Ranthambhore

This summer i wanted to visit a wildlife sanctuary. Ranthambhore had been on my list of places to visit for sometime now. It is the last place where my friends would want to visit in the month of June. Going out into the jungle during summers is not considered as fun by a lot of people. My idea of fun is a little different. I might not be a wildlife enthusiast but I like to venture into the jungle and click pictures . Now, that I had time to visit, I was alone but still decided to go with a bunch of people from Junglelore.

We started out on 23rd June, the day cab drivers decided to go on a strike in Mumbai. Reaching the Bombay Central station to board the train was in itself a hell of a task. I was eagerly waiting to board the Jaipur Super Fast Express to reach Ranthambhore the next day and put my new Canon 55-250 mm lens to test. I was travelling with Gaurav from Junglelore and Alpa, who I had just met at the station. Finally we boarded the train at 1840. The food in the train lived upto the expectations and the Thepla's carried by Alpa proved to be a life saver.

Day 1

We reached Sawai Madhopur station at 1030 in the morning. The warm breeze was just an indication of the kind of summer heat that we would have to bear for the next couple of days. The resort was 10 mins away from the station. We checked into the ITC Welcome resort and received a warm welcome from the staff. At lunch, we met the rest of the people who were travelling with Junglelore and had flown down to Ranthambhore directly. Having rested in the room for a while, we left for the first safari at 1515. We were informed by the driver and our guide that the tiger reserve is a dry deciduous forest and spanned across 400 sq km and was divided into various zones. Tigers/ Tigress are normally numbered as per a convention and are spotted in certain sections ( water holes) in these zones. The open jeep took Alpa and me alongwith a family into the Zone 5. The summer sun and the dry heat can sap your energy in a while. Thus, it is important to carry a lot of water on the safari. We were able to spot a huge gamut of birds and animals at the sanctuary. The spotted deer, peacocks, peahens, langurs, treepie, sunbirds, kingfishers, drongo, woodpecker, mynas, blue jay are omnipresent and offered a lot of photo opportunities to the tourists.

But the tiger was still elusive to us. After hours of struggling through the backbreaking journey in the jeep, we were lucky to spot T19 relaxing in a water hole. A hoard of canters and jeeps started assembling around the water hole thus disturbing the lazy animal. T19 simply decided to get up and walked into the jungle to sleep peacefully and we decided to return to our resort.

Day 2

The monsoons had not yet reached North Western parts of India but the area experienced slight early morning showers which had made the weather quite pleasant. We decided to leave early next morning. This time I was travelling with the other group of people from Junglelore and Alpa was with Guarav. The cool breeze and the wet roads on our way to the jungle were a welcome change. We entered through the old magnificent gate into Zone 4, popularly known to be the territory of Machali(T16), meaning fish in hindi, and her daughters T17 and T18. Machali is a favourite among wildlife photographers and tourists and got her name from the apparent small fish like mark on her body. The small puddles of water created throughout the jungle made it very difficult for us to spot Machali. While the tigress was relaxing in the jungle and refusing to come out to drink water from a puddle near our car we were thrilled to click pictures of the ubiquitous Treepie.

After lazing around the whole afternoon at the resort we were ready to go for another safari in the evening. This time I was accompanied by Alpa and we decided to go to Zone 4 again. After the early morning rains, the scorching heat in the afternoon had dried the forest and made it possible for us to spot tigers. After travelling for a few hours and searching every water hole for any signs of Machali, we finally managed to catch a glimpse of T17 resting peacefully under a tree. The tourists in canters and jeeps had lined up to witness the beautiful animal. T17, often referred to as 'Mehlo ki Rani' didnt bother to move from her spot. It rained heavily on our way back to the resort. We were standing in the open jeep and got drenched in the rain. The moment is simply unforgettable.

Our last night in Ranthambhore finally offered Alpa the chance to enjoy traditional Rajasthani folk dance while Gaurav and I enjoyed our Vodka..:)

Day3

Although we had decided to visit the fort on the final day, a last minute change in plans helped us visit Zone 3 in the jungle. The zone offered a picturesque view with a lake and egrets, herons etc. This safari proved to be our most successful safari of the trip as we watched T17 come very close to our car, stare into the camera a few times, check the territory and silently make her way back into the jungle.

We were not going to let the poor animal live peacefully. So, we alongwith other jeeps and canters followed her into the jungle and spotted her lazying around in a water hole. It was a wonderful sight and fulfilled all our wishes to catch a glimpse of this animal which is very close to extinction, if we dont act now. On our way back towards the gate we got lucky again and spotted T19 sleeping peacefully while the photographers were having the time of their life. :)

Our trip came to an end and Alpa and I boarded the train from Sawai Madhopur station in the afternoon taking back some wonderful memories and pictures with us.