bit. He crossed the road right behind our jeep and his dashing good looks, blue eyes and rippling muscles gave us a good sense on why he's all set to be the next heartthrob of the park. He walked about towards a dried up waterhole, trying in vain to hunt chital on the way. He sat some distance away and watched langurs dig up the mud in their attempt to access the water that's just under the soil. We left him to ponder over life and headed out to celebrate our first sighting of the trip.
Day 2 - Beauty and the Beasts
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| T-86 |
Every trip, we always try and get to Zone 3, the heart of Ranthambhore and home to the three beautiful lakes with the imposing fort as backdrop. These are the chosen hunting grounds, not only for erstwhile human royalty but for current feline monarchs as well, an area elevated to near-sacred status by the legendary Machali who ruled the lake area for a decade. Now, her grand-daughter, Arrowhead is the showstopper here and it was her that we were hoping to encounter. We headed past the almost-dry Padam Talao to the rapidly drying Raj Bagh and circled around the lake in search of her. And then, to my surprise and immense joy, we turned into a path that led straight to the ruins of the old summer palace, a route that had been re-opened after a decade.
Then, out of nowhere, a tiger rose up from the edge of the lake and walked towards the ruins. Not Arrowhead, but her seldom-sighted consort - T86. A year after he arrived in the tourist area, he's still shy of vehicles and tries his best to reclaim his privacy. As he walked into the ruins, we also saw his lady-love sitting on a little grassy patch. She watched him walk and heard him call out to her but seemed in no mood to humour him as she proceeded to walk the other way, towards Padam Talao. Rajesh anticipated her movement and positioned our jeep a long distance away. She walked head-on towards us, followed by a gaggle of motley vehicles and then veered off in the bushes to lie down in the ruins of a large 'chhatri'. We left her in peace and returned to the male, who was now at the edge of the lake, looking for her. Reticent fellow that he is, his majesty sat behind some large rocks and called incessantly for her, his roars getting louder and more persistent. He finally gave up and lay down in the shade for a nap, no doubt shaking his head at the inexplicable ways of the opposite gender.
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| Fateh or T42 |
If the morning was in the heart of the park, the afternoon involved a trip to the fringes. We were to go into Zone 10, home to the royal Fateh (T-42), the largest tiger in Ranthambhore. We'd had word about a kill he'd made in the area and that's where we hoped to find him. I'd heard many stories and seen many pictures, but had never properly set eyes on this massive tiger. And what a sight he was! Lying next to a waterhole, he looked absolutely immense, even though he was clearly not at his best in the oppressive heat. He looked benignly at us and the assembling throng of jeeps as he plotted his relief from the sun-god's fire-tipped arrows. And then, suddenly, he looked back (beyond the jeeps) rose to his feet in a hurry and disappeared into the bush. We looked back and saw why. Some distance from the waterhole, a man and his little boy had arrived on a motorcycle and the boy had descended to get a closer look at the tiger. And that had been enough for this massive hunk to scramble and disappear!
He came back, crossed behind us and lay down again, once people had driven away the intruders. Since there were a few more jeeps now, we decided to give him some space and explore the area. We drove through the zone, seeking Fateh's mate T-13 and cub. We saw no signs of them but saw some lovely waterholes that supported so much avian and herbivore life. Back to the waterhole and we learnt that he'd come and had a drink in the meantime. We joined the bunch and he obliged us again by walking up and showing off his massive frame. Thirst slaked, he walked into the bush and we drove to the other side of the thickets hoping he would come to his kill. We waited for a bit and then headed out, grateful for this encounter with the biggest of them all!
Day 3 - Flat-out. Fun-filled. Fulfilled. Full day.
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| Arrowhead |
Finally! Another full-day safari. Excitement tinged with a little bit of anxiety on how my little one would take a whole day in the heat (Turned out that she did better than me) Hemraj was at the helm this time as we entered through Jogi Mahal gate, to get a quick dekko at Arrowhead and/or T86. We found neither of them so we drove on past Malik Talao into Zone 4. The first target was Krishna and her family. But once again, there was so sign of them; Hemraj drove us all around their territory, searching and listening for any telltale signs of their presence. But there was not even a single alarm call. So we dipped into the beautiful Bhakola valley where Blue-eyes sat cooling off in the water. We left him there and drove back to try for Krishna once again. With the family eluding us once again, we set off to the other side of the park for some of the others.
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| Noor's cub |
We passed Zone 3 where T86 was lying in the shade of a tree, calling for Arrowhead. We heard from another jeep that she was heading towards the Nalghati valley. And we took the shortest route there to see her emerge at the top of a little hillock. This graceful beauty then climbed down and sat in a waterhole right in front of us. She then proceeded down into the valley, presumably for a snooze in the post-morning heat. We headed forward on Zone 2 towards Phootabanda where we saw 2 of Noor's sub-adult cubs near a waterhole. One was in the water and the other a few metres away. Hemraj surmised that they might be gearing for a fight. But the heat was probably too much for both and they evidently called it a truce for bad weather. The one in the water climbed out, scent marked against a tree and then walked up the neighbouring hillock. Interestingly, the other one came up and scent marked against the same tree, just like Hemraj predicted. She too walked behind her sister and we waited to see if they would interact. But they just wanted relief from the heat and nothing else.
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| T60's Male Cub |
We'd heard from another jeep that T60's male cubs were in a waterhole further ahead and also that T57 and his daughter from Noor had made a kill on Zone 1. So we hurried to the male cubs first and saw them both snoozing near a natural waterhole called Pandu-deh. Both proceeded to dip themselves in the pool and we got some decent frames of that. But there was more to be done, so we headed to Zone 1 to check for father and daughter. And immediately came upon the daughter (named Bangles) lying in the shade, her stomach heaving because of the heat and also the amount she'd eaten. She got up and came to the water but was only able to drink very little of the scalding liquid in the cement saucer. Then she tried her best to find some shade and drifted off to sleep. We looked for the male, but he was sleeping on the other side of a check-dam and hence not visible. And so we headed out to collect our lunch, and to toast a spectacular morning!
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| T60's Second Male Cub |
Lunch collected, we headed back to the Semli/Bhakola area. The afternoon focus would primarily be on Krishna. We had lunch in the relatively cooler environment of the Bhakola valley. Laila and Blue-eyes were seen there in the morning, apparently with a kill. Driving to and fro, we could get whiffs of 'high-meat' but we never managed to locate the kill. Until our driver Jeet Ram said, 'Tiger toh road pe hai (Tiger's on the road)' It was Blue-eyes, lying on the path a hundred metres ahead of us. He gave us a few frames as he groomed himself and then disappeared into the thick bush. Peering in, we realised that Laila was also there, sleeping. Junior was in no mood to sleep so he kept worrying mother, but only until she rose up and growled at him. Talk about crabby moms! He quietly stayed away from her and alternated between sitting in the open and in the water. And we headed out to look for the missing queen. An hour or so of waiting it out and we decided to give up. And target other more 'co-operative' tigers. So we headed to Zone 1 to try and find T57. And we saw him from far, demolishing the Sambhar deer that they had killed in the morning. It was time to go and as we drove away from him, we saw Bangles next to the road. She walked to a nearby waterhole and we left her to drive to the exit and conclude a monumental full-day safari.
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| Bangles |
We'd seen 10 different tigers through that day even though we'd missed both Noor and Krishna, two of the most sighted tigers in the park. Another notable fact - between the 7 of us in the jeep, we'd dispatched more than 32 litres of fluid in these 13 hours! My sympathies lay firmly with the animals, especially the herbivores. In this intense heat, most of the few remaining waterholes are occupied by the tigers, leaving the rest to take a serious risk to even get a drink! And we complain that our lives are difficult...
Day 4 - Finally family time!
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| Laadli (T8) and Cub |
The full day safari gave a lot but also took in return. As we dragged our tired bodies out of bed on the final morning, we all marvelled at the stamina and commitment of the guides and drivers who often do this for days on end. But there was still work to be done. We had to make up for missing the park's two first families. And so, Hemraj took us to Zone 6 to find Laadli (T-8) and her cubs. We drove towards one of the waterholes when his eagle eyes spotted something unusual on the road; it was a recent drag mark of a kill. Which meant... the tigers were right across the road from us, partly hidden by some bushes. Mother and one cub were having their fill while the third was in the waterhole. And then, we left them.
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| T8 (Laadli) |
Hemraj's hunch was to check for the big male Kumbha (T-34) while everyone else was focused on mom and cubs. And we drove to a water point that was the big fella's favourite. We didn't find him there but a sambhar's alarm calls did indicate a predator's presence. We waited for a bit and decide to return to Laadli. Now we found one of them in the water and slowly the other two made their way there too. We took a decent position and had our fill of this family. Then they decided to move on (obviously the kill was polished off) and we anticipated their movement and drove far away from them. Even as they walked head-on towards us, one particularly adventurous jeep ventured too close to them and that put them off. They changed course a bit and we decided not to trouble them any more.
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| Kumbha (T34) |
So we went back to Kumbha. And this time, he was in the waterhole! With just his head sticking out. We were the only ones there as he came out for a post-drink stroll and walked right past us, his majestic yet calm demeanour once again reminding me why he's probably my favourite male tiger in Ranthambhore. And as he glided up a forested slope, we took an early departure back to Tiger Home, stopping en route to munch some local delicacies for breakfast! It was a great safari because I got my first good sighting of Laadli and it is always great to catch up with the lovely bloke that is Kumbha.
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| Krishna (T19) |
The final safari was going to be for Krishna. She had been sighted that morning, so there was hope for us. Once again, we drove to all her favourite areas and once again, there was no sign of her or her cubs. But we were determined to find her. So we waited. And waited. And then waited some more. Almost everyone else gave up and left. But not Hemraj. A sambhar's call gave her away and we finally managed a quick glimpse of this wonderful tigress and her beautiful litter before it was time for us to head back to base. A special trip ended with a special sighting, even if it was for only a short while.
6 safaris. 1 full day. 19 different tigers. 23 different sightings. Hundreds of litres of liquid. Ranthambhore in summer!
Getting there
Ranthambhore is arguably the 'most easy to access' Tiger Reserve. Sawai Madhopur (SWM), the adjoining town, is a major junction on the Mumbai to Delhi/Jaipur trunk line hence train connectivity is excellent. From Mumbai, the Delhi August Kranti Rajdhani is the best option (leaves Mumbai at 17:40 and reaches SWM the next morning at 06:30) and on the way back it leaves SWM at 20:45 and gets into Mumbai at 9:45 the next morning. There are a number of options to Delhi, including the August Kranti.
Jaipur (140 kms) is the nearest big city and airport, a comfortable 3 hour journey on largely good roads.
Stay
Ranthambhore has it all. From budget hotels to home stays to mid range to full-on opulence, you can get the whole nine yards.
For those who prefer a home-like ambience, the best is Tiger Home, an 8 room place (www.ranthambhoretigerhome.com) built by Hemraj Meena, a local who is one of the park's finest naturalists. A personal friend, Hemraj's dream had always been to have a place of his own where he can host wildlife lovers. And Tiger Home does exactly that. It's a really comfortable 8 room house with air-conditioned rooms and all the mod cons. Excellent home cooked food and very helpful staff make you feel genuinely like you're at home. And the best part is the company, Hemraj's experiences are incredible and you could well hear all about his stories with Ranthambhore's amazing tigers.
At the mid-level, the Ranthambhore Regency is a superb option. It is comfortable, offers facilities like a pool and a bar and has some awesome food. And the hospitality of the Jains is incomparable.(www.ranthambhor.com). Another great option is Aditya Singh's Ranthambhore Bagh (www.ranthambhore.com)
The luxury options include Taj Hotels' Sawai Madhopur Lodge, Oberoi Vanyavilas and Amanbagh.
Safaris
Ranthambhore offers two types of safaris - gypsy (6 seats) and canter (approx 20 seats) Unlike most other parks, here the bookings are on a seat basis, so you can book individual gypsy or canter seats without having to pay for the whole vehicle. All bookings need to be made on the website (www.rajasthanwildlife.com)
Please do book well in advance, especially if you need gypsy bookings. And always carry your ID proof with you, since there might be some checking at the entry gates.
In addition to morning and afternoon safaris, you can also do half and full days in the forest, though it is restricted to very few vehicles. If you're up for it, they're well worth
Other attractions
Ranthambhore Fort and the Ganesh Temple - one of Ranthambhore's most distinctive features is the huge fort that looms over the park. This medieval fort also has Rajasthan's oldest Ganesh temple, which attracts thousands of visitors, especially on Wednesdays.
There are village visits and homestays - Hemraj's village Bhuri Pahari is an example where there are some comfortable stay options. You can explore and experience village life and also spot some interesting birds, especially in winter.
Other Tips
Ranthambhore can get really hot in summer, so sunscreen, comfortable clothes and headgear are a must. It can get equally cold in winter, so carry a thick jacket for sure.
The full day safari is a delight but it also takes some getting used to. Please carry a bag or haversack with sun-block, adequate water and also some dry snacks or fruit if you get peckish during the day.
While a gypsy can take 6 people, it's advisable for a full-day (or half day) safari to have no more than four people. 6 is a tight squeeze and manageable for a 3 hour safari, but to spend 6 or 13 hours like that is not recommended, definitely for your sanity!
Another factor is the dust, so if you're troubled or allergic, a face mask will come in handy.
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| Arrowhead |
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| Fateh |
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| Ruins in Rajbagh Lake |
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| T8's second cub |
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| T8 (Laadli) |
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| T8's first cub |
