Jul 252015
 

Ranthambore  Where Time Stands Still & Tigers Roam Free

Trinetra Ganesh Temple Ranthambore Rajasthan
 Trinetra Ganesha Temple Ranthambore Fort

 


I started writing this post while packing to visit Tal Chapar Sanctuary in Rajasthan. I have scheduled it to get published when I will be on a Train to Rajasthan. Preparation for the trip reminded me of my visit a few years ago to Ranthambore national park and fort in Rajasthan; initially, I was reluctant to write as many things may have changed. But then Wife jee chided me if not much has changed in a thousand years in Ranthambore, what would have changed in the last couple of years? This rekindled my memory of our visit to Ranthambore national park and fort in Rajasthan.
majestic fort in rajasthan
Ranthambore Fort
She is actually 100% right, what could have changed in a fort that has been fighting the enemies for hundreds of years, first the army of Allaudin Khilji, the Sultans of Gujarat, and then the Moguls, all this while bravely smiling at the elements which are extreme here on the boundary of Thar desert. So here is a post on our visit to Ranthambore, I apologize for the poor quality of pictures.
monkeys in every part
Ranthambore Fort Under Siege, this time by Langurs

Ranthambore has 2 major attraction for tourists Ranthambore Fort and Ranthambore national park, made famous by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who went on vacation there with his family. The Ranthambore National Park is a wildlife paradise used to be Shikargah (hunting grounds) of the Jaipur Royals before it was converted to National park under Project Tiger.

Langur at Ranthambore Fort

Langur guards the Naulakah gate or a gate worth Rs 900,000

Ranthambore national park is around 15 KM from Sawai Madhopur Railway station, which is about 360 KM from Delhi. We decided to take the train as there are a lot of options from Delhi and ou can take an overnight train to arrive fresh in the morning. The fare for AC III tier now days is around INR 500) and the train will take anywhere between 5 to 8 hours depending on which train you take.

deer in ranthambore park
Deer In Lake near Jogi Mahal
Our hotel had arranged pick up and the journey was smooth. We decided to skip the early morning safari the first day and decided to go to the fort first. The fort was first built around 1000 years ago and different versions are there as to who built it. But it is most famous for 2 things one is the bravery of Veer Hammir, and the other attack by Allaudin Khilji.  Khlji on hearing about the beauty of Rani Padmini who was the queen of Rawal Ratan Singh, Khilji decided to attack and take the queen by force, the war ended by Jauhar (Self-immolation) by the queen and other women in fort and fight till death by the warriors.
palace lies in ruins ranthambore
36 Chatri-A Palace in Ruins
old jain temple in ruins ranthambore
Jain Temple in Ranthambore Fort

Jogi Mahal Ranthambore

Jogi Mahal in Ranthambore

Anyways once we reached the fort only then we realized how magnificent it must have been in days gone by. It towers above its surrounding and is on a hill about 900ft high. The view from the top is spectacular and you can see the famous Jogi Mahal in a distance, there is also a very ancient Ganesha temple founded by Veer Hammir at the top of the fort. This temple is believed to be one of the oldest continuously worshiped Ganesha temples in the world. There are various palaces in the fort all in very bad shape due to lack of maintenance and mistreatment by tourist and govt alike. This magnificent fort is now ruled by clans of Langoors who dominate every corner of the fort. There is also an ancient Jain temple in the complex that also needs a lot of repairs.
The evening and next morning were reserved for the Ranthambore national park. Although it is famous for its Tigers, for some reason they decided that they don’t want to see us and we could not see even a single tiger, while every other person we have met who has been to Ranthambore has seen a tiger there. But we were not so lucky we saw a lot of herbivores like Cheetal, Sambhar, Blue Buck ( Nilgai ), peacock, and my only sighting of a sloth beer ever in wild. Next to the famous Padam Talab (Lotus Lake) we also spotted an owl blissfully sleeping in its hole in the bark of a tree. True to its name the Padam Talab was full of lotus flowers and deer were relishing them. We hoped some tiger will come to relish the Deer but it was not to happen. Hence our this visit to Ranthambore did not result in any tiger sighting thus no tiger pictures 🙁
padam talao Ranthambore National Park
Padam Talab in Ranthambore National Park


palace in ruins ranthambore fort
The Fort Needs Repairs
The evening was spent around a bonfire at the resort, before taking a late night train back to Delhi to reach back to the city early morning. Ranthambore is definitely on my visit again list this time hopefully will get a tiger sighting. Thanks for reading, do leave a comment I will reply after returning from the bird sanctuary.
Male Nilgai Blue Buck Ranthambore
Blue Buck
Travel Tip on how to reach Ranthambore from Delhi: Private cars are not allowed in Ranthambore, national park and you can not take them even to the entrance of the national park as there is no parking space. Better take a train from Delhi or Gurgaon and then use the vehicles of safari organizers, most hotels in Ranthambore bundle a complimentary sightseeing of the fort and nearby market so you will not miss your car. There is no dearth of hotels around the park right from backpacker delights to the ultra luxurious Vanavilas from Oberoi and Aman-i-Khás at the very premium end, take your pick, or ask for a hotel quote from here
I am sorry to disappoint you with no Tiger Pictures in this post. But head here if you want to check pictures and blog posts about Tigers.
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  5 Responses to “Ranthambore National Park and Fort in Rajasthan”

Comments (5)
  1. Just come down to tamilnadu to see tigers in Mudumalai and Masinagudi!

  2. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog article or vice-versa? My site addresses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you are interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail (rahulranjan535@gmail.com). I look forward to hearing from you! Excellent blog by the way!

  3. Lovely…
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