Rhanthambhore

This morning we board the bus and start our journey towards Ranthambhore National Park.  Early in the day, we travel through a spectacular mountain pass. Rock boulders of various sizes and shapes dominate the landscape.  There is heavy truck traffic and the going is slow on the narrow two-lane road.  Our driver is cautious which is good; one has to drive very defensively on these crowded roads.  Every bus driver has an assistant who sits up front and helps the driver negotiate through the chaos.  

Driving into the mountain pass

Boulders 'scattered' over the landscape

Narrow roads loaded with slow moving lorries; passing is precarious.

We drive through towns along the way to Rhanthambhore;  notice the livestock eating in the garbage dumped along the side of the road

People visiting on the side of the road

Many of the people in this area appeared to have a darker complexion and different clothing than we had seen elsewhere.

It was difficult for our bus to pass these loads of grasses being transported along the main roads.

Driving through one of the villages we see nomads on the move with all of their livestock and worldly possessions

We get off the bus to watch the procession

The baby camel is so sweet!

Donkeys loaded with possessions

Saffron orange turbans

We realize that goats are amongst the possessions being carried on the donkeys;  see their little heads and ears peaking out

This fellow shows off his fine garments which he is very proud of; quite the character!

In contrast, an older man in traditional dress and in a very different frame of mind

Quarried white marble stockpiled near the highway

The trip from Nimaj to Ranthambhore was supposed to take six and a half hours but it ends up being nine and a half hours.  The roads are so rough through the entire journey that we are feeling quite uncomfortable by the time we arrive.  

We finally arrive in the town of Sawai Madhopur in the late afternoon.  The town is adjacent to the park and is a huge tourist destination.  Our accommodation, the Khem Villas, is off the beaten track and is very peaceful.  It is a organic, vegetarian hotel and they grow most of their own produce on site, including growing and grinding their own wheat for bread.  We are housed in very nice tents that are spread out amongst the gardens.  

Woman collecting produce in the outdoor gardens at the Khem Villas.  Her garments are a delightful compliment to the marigolds.

Inside the greenhouses

Red carrots were common fare everywhere we went in India

Papaya

An egret helping out with insect control

 

The next morning we rise early and depart the hotel in canters (‘wildlife viewing’ open jeeps).   The air is very cool in the early morning and we are dressed warmly and wrapped in blankets they provide.  Ranthambhore National Park is famous for its tigers and that is what we are hoping to see.  There are only a certain number of people allowed in the park for a specific number of hours each day.  The guide has to check in at the park gates upon arrival.  All the other guides with their guests are trying to be the first to get into the park.  The guide takes us to a ‘zone’ where a male tiger with a kill was spotted the day before.  The road is crowded with canters packed with tourists and it really doesn’t feel like there really is a quota on the number of people allowed in the park!  Even though they have been asked to be quiet, it is impossible.  After some searching, we catch a glimpse of the orange and white of a tiger lying down behind a screen of vegetation approximately seventy five yards away.  Occasionally the tiger moves and then one realizes it is real and not just your imagination.  Unfortunately, photographs would not capture any worthwhile images.  After a time, we drive on to see if we can find any other tigers.  We see Chital Deer and peacocks but no other tigers.  We have to leave the park at 10:00 and so we return to the hotel to eat.  

Approaching Ranthambhore National Park

Park Gate

Rock outcrops along roadside entering the park

A line of canters ahead of us

Indian Treepie on Harry's hand

Banyan Tree (National Tree of India)

Dry ground under the forest in the early spring

A Chital (or Spotted) Deer coming for a drink in a small pool in an otherwise dry river bed.  He was walking directly towards the tiger we had been watching.  We thought we might see some action, but he moved away.

Wild peacock (National bird of India)

At 2:30 we board the canters again and return to the park for the three hour afternoon viewing.  It is much warmer now and the roads are very dusty.  This time we venture much further into the park.  We drive by a lake where there are many animals drinking. We see Chital Deer, Sambar Deer, Antelope and Wild Boar; lots of food for the tigers … but true to their nature, the tigers elude us.  As we drive around the lake we see many birds, crocodiles and turtles.   It is an arid landscape and being late winter/early spring, it is very dry and many of the trees are without leaves.  The topography is undulating; grasslands on the exposed slopes, sparse forests on the north slopes and in the valley bottoms.  Banyans and Eucalyptus are some of the spectacular large trees.   The fine clay soil is a terracotta color and there are rock outcrops on the hills and in the ravines.  Driving through a grassy open area, we get a quick, glimpse of a Jungle Cat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_cat as he darts for cover.  In the bottom of a ravine, we stop for some time and listen for real cat calls, but nothing.  On our return trip, the driver stops to show us fresh tiger tracks on the road but that is the only encounter we will have this afternoon.  It is hard not to feel a bit disappointed but, nonetheless, it was an adventure.

Harry and Clayton share a laugh after Roxanne's exuberance over a good deal on the purchase of a deck of 'Animals of India' playing cards from a hawker at the gates to the park :)

The arid, rocky hills

Succulents in the rocky outcrops

The ruins of an old fort on the distant hillside

If you look closely you can see a Viper curled up beside the rocks in the middle of the road

Animals drinking in the crocodile infested lake

Heron

A large prehistoric-looking turtle in the mud at the edge of the lake

Three baby crocodiles basking on a log

A Gray Langur Monkey. There is a mutual relationship between these monkeys and the Chital Deer.  The monkeys have superior eyesight and will sit in trees near herds of these deer and warn them of approaching predators.  The deer have a superior sense of smell and can reciprocate in warning the monkeys of approaching danger.

Sambar Deer

Fresh Tiger footprint on the road