With an ardent desire to see the big striped cat, I with some of my friends

Ranthambhore National Park

reached Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan in the month of October. This  land of legends, tigers and a favored destination of wildlife buffs is truly worth a visit. This was my second visit to the Ranthambore National Park. Apart from the wildlife, the Park has amazing landscape which I found quite adventurous. There is a deep contrast in the landscapes of its different zones. One of its zones has very steep path, almost like the trails in hill stations. The jeep safari through this zone is a great adventure in itself. And hats off to the driver who skillfully drives through this arduous path.

We began our journey with a visit to the historic Ranthambore Fort, which is located at a distance of around 4 km from the entrance of the Park. While driving to the fort we saw vultures. This sighting was a reward in itself as vultures are vanishing from the earth at a fast pace. We moved further and reached the gate of the fort where many langurs were flaunting their long tails at a huge banyan tree-their domain.

Apart from the rustic and beautiful structures of the fort, we saw temples, birds and small lakes. At one of the rustic structures, called as 32-pillared building, we saw the enchanting parrots. I didn’t even remember when I last saw a parrot. For me the sighting of a parrot was as much a cause for celebration as the sighting of a tiger. The structure was breezy and cool. We rested there for sometime and clicked some photographs.

After exploring the fort we came back to the hotel for lunch. After stuffing out hungry stomachs with delicious lunch we thought of taking a nap before embarking on an evening safari.

During our evening jeep safari we sighted sambar, chinkara, spotted deer, nilgai, langur, cheetal, painted storks, painted spurfowl, hyena, the great Indian horned owl and white-necked stork. When our safari was coming to a close, my friends aired their grievances as we cound not sight a tiger. I laughed and said “better luck next time”.

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Kaziranga National Park is a World Heritage Site, which I personally think must be visited at least once. But

Rhinoceros

fortunately this was my second visit to the Park and this time my expectations were also higher than before. The memories of my past visit to the Park are still fresh, just like the Park. The Park is no less than a paradise for wildlife lovers as one can witness a variety of wildlife such as leopard, Asiatic Water Buffalo, Royal Bengal Tiger, Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros, Wild Elephant, Python and a range of resident and migratory birds.

I was booked in Aranya Lodge, managed by Assam Tourism located in close vicinity to the Park. The views of gorgeous green patches and brown vegetation were awesome. I opted for Jeep safari. From my past experience I knew that the Park is divided into four ranges – Burapahar, Baguri, Central and Eastern and the Central range is the most promising region for wildlife sighting. With less time in my hands, I decided to explore the central range and the Baguri range (known for birds).

Sprawling over an area of 429 sq km, the Park’s landscape mainly consists of

Elephant

tall and short grasses, dense tropical moist broadleaf-forest, swamp and rivers. As we moved into the Park we spotted a herd of hog deer. As we moved further we saw a herd of elephants with young calves. It was a kodak moment. Next, we were greeted with the sights of Bar-headed Geese feasting on something. The next sight was simply overwhelming. A python was relishing his catch. Our next interesting sight was the sight of sunbathing tortoises.

We ventured deep into the forest in the Baguri Range where the sights of several beautiful birds were waiting for us. I was elated to see Pond herons, Open-bill Storks, Cormorants, Fish Eagles, Black-necked stork, Pied Kingfishers and many other bird species. While exploring this range we saw Great Indian Hornbill, Water Buffalo, Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros. While on our way back to the lodge, Ramesh told me stories about Rhinos and Wild Elephants running after tourists. So it is adviced not to get down from safari vehicles for shots from a close quarter.

Although my visit to the Park had ended but the memories were flashing in my mind at a lightning speed.

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