RANTHAMBORE: THE TRINKET OF THE ARAVALIS

 I visited many a forest in my quest for wildlife and photographed the forest and the wildlife therein. Every forest that I visited had a character of its own that was distinctively different than the other. Every forest had its own charm and spiritual connection. When one actually makes a plan to visit a wildlife sanctuary or visit the forest one should not have any expectations of any sort. Only then the safari through the jungle trails keep throwing up surprises and makes your wildlife experience electrifying and memorable

On a cold misty morning in Ranthambore.

So when I planned to visit Ranthambore I actually did some study about the forest itself and about the geography, terrain flora, and the fauna therein. Many of my wildlife photographer friends told me that Ranthambore is one such forest where you would definitely come face to face with the most majestic and elegant animal, The Royal Bengal Tiger. It was this assurance that  I embarked on the train to Sawai Madhopur In Rajasthan without any expectations. We took the August Kranti Rajdhani Express Train from Mumbai Central which departed sharply at 1710 hrs and we were in Sawai Madhopur the next day at 0530 hrs.

The above images are of the forest and its celestial beauty. It's divine. This forest is somewhat different from many other forests that I have visited in my quest for tranquility and spirituality.

Sawai Madhopur is just adjacent to Ranthambore forest and the forest is just about 20 minutes drive from the railway station. Ranthambore forest is on the southern side of the Aravalli range and the Park is set between the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges. Located at the junction of the Aravalli and Vindhya hill ranges. It spreads over a highly undulating topography varying from the gentle to the steep slopes; from flat-topped hills of the Vindhayas to the conical hillocks and the sharp ridges of the Aravallis.

A typical jungle trail in the wee hours of the morning.

The ruins of the Ranthambore fort are present in and around zone 3 of the forest core area. These structures form an integral part of the forest and add a superlative  character to the forest.

This was one of my precious capture of the forest and its character on one early cold misty morning.

Ranthambore National Park was established as Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, initially covering an area of 282 km² (109 sq mi). It was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973 and became a national park on 1 November 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary. In 1992, the Tiger Reserve was expanded to include the adjoining Keladevi Sanctuary in the north and Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary to the south along with other forests. As of today, the park is a humongous 1700 sqkms.

The name Ranthambore is actually pronounced as Ranthambhore. Ranthambore word comes from three distinct words of which the first word is "Raan". Raan means battlefield. Ranthambore's history is steeped in the treachery of Allauddin Khilji. The second syllable is "Tham" which means a pillar or a structure that would stand tall in all adversaries. The fort here is mentioned as Tham and the third syllable is "Bhore" which means the valley. So when one visits the Ranthambore Fort , which is deep within the forest and a world heritage site, and stands at its highest point one can see the forest land then the valley and the fort right on the cliff of the Aravali ranges. Therefore the name RANTHAMBHORE colloquially became RANTHAMBORE. This fort is very well covered by the high ranges of the Aravali and is completely invisible from the outside. No one would ever know that there is a fort unless one enters the forest. The forest has 10 zones. Every Zone has its uniqueness in terms of the flora and landscape. The core areas of the forest are zone 2,3,4,5 & 6 and the other zones are the fringe and buffer zone of the forest. Regarding the Ranthambore Fort  will write a seperate blog

The Nilgais

There are 56 adult Tigers and 27 Juvenile adults in Ranthambore and the predator-prey relationship is very healthy whereby the animals proliferate adequately.

Sambar Deer.. Ever alert.

Spotted Deer with the Langur monkey in the foreground.

Male Sambar Deer. Their ears are always on the lookout for the Tiger. 

The sweet water Crocodile which is very common in this forest in its water bodies called the Mugger.And the Langur Monkey which are also abundant in the forest.

The apex predator of this forest is the Tiger, and this forest has the highest number of Tigers per square kilometer. This forest has 57 adult tigers and 29 sub adult tigers for a 1700 square kilometer of the forest. The other predator is the leopards. the forest has a very healthy population of ungulates. Spotted deers, antelopes, Sambar deers, Gazelles, and Nilgais are abundantly seen and they are a very healthy population. For the predators it's like a buffet of various meats.

I was told by the wildlife guide that the Tigers prefer Sambar deers  above the others. In a buffet of various deers grazing in the forest.  The Tiger zooms in on the Sambar deer. That is probably the reason why these deers are very alert and they have a call sign that reverberates through the forest when one of them sees or feels the presence of a Tiger. The other fauna are the sloth bears, wild pigs, monitor lizards, crocodiles, and poisonous snakes like the Russell vipers and the cobras and also the rock python among the non poisonous. 

Ranthambore is also the birders paradise with varieties of owls, magpies, peacock, trepie and the jungle babbler being the very common ones that is visible in practically all the zones

Brown Fish Owl

White throated Kingfisher

Thick knee The great stone Curlew

Jungle Babbler lovingly called as the angry birds. and the angry birds game is based on these birds.

The spotted owlets cosing up to each other on one cold misty mornng

Long tailed Shirke and the Oriental Magpie Robin

Rufous Treepie

Scops Owl

The Stork

Since the forest nestles between the slopes of the Vindhya range and the Aravali range the Flora in the forest is very diverse.  The captivating natural surroundings of the forest of Ranthambore and the tranquility here are profoundly relaxing and the delight for the mind. The blend of the dense green region and the sparse shrubbery in the desert region makes this land a unique site for nature lovers. It is estimated that there are nearly 300 species of vegetation found in and around the Ranthambore reserve forest. The area in the proximity of the Thar Desert gets very scant rainfall so the plant life here consists mainly of dry deciduous type.

The most dominant plant of all the plant species of the Ranthambore National Park is the 'Dhok', also known as the biological name of Anogeissus pendula. This tropical tree constitutes of more than three-fourth of the vegetation of this national forest. This tree has the height of up to 15 meters and its shrubs and fruits constitute major foods for the animals such as Deer, Antelope and Nilgai. The Dhok tree can also grow in the shallow soil but with limited growth and small in height.

Apart from the Dhok tree, the other prime trees of this park are Banyan (Ficus bengalensis), Pipal (Ficus religiosa) and Neem (Azadirachta indiaca). These trees have religious as well as medicinal values. The fruit trees which are prominently found in the Ranthambore are the Mango(Magnifera indica), Tamarind (Tamarindicus indica) also.known as Imli, Jamun (Syzygium cumini) also known as the Indian blackberry and Ber (Zizyphus mauritania). The Chhila (Butea monosperma), more popularly known all over india as the Palash flower, also known as the flame of the forest due to its bright orange color, enhance the beauty of the landscape here and offers fabulous scene for nature lovers. This flower is still in use for making the natural ochre color, used for making the natural sindur for the local women folk.

Apart from these prominent trees, few other flora which are found in the park are the Babul (Accasia nilotica), Gum (Sterculia urens), Gurjan (Lannea coromandelica), Kadam (Authocephalus cadamba), Khair (Accacia catechu), Khajur (Phoenix sylvestris), Kakera (Flacourtia indica), Karel (Capparis decidua), Khimi (Manilkara hexandra), Kikar (Acacia nilotica), Mahua (Madhuca indica), Salar (Boswellia serrata), Kulu (Sterculia urens), Ronj (Acacia leucophloea), Tendu (Diospyrous melanoxylon) and others. The leaves of the Tendu tree is used in the Bidi Making industry. Lotus and water lilies are the prime aquatic flowers found in the lakes of Ranthambore National Park and the edges of the lakes are draped with Khus grass.

These khus grasses are a perfect hideout place for a Tiger to wait patiently for the prey to come to the water so that the tiger can surprise the prey animal and hunt without much expense of the energy.

Ranthambore forest is not very far from Mumbai. One has to get down at Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. Sawai Madhopur is well connected with the rest of the country. Ranthambore forest is the gateway to sanity and spirituality and it is just a twelve hours wonderful train ride through Mumbai Gujrat and then on to Rajasthan. 

If any of my readers want to join me in this wonderful trip you may contact me on 9064832315 or 9892964286. My next trip is in October and it is booked. The next trip ill be in November. If you are interested please get in touch with me