Into the 'Royal' land

The state of Rajasthan is well known for its many palaces and it is one of the top tourist locations for Indians and foreigners alike. Ranthambore Fort is one of many such forts from Rajasthan and is situated right inside ‘Ranthambore National Park’. The park is very close to Sawai Madhopur town and the railway station. It is one of the major tourist attractions of Rajasthan state. 

Another legend of this park is a man known as “Tiger Guru” named Mr. Fateh Singh Rathore. He was a forest officer and worked for more than 50 years in wildlife conservation as well as inspired and mentored many to continue his work. He was a field director of the park and due to his extensive work in relocating the villages out of the park and restoring the park, the wildlife population has grown that we observe today in this world famous park. 

After much debate on which park to visit, we finally locked on to the Ranthambore National Park to see in December 2022. The train journey to Sawai Madhopur was equally interesting as we cheered on for the Fifa World Cup semi-finals when almost everyone was sound asleep. 

That afternoon, we went for our first safari in Ranthambore National Park. Unlike other parks, the safaris in Ranthambore are shared with other tourists and since the safari jeep goes to different hotels to pick up the tourists, it often delays entry into the park. Even though it was December, the weather was hot. The majority of forest type in Ranthambore is dry deciduous. But it also has grassy meadows and many lakes that add to the beauty of this park. 

As we entered the park, we were greeted by Sambar deers who were feeding on the nearby shrubs and a few male Sambar deers were fighting with each other. A few Sambar deers had entered the lake to beat the afternoon heat while munching on the algae. At the shore, crocodiles were basking in the sun. As we went a little ahead from the lake, the Chinkara (Indian Gazelle) was slowly making his way through dry grass. Soon we reached the top of one of the hills from where we could see the beautiful landscape of Ranthambore Park and below us we could see a dry stream bed with few patches of puddles where the crocodile was basking and a male peafowl was nearby looking at the crocodile. The rest of the forest was quiet with parakeets calling at a distance. As we were heading back, we came across an Indian Cormorant, Pied Kingfisher, Darter, Little Egret, Ruddy Shelduck and Crested Serpent Eagle at one of the lakes. There were several groups of spotted deer with young fawns running around the banks. 

The night at Ranthambore was cold compared to the hot weather we experienced during the safari. We spent some time exploring the stars. The next day, early morning we were ready for the next safari. 

As we entered inside, we reached Padam Talao, which was once the territory of Machli, now held by her granddaughter Riddhi. The lake has a hunting lodge where very often Machli used to sit with her cubs and was filmed for her documentary. After driving for a while, we reached a place where there was a lot of commotion of jeeps and canters. As the nearby shrub and grass growth was long, it was difficult to see anything. Within a time of 60 seconds, tigress Riddhi crossed the road nearby and entered the grasses on another side. As we went ahead in hopes of Riddhi emerging out again, a male sambar deer was in an alert position. As the senses of Sambar deer are excellent, we hoped to see her again. But Riddhi did not come out again and the sambar deer went on with its activities. We again headed to the Padam Talao and on the way found the Common Kingfisher, Indian Cormorant, Yellow-footed green pigeon (State bird of Maharashtra), Red-wattled lapwing and White-browed wagtail. The River Tern came gliding across the Talao with the hunted fish in its beak. On the banks, it banged the fish on the rocks and ate it. For a while, we admired this scene and the Ranthambore fort that could be seen from the banks. 

We had the same zone for the afternoon safari. Apart from the birds, this afternoon an Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle was basking on the banks of the Talao. The jungle was silent and all the animals were relaxed this afternoon. Our driver and guide decided to take us on a sightseeing tour of the landscapes of the national park. Going at a slow pace, we observed deer, Nilgai, Pied kingfisher hunting for fish, Black-headed ibis wading in the lake and a Brown fish owl taking his afternoon nap. Our driver took us to the part of the Padam Talao from where we could see the beautiful Jogi Mahal on the other side of the lake. This beautiful pink Mahal was serene and we could only imagine what a sight it would be for those who got to stay here. The Ranthambore Fort at its back and Padam Lake at the front. The view must have been breathtaking. Earlier this was a VIP guest house and recently it had been closed. 

The next morning, the forest greeted us with nice golden light where deer were grazing near the lake and a family of wild boars scurrying away to find a good grassy place. After driving around for a while, we responded to the alarm calls. As we reached the spot, there were already a few cars gathered around. In a while, we could hear the tiger’s growl nearby. Shortly the young tigress came out of the forest, crossed the road and walked parallel to us before disappearing into the bushes again. After discussing with nearby guides, we understood that the young tigress had strayed from her brothers and was looking for them. After waiting a while, all jeeps dispersed in different directions. After about half an hour, we came across a small field where we noticed two young tigers sitting. Soon the third joined in and we realised that the young tigress we saw earlier was successful in reuniting with her brothers. The siblings were playful and we spent about an hour observing them play with each other and chase each other. They went down the stream while chasing each other. It was one of the moments that will stay in our memory for a long time. We again saw those three in the afternoon safari. I believe they were tired from all the playing in the morning and were simply resting this afternoon. Towards the evening they again disappeared into the forest. 

Our last safari was in a different zone where we hadn’t been before. The landscape was a few steep mountains and shrublands. It felt like we were the only ones in that zone. After about 2 hours we saw a few other cars. We all looked for a few signs of the big animal sightings but the forest was silent. We enjoyed the breeze on our faces and nearby bird calls were soothing to the ears. We said bye to this royal land for our next adventures.