An Overview of Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park or Ranthambore Rashtriya Uddyan is one of the finest and largest national parks or tiger reserves in northern India. The park is located in Sawai Madhopur district of Indian state of Rajasthan. Positioned at the junction of the Aravalli and Vindhya hill range, it is the one of the finest places in India for wildlife tourism, bird watching and wildlife viewing especially for tiger tracking. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, 11 km away from the park. Nearest airport is at Jaipur about 180 km away.

The Government of India established Ranthambhore in 1955 as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary. Later in the year of 1973 it was declared one of project tiger reserves of India. In 1980, it got the status of a national park. In 1984, the Government of India declared adjacent forests as Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary. In 1991, both Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary were merged to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. It was named as Ranthambhore due to historical fort which lies in the sanctuary.

Covering in the area of about 500 square kilometers along with Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi Sanctuaries, the Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary has rich flora and fauna. It lies at the edge of a plateau. It is delimited to the south by the Chambal River and to the north by the Banas River. You will see many lakes in the park. You will see the historical Ranthambhore Fortress within the sanctuary. You will also see many ruins of bygone eras scattered all over the jungle, which give the sanctuary a unique, wonderful and mixed flavor of nature, history and wildlife.

Ranthambore National Park is best known for its large tiger population. It is one of the best places in India to see majestic royal Bengal tigers in the jungle. It attracts wildlife lovers and adventure enthusiasts from all over the world. It would be a prefect destination on your India wildlife tours. You can easily spot majestic tigers at Ranthambore even during the day time due to large density. Apart from tigers, the park has also a different species of animals, birds, reptiles, and tress and plants. Commonly spotted animals in the sanctuary are tigers, leopards, blue bulls, wild dogs, spotted deer, wild boar, striped hyenas, sloth bear, deer, sambar, jungle cats, etc.

Apart from wildlife viewing at Ranthambhore, you can also enjoy bird watching. The reserve has flourishing bird population with more than 270 different species of birds. You can enjoy best of jungle expedition or wildlife tourism at this park by jeep safari. A good time to visit the Ranthambore National Park in India is from October to May.