Introduction

Ranthambore National Park is located among the Aravali and Vindhya hill ranges in the state of Rajasthan. It falls under the district of Sawai Madhopur, which is also the nearest town located 14 kilometers from the park. The park covers an area of approximately 400 sq km but if combined with the neighbouring forest area of the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary, they total up to an area of just above 500 sq km. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1957 and in 1974 it gained the protection of "Project Tiger". It got it's status of a National Park in 1981.

Ranthambore is definitely one of the most picturesque parks

The park and fort are dotted with structures that remind you of bygone eras

The vegetation in the park is generally of a dry deciduous type. There are many water bodies located all over the park, which provide perfect relief during the extremely hot summer months for the forest inhabitants. A huge fort, after which the park is named, towers over the park atop a hill. There are many ruins of bygone eras scattered all over the jungle, which give it a unique, wonderful and mixed flavour of nature, history and wildlife.

In 1986, the tiger count of the park stood at 40 wonderful specimens, one of whom was the famous tiger named Genghis. This tiger became world famous for his pioneering tactics and efforts at hunting prey in the lake waters.

Other tigers learnt these tactics from watching him and the implementation of his methods could be seen till recently in the park, even long after he has been gone. He was also famous for his fights with the lake's resident crocs over kills, which more often than not, he wrestled out of their very mouths. The tiger population then on suffered drastically due to poaching and general neglect. The numbers are said to have gone down to as low as 4 to 7 tigers.

Ranthambore tigers have been known to even hunt in full view of human visitors

The park also boasts of a large population of birds

This shook up the concerned authorities and a major effort has resulted in the steady growth of numbers once again, which now stands at around 20.

These tigers are famous for being seen in the daytime too, due to their lack of fear of human presence in vehicles. This lack of fear of humans is excellent for tourists, as they get to see the tigers often.