Ranthambore National Park

National Park area: 275 km² core area. 392 km² including buffer zone

Tiger Reserve area: 334 km². Today it covers an area of 1334 km2

Altitude: 215 to 505 meters above sea level.

Established 1908

Closest airport: Jaipur, 160 km away.

Nearest Railhead: Kota Station is a stop for all trains for 10 minutes and connects Sawai Madhopur with almost 50 trains.

Terrain: Dense tropical dry forest, open bushland and rocky terrain interspersed with lakes and streams.

Ecoregion: Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests.

Best Season: From November to March.

Closed:Monsoon season (July - September).

Forests: The Park terrain alternates between dry deciduous forests and open grassy meadow. The flora of the park includes 539 species of flowering plants.

Tigers: Which can be spotted ambling or basking under the sun.

Safari Rides: Rides are carried out at 6:30 and 14:30. Each ride lasts for about three hours. There are two options of vehicles for the safari: 20 seater open top canter or 6 seater open top gypsy. Each ride costs around INR 900 - 1400 per person. The core park area has been divided into several zones and the safari vehicles go to one of those zones. Visitors often take multiple tours, as tiger spotting is rare. There are many resorts to stay in on the way from Sawai Madhopur to the national park.

Ranthambhore Fort: The majestic fort, built in the 10th century, towers over the entire park area. It stands 700 feet above the surrounding plain. Inside the fort, there are three red Karauli stone temples devoted to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji. There is a Digamber Jain temple of Lord Sumatinath (5th Jain Tirthankar) and Lord Sambhavanath. The temples were constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Padam Talao: This is the largest of the many lakes located in the park. A red sandstone Jogi Mahal can be found at the edge of the lake. A gigantic Banyan tree, considered to be India's second largest, is also near the lake

During the past few years, there has been a decline in the tiger population in Ranthambhore due to poaching and other reasons.

A tigress known as "Lady of the Lakes" was separated from her parents at a very young age because of poaching. The young tigress was named Machli after the mark on her body that resembles a fish. She gave birth to three female cubs, one being dubbed 'Machli - The Junior'. The father of Machli Jr. died early from an unknown disease, as confirmed by forest officer Fateh Singh Rathore. Machli Jr. mated with the male tiger Bumburam and gave birth to two cubs, Slant Ear and Broken Tail. Baccha is believed to be her grandson. At 17 years old, Machli Sr. is the world's oldest tigress. Machli recently went missing, raising concern among forest officials, as hunting is difficult at her age. After twenty-six days Machli was spotted and located by forest officials. Machli's daughter T19(Krishna or Unis) is the current queen tigress of Ranthambhore. In 2014, She gave birth to four cubs fathered by Star or Zalim(she was seen mating with both of them), with three surviving, these cubs are now known as T-84, T-83 and T-85. Machli died on 18 August 2016 at the age of 20 years. She became the longest living tigress in wild environment recorded till date.

Tigress T39 from Zone-1.

Another popular tigress from Ranthambhore is tigress T39, also known as Mala or Noor. Her name comes from the decorative bead-like stripes on her body. She was born to tigress T-13 and fathered by T-12. In November 2016, she was seen with her fourth litter of two cubs. Noor is 9 years old and her son, T72, or Sultan, is from her first litter and is approximately six years old.

Broken Tail was given international publicity in a film made about his life. He left the park area and traveled from Ranthambore to Darra, where he was killed by a train while crossing the railway tracks. The documentary film called Broken Tail features his last journey and has been shown worldwide on many TV channels, including BBC, PBS, CBC, and RTÉ among others, and won the top awards at two of the world's most prestigious wildlife film festivals.

T - 25 also known as Dollar male or Zalim is another famous tiger in Ranthambhore, he sent observers and tiger researchers in a tizzy when he fathered his 2 female cubs as their mother died of a disease, this two cubs are now known as Bina 1 and Bina 2 and both were relocated to Sariska in November 2012 when they were 2 years old . Till this incident, all facts on record stated that male tigers do not play an active part in rearing their cubs.

According to the 2014 census of tigers, there were 62 tigers in Ranthambhore National Park. The number of tigers was 48 in 2013 and 25 in 2005. Due to the recent increase in the number of tigers, the park is planning to transfer a few to other parks, such as Sariska and others.

Kaziranga Park remain closed from 01 May till 31 Oct every year for the visitors. The park remains open from November to April months of every year for the wildlife lovers to visit and explore the amazing wildlife that resides in the park by using the safari services organized by the forest officials. Though the forest of Kaziranga can be accessed only through the roadways, but by using the railways and airways, one can reach the nearest point to the park from where the park can be reached using the roadway transport. Below is the detailed information to reach Kaziranga

Summer (April to May): During this time of the year, the climate remains dry and windy; one can find animals around the water bodies.

Monsoon (June to September): From June till September, the region receives heavy rain, approximately 2,220 millimeters (87 in); thus the climate remains hot and humid. The park remains closed from May to October due to warnings of Brahmaputra river floods.

Winter (November to February): Perhaps the best time to visit the Kaziranga National Park as the climate is mild and dry. Chances of spotting rhinos are more in winter as the grass burn off and the background becomes clearer.

By Air - Jaipur, 160 km away, is the nearest airport to Ranthambhore wildlife sanctuary.

By Train - Ranthambhore National Park is around 11 km from Sawai Madhopur Railway Station, which lies on the Delhi to Mumbai trunk route. The city is a stop for many trains, including Jaipur - Indore Super Fast, Dayodaya Express (Ajmer - Jabalpur Express), Jodhpur - Indore Intercity, Hazrat Nizamuddin - Indore Express, Marusagar Express (Ajmer - Ernakulam Express / Ernakulam Express), Jaipur - Mysore Express, Jaipur - Chennai Express, Jaipur - Coimbatore Express, Jodhpur - Puri Express, Jodhpur - Bhopal Express, Jodhpur - Indore Intercity, and the August Kranti Delhi to Mumbai Rajdhani Express.

The Jaipur -Indore Super Fast connects Sawai Madhopur to a major city of Madhya Pradesh, Indore Junction. There is also a Kota Jan Shatabdi Express train, from Kota to the national capital of Delhi via Sawai Madhopur. Other trains include Kota - Hanumangarh Express, Sawai Madhopur-Mathura Passenger and Jaipur-Kota Passenger. Kota - Patna Express connects Sawai Madhopur and Patna via Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Varanasi.

Luxury trains: The Palace on Wheels, The Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, Maharajas' Express, and The Indian Maharaja make a scheduled stop at Sawai Madhopur on their eight-day round trips to tourist destinations.

By Road - A network of buses connect Sawai Madhopur, the nearest town, to all the major cities within the state of Rajasthan. The frequency of direct services is not very great, however. A car or taxi must be hired from Kota to Ranthambhore. Kota - Ranthambhore is a mega-highway and can be covered in 1.5 hours.