It is the uncertainty of spotting a tiger which keeps the interest alive. Watching a tiger, in his own territory, is an experience of its own. This winter, iCampers had planned a camp at Ranthambore National Park. Ranthambore, one of the oldest and most celebrated tiger reserves of India, is said to be one of the best places to sight one. They say, the Ranthambore tigers are the most camera friendliest tigers. The folklores of the famous Macchli tigress are still very fresh in the air. The most famous of it being how she killed a 14 feet crocodile.
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| 18 iCampers at Ranthambore |
We had planned 4 back to back rides in different zones of the park. 18 of us were divided in to 3 groups and we started wandering the park in search of the "King". Here, the King chooses to see you and we were hoping to be seen!! Hearing tiger stories from the guides is an amazing experience. Not only it increases the anxiety/anticipation but also makes the rides interesting. Everything that happens in a forest is an indicative of things that are to follow. So you have to be alert and on a constant look out for pug marks, alarm calls and any slightest movements/indicators in the forest. Early in the first ride itself, we were encountered by strong alarm calls from the Monkeys, Sambhar deers and Peacocks. A monkey's alarm call is a certain indicator of presence of a predator. They are best equipped to spot a predator from trees and only call out when they see a one. Hence, we waited and waited for quite a while for the predator to come out in open. However, we were not so lucky. The time not being on our side we had to head out of the park a bit disappointed. However, on our way out of the park, we encountered one of the rarest sightings: A bear mother strolling with two of her sub-adult cubs.
Sachin Abhyankar's Bear Video
The two groups had awesome sightings for the next two rides: tiger and a leopard. We were yet to spot the beast. It reminded me of the famous dialogue
from the 3 Idiots movie "Dost fail ho jaye toh dukh hota hai ... lekin
dost first aa jaye toh zyada dukh hota hai".
However, the best one was saved for the last ride. We were hearing alarm calls but the tiger was no where to be seen. We were seeing some movement in the distant grass thatch hardly visible to bare eyes. Through binocs and our high zoom telephoto lenses, we could see a restless tiger searching something in the bushes. Suddenly, I could see the tiger looking directly at us.
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| "Don't be disappointed if you haven't seen me but I have surely seen you" |
After a while, the tiger decided to come out of the thatch and take a stroll alongside the trail. Next 50 minutes, we witnessed one of the most amazing sightings of this magnificent animal.
However, the forest is not only about the Tigers and there are lot of other things to feel and notice. The peaceful environment, pollution free air, no plastic, trees, grass lands, meadows, lakes, birds, reptiles, herbivores, their habits and the habitat itself.
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| Peacock Chicks | |
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| Crested Serpent Eagle |
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| Plum-headed Parakeet |
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| Alexandrine Parakeet | |
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| Brown Fish Owl |
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| Rufous Treepie (Tiger Dentist) |
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| Black-rumped Flameback Woodpecker |
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| Cormorant |
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| Darter (Snake Bird) Drying its wings |
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| Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher |
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| Red-headed Vulture |
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| Common Hoopoe |
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| Painted Spurfowl |
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| Peacock |
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| Honey bee |
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| Scops Owl |
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| Sandpiper with a frog kill |
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| Crested Serpent Eagle - Juvenle |
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| White-browed Fantail |
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| Common Kestrel |
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| Flock of Yellow-footed Green Piegons |
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| Alert Shikra trying to hunt Lapwing's chicks |
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| Open-billed Stork |
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| Wild Boar |
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| Neel Gai Male (Blue Bull) |
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| Feeding Time (Gray Langur) |
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| Spotted Deer - Male |
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| An alert female Sambhar Deer |
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| Sambhar Deer - Male Juvenile |
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| Chinkara - The Indian Gazelle |
The park is very scenic, with large number of water bodies, hills, fort and banyan trees.
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| Forest Entrance |
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| It is a unique place to sight some of the oldest banyan trees. |
There are 3 huge lakes inside the park which form an amazing landscape.
We could spot numerous crocodiles (Mugger Crocodile or Indian Marsh Crocodile) basking in the sun around these lakes.
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| Crocodiles gathering for a hunt |
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| Checkered Keelback |
There is an old fort amidst the forest: The Ranthambore Fort. This fort makes an amazing backdrop in the beautiful landscapes of this forest.
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| Surwal Lake : Once, Machhli had housed her cubs here |
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| Contented iCampers in a canter after tiger sighting |
We decided to take a tour to this fort in between our rides. We climbed to the top of the fort and on our way heard proud stories of the Rajputana Kings. The 12th century fort is known for the glory and valor of Hammir dev of the Chauhan dynasty.
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| Gate No: 1 (Main entrance to the fort) |
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| Way to the top of the fort |
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| Gate No: 2 (Hamir Gate) |
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| Watch Tower |
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| Gate No: 3 (Queens sat in the balacony atop the door to welcome the victorious King with a shower of flowers) |
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| Tombs and a Mosque |
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| Bastion and a hidden entrance door which protects the fort from elephants and/or men trying to barge in |
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| 32 Pillar Pavilion |
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| Stacked Windows till eternity |
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| Water body atop fort |
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| Chawdi |
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| iCampers in a balcony facing the Rajbagh lake |
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| View of the lakes and Zone 3 of the forest from top of the fort | | |
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This has been undoubtedly one of the best camps and would love to visit again back in summer '16. That's all for now folks. Adios.
