Ranthambhore National Park

Ranthambhore National Park is presumably the best place in the world to sight wild tigers and is the only dry deciduous tiger haunt in the world. The Ranthambhore National Park, which is a part of the much larger Ranthambhore tiger reserve, a Project tiger reserve, lies in the Sawai Madhopur district of eastern Rajasthan. It is the only forest reserve in Rajasthan state and in the whole Aravali hill ranges where wild bengal tigers still exist. The dry deciduous environment of the reserve makes it far easier to find and notice tigers in their natural wild habitat. The Chambal River forms a natural boundary of the Park towards the east, and on the eastern shore of Chambal lies the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. To the northeast of the Park, streams the river - Banas, a tributary of Chambal. Across the river Banas, lies the Keladevi sanctuary, while the Sawai Man Singh sanctuary lies to the south of the Park. Both these sanctuaries, together with the Ranthambhore national park, are a part of the Ranthambore tiger reserve. At present, this Project tiger reserve stretches over 1334 sq. km of area, of which 282 sq. km is the Ranthambhore national park. The entire Tiger Reserve extends in a Northeast to Southwest direction for a distance of over 70 kilometers. To the extreme Northeast lies the Kela Devi Sanctuary, south-west of which (and across the river Banas) lies the Ranthambore National Park. The Sawai Madhopur Sanctuary, succeeded by the Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary and the Qualji Closed Area lies further South-West of the park. Ranthambhore is where the Aravali and the Vindhyan hill ranges meet and this convergence is perhaps the reason for the rich bio-diversity of the Ranthambore. The geological development of Vindhyan system are distinguished by flat table tops locally known as 'Dang' , while the Aravallis are depicted by sharp ridges and conical hill tops. A significant geological fault line - the Great Boundary Fault - lies at the junction of the Aravali and the Vindhyan systems - and runs right across Ranthambore national park. All the Tiger safaris in the Reserve are organized inside the National park. The park is open to tourists during October-June, and gets more than 50,000 visitors every year from all across the world.
Major Wildlife Attractions - Ranthambore National Park: Ranthambore National Park is known for its Tiger and is a desired spot with photographers. For a small area, the park has a rich variety of fauna and flora - species list includes 300 trees, 50 aquatic plants, 272 birds, 12 reptiles as well as the Marsh Crocodile & amphibians and 30 mammals. For the wildlife savvy, Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary currently offers an intense variety of flora and fauna. Tigers, the park's pride makes it one of the best places in the country to observe them. Besides that, large numbers of Sambar, Chital, Nilgai, Gazzelle, Boars, Mongoose, Indian Hare, Monitor Lizards and several birds can also be seen here.

Other Attractions In Ranthambore : Ranthambore Fort & Jogi Mahal : With an area spread over 392-sq-kms, this park got its name from the Ranthambhore Fort, which sits on a rocky outcrop in the heart of the Park. The fort, which goes back as far as the 10th century, is probably the oldest existing fort in Rajasthan and was a vital citadel for control of Central India and specially the Malwa plateau. The access point to the Ranthambore National Park, goes straight to the foot of the fort and the forest rest house, Jogi Mahal. The latter boasts of the second-largest Banyan tree in India.

Best Time to Visit Ranthambore : The best time to visit Ranthambore national park is during the months of October - March and April to June.