Ranthambore Tiger Safari Travel Guide 2021

by Natue Safari India Tiger Safari and Wildlife Tours in India

About Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park is spread over an area of 1334 Sq. Km with an area of 400 Sq. Km encompassing rocky hill crests which descend to open valleys between the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges, dotted with water pools and fruit trees, this park gets its name from the thousand-year-old fortress Ranthambore fort, which looms above the forest. The forest, hills and forts of Ranthambore have witnessed invest from Khilji army in 1301 AD and Mughal dynasty in 1569 to becoming private hunting grounds for Maharaja of Amer.

In 1973, it was declared as one of the Project Tiger reserves in India. It was on 1st November, 1980 that Ranthambore National Park was declared a national park, while the forests located beside it were named Sawai Man Singh Wildlife Sanctuary & Kailadevi Sanctuary in 194 and later incorporated into Tiger reserve zone in 1991.

Other than tigers Ranthambore National Park has other smaller predators like Leopards, hyenas, Jackals, and Jungle Cats. Caracal have been also recorded. Around 300 species of Birds, Sambar, cheetal, chinkara, nilgai and langur.

Reasons to visit Ranthambore Tiger Safari

Ranthambore National Park still holds a major significance in wildlife protection and conservation. So much so that some tigers have even earned celebrity status; starring in their own TV show and being featured in numerous documentaries. The landscape of this area is unique. Deep gorges, grassy slopes, rugged hills, ravines, and large lakes make this park a photographer’s delight We can give you endless reasons why you should visit the park, but here are the top 5 reasons to visit Ranthambore National Park:

1. It can be best explored with a tour of Golden triangle of Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi due to proximity and high frequency of Tiger sightings.

2. Ranthambore fort offers a panoramic view of the forest along with a vibrant history.

3. Ranthambore National Park is a very special and unusual area where a natural beauty of forest meets a historical past. Dotted across the landscape are the crumbling ruins of its past glory, be it chhatris or cupolas, like palaces or old guard posts, all of which reinforce the magical and ethereal quality of this great wilderness.

4. The presence of 3 large lakes, named Padam Talao, Raj Bagh Talao and Milak Talao filled with crocodiles makes it even more picturesque.

5. Ranthambore National Park is a bird lover’s paradise with around 300 species of birds. In fact, for a keen bird watcher, Ranthambore and the surrounding area is an absolute paradise.

Tigers in Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park is famous for its Tiger sightings. Over the last decade, due to strict conservation efforts tigers have become more active during daylight. Ranthambore has been home to some legendary Tigers – from Ghengis Khan, to Noor, then Machli, T17, T24, and now T19.

Machli is considered to be most photographed tigress in the world and also featured in no. of documentaries.

For instance, some of the unique tiger behaviour observed and photographed in Ranthambore National Park when a large male tiger hunted openly from the thickets on the edge of lakes and ran down its prey, a Sambar deer towards the lakes.

One of the greatest encounters ever captured while on Ranthambore Tiger Safari is of a tiger battling a crocodile over a Sambhar deer carcass and successfully taking possession of it in broad daylight.

Visiting Ranthambore National Park

Winter: The winter season starts from November and stays till the end of February. There are also the most chances of having the dense fog in the early morning and late night during the peak winter season. When it comes to the best time to visit Ranthambore National Park, the tourist visits increases from the start of November to mid of December and from the mid of January up to the mid of April.

Summer: Summer season spreads from the last of March to the last of June. During these months, the day temperature reaches at 40 °C and the night temperature remains around 30 °C. In the month of May and June, the temperature even crosses 45 degrees Celsius making the day very hot. The wind gets very dry and the sun piercingly hot. During this season, the tigers and other large predators spend their time in the valleys or in the dense area of the forest or near the water bodies.

Monsoon: After the summer season ends, comes the monsoon, which starts from the month of July and stays up to the September and explore zone 6-10 in Ranthambore National Park as the zone 1-5 is inaccessible due puddles and mud on tracks due to rain.

Reaching Ranthambore National Park

Airport: The nearest airport is Jaipur International Airport, which is located around 180 km from Ranthambore National Park. The airport has daily flights from major cities in the country like New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Railway: The nearest station is Sawai Madhopur Railway Junction, which is located 11 km from the Ranthambore. There are weekly trains from New Delhi to Sawai Madhopur.

Road: Ranthambore National Park is connected with the State Highway, which is connected with the major cities like Jaipur (180 Km, 3 hours’ drive) Agra and many others.

Tiger Safaris & Zones in Ranthambore

Ranthambore National Park is a unique park that has its zones numbered and not named. Initially, it only had 5 zones, however, as the park gained popularity and got attention from wildlife enthusiasts, the park was expanded to accommodate 10 zones. Each of these 10 zones is thriving with unique flora and fauna. A total of 144 jeeps and canters are allowed in all 10 zones each shift of morning and afternoon safari.

Both the vehicles use the same designated safari tracks in their allowed zone The safari vehicles are not allowed to change their allotted zone and the vehicles are allowed to roam anywhere on the network of routes in their allotted zone. The time of beginning of safari is dependent on Sunrise and sunset and continues for a duration of almost 3.5 hours.

However, in full day safari and half day safari one can explore different zones in allotted time. For full day and half day safari in Ranthambore National Park starts at the sunrise timing of summer and winter seasons in zone 1-5 and should come back by 1230 hrs. for both full day and half day safari jeep or gypsy. After lunch and refreshment full day safari gypsies can continue to explores the forest, terrain, flora and fauna of zone 6-10 in Ranthambore can continue here or after 1430 hrs. can back to explore zone 1-5 in search of tigers and come back before the sunset.

Zone 1: Tigers sighted in this zone 1 of Ranthambore National Park are Sultan (T-72), Noor (T-39) with Two Cubs, Ustad (T-24) and some main spots of zone 1 are: Tuti ka Nalla, Amreshwar Dang, Sultanpur, Peela Pani, Gada Dub

Zone 2: Tigers sighted in this zone 2 of Ranthambore National Park are Gayatri (T-22), Ustad (T-24), Krishna (T-19) with Three Cubs, Noor (T-39) with her two Cubs, Sultan (T-72), Jhumru (T-20) and some main spots of zone 2 are: Jogi Mahal, Phuta Kot, Phuta Bandha, Lahpur Tiraha, Nal Ghati

Zone 3: Tigers sighted in this zone 3 of Ranthambore National Park are Star Male (T-28), Krishna (T-19) with her three Cubs and some main spots of zone 3 are: Jogi Mahal, Padam Talab, High Point, Raj Bagh, Mandook

Zone 4: Tigers sighted in this zone 4 of Ranthambore National Park are Machli (T-16) (died), Dollar (T-25), Star (T-28), Krishna (T-19) with her three Cubs, Romeo (T-6), Mr. Bond (T-47), Laila (T-41) with her one cub some main spots of zone 4 are: Singh Dwar, Malik Talab, Lakkad Da, Adidaant, Lambi, Tamakhan.

Zone 5: Tigers sighted in this zone 5 of Ranthambore National Park are Romeo (T-6), Sunehari (T-17) with her two Cubs, Dollar (T-25), Bahadur (T-3), Laila (T-41) with her one cub and some main spots of zone 5 are Singh Dwar, Anatpur, Jokha, Dhakda, Kachida, Baghda, Bakola.

Zone 6: Tigers sighted in this zone 6 of Ranthambore National Park are Ustad (T-24), Kumbha (T-34), Sultan (T-72), Noor (T-39) with Two Cubs and some main spots of zone 6 are: Kala Pani, Saran Ka Pattha, Patwa Ki Baori, Khabli, Soleshwar, etc.

Zone 7: Tigers sighted in this zone 7 of Ranthambore National Park are Ladli (T-8) With Two Cub, Kumbha (T-34) and some main spots of zone 7 are:Chidikho, Jamoda, Kushalipura, Rajbagh Naka.

Zone 8: Tigers sighted in this zone 8 of Ranthambore National Park are Ladli (T-8) With Two Cub, Kumbha (T-34) and some main spots of zone 8 are:Balas, Kherai, Kali, Neemli Dang, Bhat, Mahakho.

Zone 9: Tigers sighted in this zone 9 Fateh (T-42), T-59 (a few times) and some main spots of zone 9 is Banks of Chakal River.

Zone 10: Tigers sighted in this zone 10 Zone 10- T-42(Fateh, Male Tiger), T-13(Old Sultanpur Female) & her three 6 months old Cubs and some main spots of zone 10 are: Aantri, Kushalipur, Bodal, Halonda, Banskhori.