Ranthambhore National Park: Tigers at Play

Ranthambhore National Park at Sawai Madhopur, merely an easy 3-hour drive from Jaipur, is one of the most incredible travel destinations in India, chiefly due to its high tiger population. The forest is a dry deciduous cover of peepul, banyan, mango, tamarind, acacia, mahua, neem, ber and katechu trees mostly, blending into the earthy hues of the ruins of a 10th century fort, and offset by the blue waters of Padam Talao. Home to 70 Bengal tigers, besides leopard, spotted deer, barking deer, blackbuck, wild boar, sloth bear, flying fox, hyena, caracal, nilgai, sambhar, hedgehog, and porcupine, crocodiles, tortoise, banded krait, Russel’s viper, and many numerous others,  it also houses over 272 species of birds. 

Our excitement was palpable as our canter traversed through rough terrain on a chilly November morning, in search of the elusive tiger. We were rewarded with a splendid sighting of tigress Arrowhead and her two female young-adult cubs, barely a few metres...

Ranthambhore National Park at Sawai Madhopur, merely an easy 3-hour drive from Jaipur, is one of the most incredible travel destinations in India, chiefly due to its high tiger population. The forest is a dry deciduous cover of peepul, banyan, mango, tamarind, acacia, mahua, neem, ber and katechu trees mostly, blending into the earthy hues of the ruins of a 10th century fort, and offset by the blue waters of Padam Talao. Home to 70 Bengal tigers, besides leopard, spotted deer, barking deer, blackbuck, wild boar, sloth bear, flying fox, hyena, caracal, nilgai, sambhar, hedgehog, and porcupine, crocodiles, tortoise, banded krait, Russel’s viper, and many numerous others,  it also houses over 272 species of birds. 

Our excitement was palpable as our canter traversed through rough terrain on a chilly November morning, in search of the elusive tiger. We were rewarded with a splendid sighting of tigress Arrowhead and her two female young-adult cubs, barely a few metres away from us. Stunned into hushed silence in the face of her enchanting beauty, we gazed in sheer awe, mesmerised, as she and her cubs played to the gallery, mock- chasing deer, trying to amble up a tree, huddling close together over the lake edge to quench their thirst, and even performing lazy roll-overs, after which they sauntered off to a shady spot and settled down for a nap, bellies full, having made a kill just the day before, we were told. This exceptional sighting lasted almost an hour, as they seemed almost oblivious to our presence and the furious clicks of camera shutters. 

As we drove along the dusty track by the lake, we spotted a lazy snub-nosed crocodile basking in the marsh, while demoiselle cranes flew past us overhead and bar headed flamingos preened gracefully in greeting, and a python unwrapped itself slowly from around a dried-up tree.  On the way back, we stopped briefly to admire an ancient banyan tree. Its gnarled, aerial roots entwined into a veritable archway, as the long-tailed lemurs joyfully leaped from branch to branch, whooping and shrieking in welcome. Ranthambore, best visited in the winter season between November-January, is one of the most exhilarating wildlife tours of India.