Tiger Spotting in Ranthambore National Park!

This Ranthambore safari I spotted tiger Noor with her two 3-month-old cubs, Machli and Suraj. That’s five tigers over one weekend trip!

Distance of Ranthambore from Delhi:  367 kilometres

There was buzz on my social feeds about tiger cubs in Ranthambore, so I decided to try my luck at a Ranthambore safari before the park closed for the monsoon on June 30. After all, the cubs would be a lot bigger by the time the park re-opens on October 1. And, lucky I was! I spotted tiger Noor (T39) with her two cubs - a visual pleasure, complete with the little ones prancing around, climbing all over mommy (much like Simba in Lion King) and feeding milk.

The other new tiger mom (Krishna or T19) and her cubs remained elusive, but my friends and I did spot Machli (T16, the oldest tiger of Ranthambore) and Suraj (T65). For this, we took four Ranthambore safaris over one full and two half days.

Ranthambore Safaris  

Safari 1: A group of five left Gurgaon at 7.30 am to reach Ranthambore by 2.30 pm, in time for lunch and the afternoon safari at 3.30 pm. As we went up one of the fork tines at Bhoot Kohra Tiraha (translation: ghost inhabited, foggy, fork in the road) we saw a flash of orange, which turned out to be a tiger. And, Machli no less. She followed our jeep for almost 800 metres, pausing to cool herself in the many puddles along the way. While we were admiring Machli, a peacock decided to distract us by dancing on the other side of the jeep. So, we had Machli behind the jeep, and a dancing peacock in the front! This, for sure, is a Ranthambore safari in all its glory.

Machli, the Queen of Ranthambore, is well documented as a slayer of crocodiles - her battle with a 14-foot one is legendary. She’s the matriarch of Ranthambore, having borne several tigers that roam the forest today. Now she’s an old lady of 17 years and has lost most of her canines. When we saw her, she looked a bit emaciated but her gaze was still quite fearsome. Want to know more about Machli?

Safari 2: Our second Ranthambore safari was planned for the next day at 5.30 am to zone 1. We came back from this one without spotting a tiger, but with a lesson learnt: patience is a virtue. This zone is known to house Noor and her two 3-month old tiger cubs. We reached a spot surrounded by tens of jeeps and canters. We could hear the tigress’ growl and set our expectations high. But then rumour went around that the tigress had just had water and was not likely to come out in the open. So we decided to leave the spot, and the patient ones who did see the tigress and her cubs.

Safari 3: We were off to the forest again at 3.30 pm and went straight to the watering hole where the cubs had been sighted in the morning. After a short wait, tiger Noor walked up to the watering hole and stayed there for a good 30 minutes, drinking water, cooling herself, occasionally calling on her cubs and, well, posing majestically for over a 50 cameras. She then got up to go to the cubs, and came down the hill with the little ones in toe. By this time, there was a literal traffic jam of at least 15 jeeps and canters. While this did not ruffle Noor, she was cautious enough to not let her cubs come too close to human beings! They stayed several 100 feet away, but we could clearly see them romping playfully around mommy.

Safari 4: Our last Ranthambore safari was to zone 3, where tiger Krishna (T-19) and her three cubs are known to be seen. Krishna had recently laid a litter of four, of which three have survived. The tiger cubs eluded us, but we were rewarded with the sighting of Suraj (T65) a male descendant of Machli's. At three years, Suraj is a sub-adult, but to our eyes he was no less than a full grown tiger. This majestic guy posed for our shutterbugs and also walked the catwalk right behind our jeep!

While we didn’t see many varieties of animals at the Ranthambore safaris, we did spot plenty of birds. Here are some we saw:

Birds: Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Common Kingfisher, Cormorant, Indian Pitta, Painted Stork, Rufous Treepie, Stork-billed Kingfisher,  White-breasted Waterhen Animals: Crocodiles, Jungle Hare, Sambar Deer, Spotted Deer, Wild Boar

And you can see many more if you don’t run after the tigers. 

Safari Packing Tips  

Winter: Monkey cap/balaclava, gloves, muffler, jacket, thermals, sweaters, thick-soled shoes, leg warmers, sun shades, nuts/biscuits to nibble (especially for the early morning safari), water. You might even want to pick up a blanket from the hotel to cover the seats of the jeep. Safaris are always in open jeeps/canters (no roof or sides, and, in some cases, no front windshields)! We got our gear in camouflage prints from retail outlets in Sadar Bazar in Delhi (near Delhi Cantt) - there are plenty of shops there that sell clothing for defence personnel.

Summer: Cap, scarf/stole, sun shades, nuts/biscuits, water, sunscreen.

DIY or Book Through Experts? 

You can either plan your own trip or leave it to wildlife experts. The experts cost more but then you have the comfort of being in the hands of professionals who personally travel to Ranthambore (and other such places) several times a year, can assign you guides knowledgeable about the regional flora and fauna, and know the local and administrative people and processes well.

We’ve booked with two experts in the past, and have had great experiences with both. Tigerwalah - We’ve booked wildlife trips with them to Sariska and Ranthambore Nature Wanderers - We’ve booked wildlife photography trips with them to Ranthambore and Tadoba

For the Ranthambore safari, you can take either a jeep (~ Rs 4,000 for a full jeep that takes six persons) or a canter (a few hundred rupees per person for a canter that takes 20 persons). While the canter is a lot cheaper, I recommend a jeep as it gives more flexibility to pause-stop-go. I was traveling with two avid birders and photographers, who would want to stop to photograph birds ever so frequently; someone whom you may not want on your canter if you’re interested only in the large animals.

Book your jeep safaris about 100 days in advance, preferably online. At the website, you’ll see the rate as Rs 127/person, but once you reach the park, you need to pay the balance, which includes the fee for the driver, guide, entrance and other sundry charges.

Note: The Ranthambore safari timings change depending on the season. See here for park opening dates and timings.

Delhi to Ranthambore - Road Trip

Directions from Delhi/Gurgaon to Ranthambore: Ranthambhore is situated in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, about 160 km south east of Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The closest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, about 11 km away. Here is the broad road route we took to reach it.

NH-8 (Delhi-Jaipur) -> Dharuhera Bhiwadi Bypass -> Alwar Bypass -> Sikandara -> Bikaner Agra Road -> Jaipur Agra Road -> Dausa-> Lalsot -> Sawai Madhopur

We used Google Maps on the phone and the MapMyIndia built-in maps in the car navigation system; and when they failed us in the interiors, we resorted to desi maps - asking local people for directions!

Mapping the Loos On the Way 

While on road trips in India, I cut down my liquid intake, to the extent that I can get badly dehydrated. Why? Because, as most women would agree, of the absence of hygienic loos, and in some cases, even the basic ones, along our highways.

So as an experiment, I decided to map and rate the loos I used en-route. I downloaded a phone app to record the GPS coordinates, clicked a photo and rated the condition of the loo. Following is a crude ‘review’ of the loos:

 1. VSquare Mall (Haldirams), Bhiwadi Rating - Excellent GPS: 28.194828, 76.812342

2. Jai Shri Balaji Dhaba, Alwar-Tijara Road Rating - Poor GPS: 27.6979726274, 76.7252322659

3. Essar Petrol Pump, BandiKui on SH25 Rating - Good GPS: 27.1475488, 76.5716942

4. Gangour Midway Resorts, near Lalsot on SH24 Rating - Excellent GPS: 26.476214896, 76.3755579572 

I hope to continue this experiment during subsequent road trips - maybe someday these GPS coordinates can be mapped on Google maps.

Shopping 

Ranthambore safaris done, tiger cubs spotted, birds admired, photos clicked, some of us moved on to the next best thing - shopping! Here’s where we shopped for handicraft:

Dastkar retail and factory outlets - Though there’s a retail outlet on the main road leading up to the park, try the factory outlet further down the park for large varieties of well-priced soft furnishings, garments, bags, pottery and cloth toys. Extremely friendly staff - they stitched a kurta for me in just a couple of hours!  

Dhonk - Next to the Oberoi Vanya Vilas. Try it for bags and garments. Found it a little pricey.

There are several handicraft outlets on the main road leading up to the park, but very few were open, we were told, because of fewer tourists since the park was going to be shut for the monsoon in just a few days.

Insider Tips

Where to Stay? The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Hill View Holiday Resort, Nahar Haveli. 

Budget: Rs. 15,000 per person for a weekend (including 3-star hotel and jeep safari)

Distance from Delhi: 367 kilometres (6 hours 30 minutes by road). 

Traveller Type: Families, Couples, Friends

Book Your Ranthambore Holiday Now!