Ranthambore Tourism

Ranthambhore National Park or Ranthambhore is the fortieth largest national park in northern India, covering 392 km². Ranthambhore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India and was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambhore became a national park in 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include the Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries.

Ranthambhore wildlife sanctuary is known for its Bengal tigers, and is a popular place in India to see these animals in their natural jungle habitat. Tigers can be easily spotted even in the daytime. The best times for tiger sightings at Ranthambhore National Park are deemed to be in November and May. The park's deciduous forests are characteristic examples of the type of jungle found in Central India. Other fauna include the Indian leopard, nilgai, wild boar, sambar, striped hyena, sloth bear, southern plains gray langur, rhesus macaque, mugger crocodile and chital. The sanctuary is home to a wide variety of trees, plants, birds and reptiles, as well as one of the largest banyan trees in India.

It is situated in the Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 110 km northeast of Kota and 140 km southeast of Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, about 11 km away. The park is also close to the Kota railway station. RIDCOR operates a mega-highway between Kota and Ranthambhore. Ranthambhore National Park lies at the edge of a plateau and is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambhore fortress, which lies within the park.

Ranthambore History
The Ranthambore forest, which has got its name from the famous Ranthambore Fort, situated in the middle of the jungle, witnesses the long vibrant history of the imperial era. During the regal era, before the independence of India, there was enormous forest cover spans almost entire Indian sub-continent. But with the time as the population grew and industrial development begun, to cater the need of the people, the exploitation of forests was started which led to the massive destruction of the green cover in the country. The shrinking forest cover and wildlife in the country compelled the government to give attention on this mounting problem and thus various policies were introduced to save the remaining forests and the wild inhabitants of the forests by making them reserve forests and national parks.

How to Reach Ranthambore

By Road – Ranthambhore is well connected by roads. There are many private buses and state transport corporation buses to Ranthambhore from major and minor cities and towns of Rajasthan and rest of India. The road network in this region is smooth and well maintained. Tourist can easily reach Ranthambore from Jaipur via Road as there are number of bus services to the park and also there are various taxi and cab operators in Jaipur. From Airport you can book the cabs to Ranthambore National Park which will take around 3-4 hours to reach.

By Train – Sawai Madhopur is the nearest railway station to Ranthambhore and is 11 kms away. Kota railway station, which is 150 kms away is also another convenient station as many trains stop there. All the trains tha are coming from or going to Jaipur, Mumbai & Delhi halt at Sawai Madhopur Junction railway station.

By Air – The Nearest airport to Ranthambhore is Jaipur International Airport. This particular airport has good connectivity of flights to major airports of Rajasthan and rest of the country. The tourists who are coming by flights can hire private taxi or cabs to reach Ranthambhore. There is also state transport bus facilities from Jaipur airport.