Leaving the golden city of Jaisalmer, we had one night in Jaipur then grabbed a train south to Sawai Madhopur, the entry point for Ranthambore National Park. We were going to Ranthambore to see tigers (hopefully!). Bengal tigers are endangered and the Indian Government has set up several tiger parks across India, such as the one in Ranthambore, to try and protect them.
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| Traditional hand-painted ceiling decoration at our hotel |
Our small hotel in Sawai Madhopur, the Rajputana Heritage, proved to be a rather lovely place. It’s in a quiet side street with spacious rooms, and beautiful traditional designs hand-painted on the ceilings and walls.
The day we arrived, the owner Vishnu, welcomed us and invited us on a trip to see the Ranthambore Fort.
It’s famous in these parts as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and sits within the Ranthambore National Park.
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| Ranthambhore Fort (UNESCO) |
It took no time at all to get there, but it was a long climb up to and through the ruins of the Fort in the 40-degree heat. However, the huge old walls and buildings were worth it.
The Fort enclosure also contains the Trinetra Ganesha temple. This is a famous and old temple that attracts many pilgrims to the Fort for worship.
While there, we saw so many monkeys - there were hundreds of them all through the Fort.
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| Three wise monkeys? |
At one point, we were quite startled to hear a loud galloping kind of noise approaching us. Suddenly this rather large monkey (it was at least as tall as Leigh - so, 5 foot!), went thumping toward us at great speed. We were pleased it wasn’t interested in us as it zoomed past.
After a fabulous afternoon at the Fort, we headed back to our hotel and a really lovely home-cooked Indian meal.
Before we left New Zealand, we researched the best place and time to spot Bengal tigers in India. Based on that, we ended up booking three tiger safaris at Ranthambore, so we were hopeful of a good result.
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| Marg at the hill top Ranthambhore Fort (UNESCO) |
The next morning, we were picked up at 6 am in a canter, an open-top 4-wheel drive truck that carries about 20 people. This truck was to take us on our tiger safari at the National Park.
There are no fences for animals in this park, but there are controlled zones that tour operators must work within, aimed at protecting the tigers and their habitat. This means that safari operators must pre-book with the Park authorities, then stay within the booked zone.
On this first safari, we had booked for zone 4. It was a bumpy and dusty ride in this zone, but we saw lots of monkeys, deer varieties, peacocks and peahens, crocodiles, and Indian wild boar.
Suddenly a Bengal tiger, a female, was spotted walking along really close to us. What excitement!
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| Our first tiger sighted |
We were driven closer and the cameras were clicking like crazy. More canters and also jeeps, arrived which didn’t seem to worry the tiger. She walked on while vehicles maneuvered around her for viewing space.
We got very close and had a great sighting, with lots of photos.
She seemed to be really hot, and walked to a waterhole where she plopped her butt-end into the water to cool off. Once refreshed, she continued on.
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Our tiger cooling off |
She walked right past the vehicles and we eventually had to stop following her as she moved into a different zone of the park.
At 3 pm that afternoon, we set out in an open-top jeep for our second tiger safari. Along with our guide and driver, we were joined by one other person.
For this safari, we headed into zone 6 which took us in an alternative direction to our morning safari. Zone 6 has an entirely different landscape, consisting of large open grassland with some distant hills.
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| Top L: Jackal; Sambar deer; Wild hog Lower L: Nilagai deer (female); Spotted deer (male) |
We passed a variety of deer including Sambar, Chital (or spotted deer), Nilgai deer, and Indian Gazelle. There were lots of monkeys, and we also saw two jackals and several wild boars. We saw the footprints of a sloth bear, but we didn't see the bear.
Before long, we spotted another tiger, a large male, sitting under a tree in the shade.
He must have been feeling the heat as he lay down and went to sleep. After watching him snooze for a while, we drove to other parts of the zone.
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| Our 2nd tiger, sitting in the shade |
Towards the end of our safari, we went back to see if the sleeping tiger was still there. He was, and he was awake and sitting up.
He was really big and had very beautiful markings.
He rolled over and stretched like a kitten before getting up and moving on. We were so pleased to have seen a second tiger on the same day.
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Tiger 2 rolling over like a kitten |
Another early start the next morning for our third safari saw us in a jeep. There were six of us aboard, and we headed for the Park’s zone 5.
The habitat in this zone was greener than the parched look of the other zones. We spotted more monkeys and deer in the shade of the trees, as well as a mongoose, and different birds.
Driving in zone 5, we suddenly saw a young female tiger walking parallel to us. Wow!
She sat down and kept looking at us. Then a noisy canter arrived and she stood and disappeared into the long grass. We felt so privileged to have seen her, and with only us there initially.
Moving on, we came to a congregation of jeeps and canters, which is a sure sign that a tiger is close by.
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Our 3rd tiger |
Yes, there were two tigers, a female and a male. They were much harder to see than our earlier tigers, as they were camouflaged in the grass and scrub.
Eventually, the female moved in one direction out of our sight, and the male wandered down toward a stream and then away.
We couldn’t believe we had been so lucky to see so many Bengal tigers on one safari!
Although we couldn’t get good clear photos of the last two, we had been able to observe them.
What a special couple of days for us.
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| Tiger number 4, camouflaged |
Some people go on these safaris and don’t get to see a single tiger, and we saw five over two days. Our research on tigers paid off.
The next day, we had a 6-hour train ride to Delhi then one night in a hotel, before our long flight back home to New Zealand - our time in India at an end.
We have been travelling for over two months, and we've seen some incredible sights and met so many lovely people.
The history of this immense country is absolutely amazing, and we have been stunned by how ancient many of the towns and sights are, especially compared to New Zealand, a relatively young country in terms of human habitation. With that in mind, we have prepared a short ode:
Ode to India:
India the Great they call it, and it certainly is that we see;
from its very diverse population, to its past, and geography;
the villages and cities so rich in culture, if not in material goods;
with beliefs that go back centuries, she would move forward if only she could;
but her progress is slow and stately, with a democratic style;
her beauty, colour and temperament keeping it fresh all the while;
the food is really tasty if you like a little spice;
and she's well known for her tea, and varieties of rice;
India the Great, you are fascinating, and also very strong;
we will visit you again, before very long.
It’s been a great trip in a wonderful country, and we recommend that travellers add it to their bucket list.
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