just like that

Last Friday night, me and four of my friends set out to visit Ranthambhore, one of India’s largest tiger reserves. Seeing the tiger was not foremost in my mind. In the eighteen months I have been here, I have missed out on quite a number of opportunities to visit some beautiful places due to some reason or other. This being our last few months here I straightaway said ‘yes’ when the offer was made. That night we boarded the intercity to Jaipur from Indore railway station.

Next morning at around 6.30, we landed at Sawai Madhopur, the entry point for Ranthambhore National Park.(Certain trains from Delhi and Mumbai also pass through this station and the place seems well connected). We had come prepared with as much winter clothing as we could lay our hands on but still when we stepped out of the train, it was freezing. After having chai and hot pakodas in the station itself, we inspected the map at the station to get a fair idea of what lay in store. The cabwala outside took us to a few hotels and after enquiring in three hotels, we settled in RajPalace. It was a pretty good place and at 500 Rs a day was good value for money.

There aren’t many places other than the park to visit in Ranthambhore but still we had decided to spend two days and do things in leisure. The visit to the park is done in canters or gypsies and there are two trips a day – one in the morning at 7.30 and another in the afternoon at 2.30. Since it had taken us sometime to settle down in the morning, we decided to go for the afternoon trip. We had an elaborate breakfast after which we lied down in the grass absorbing the sun’s rays. It was such a relief after the morning cold. At 1.30 that afternoon, after a hearty lunch we set out in the open canter to the park. It was basically a guided tour where each canter is assigned one of the five zones randomly upon their entry to the park. For about an hour, everyone in the canter was enthusiastic and spotted even the smallest monkey or deer. As time wore on, we had spotted almost all the species except the tiger. It was the animal for which most people had made their trips and so the anticipation was higher. However only disappointment remained at the end of three hours. As we were coming out, we heard of couple of other canters on other routes which had spotted the tigers. A couple of my friends decided to come again the next day and try their luck again. It was once again chilling cold by the time we returned to the rooms at around 7 pm. I also managed to catch a bad cold by this time. We had a quiet dinner followed by a bonfire for a couple of hours which were spent merrily in pulling the legs of all and sundry.

Next day morning, we visited the Ranthambhore fort which houses the Ganesha Temple and a mosque. The sight from the top was really awesome and gave a panaromic view of the entire park area. It was only then I realized how big the park really was. While coming back from the fort, due to the incessant bugging from one of our friends, we stopped near a lake and spotted two crocodiles.

After lunch, my friends once again went to the park on another trip in the hope of catching the tiger. My cold had gotten worse by this time and hence I gave the trip a miss. Alas, my friends couldn’t spot the tiger the second time as well. After a hearty dinner (we had actually beginn to like the food by this time) and another round of bonfire (where we were joined by another set of friends from IIM Indore), we returned to Sawai Madhopur station for the trip back home. All in all, it was a great two day holiday with the only disappointment being the tiger.

A few things for people going to Ranthambhore:

1) Apart from the fort and the park, there is not really much to look around. Proper planning will help you to cover everything in well under a day. However, some people like to stay back and keep visiting till they spot the tiger (A family in the canter was coming for the third time).

2) The per head charges for one trip in a canter is Rs 300. If you take a gypsy, it will be costlier.

3) The rice was pretty good while the rotis and parathas were a disappointment. Something to think about.

4) The website suggests November- May as ideal period for tiger sightings. But at the end of the day, it is pure luck whether your rendezvous with tiger happens or not since it is a natural habitat and not a zoo. Be prepared for this and try enjoying the other things as well while you are in the park.