Ranthambore
Overview
Ranthambore Tiger Reserve is supposed to be the best place in India to see wild Bengal tigers. However, we didn’t spot any during the 1-hour safari inside the National Park. Still, the landscape is really nice, you get to see langur monkeys, antilopes, spotted deers, wiuld boars, birds… and if you’re lucky, you’ll even see a tiger.
The downside of visiting Ranthambore is that it is totally impossible to book the safari online, so it means you will have to wake up really early and queue for a morning safari. Besides, Sawai Madhapur has nothing to see or do at all, and while the safari, you will spend more time outside than inside the park.
To sum up, Ranthambore is a totally skippable place in India. Just go there if you have never been to a wildlife safari before, but don’t expect to see tigers or anything really special. If you have seen wild animals before, you’ll feel is quite a waste of time and money, not worth the trip for just an hour of OK time.
In my opinion, for real good wildlife safaris, you should go to Africa, nothing compares to that.
The downside of visiting Ranthambore is that it is totally impossible to book the safari online, so it means you will have to wake up really early and queue for a morning safari. Besides, Sawai Madhapur has nothing to see or do at all, and while the safari, you will spend more time outside than inside the park.
To sum up, Ranthambore is a totally skippable place in India. Just go there if you have never been to a wildlife safari before, but don’t expect to see tigers or anything really special. If you have seen wild animals before, you’ll feel is quite a waste of time and money, not worth the trip for just an hour of OK time.
In my opinion, for real good wildlife safaris, you should go to Africa, nothing compares to that.
Sightseeing
Sawai Madhapur has no sights at all. Just a market behind the train station and a couple of dusty roads. The reason to come here is for the tigers, which you may see during a safari.
There’s an official website where you are supposed to be able to book the safari you like. There are two types of safaris (morning and evening) and two types of cars (canter and gypsi).
In practice, trying to use the website is a waste of time. It is impossible for a foreigner to get to book anything. First you have to register on the website after finding out how to choose a password (it must have caps, small letters, numbers and signs). Once registered you have to choose the payment option that says credit/debit card. But no matter how many cards you try, it will never work. If you happen to have an Indian card, then you can try the last of payment options. Otherwise, don’t even try to access that website unless you just want to get nervous.
The only option you have to book a safari is on the spot. This means going to the Park headquarters (ask the staff in your guesthouse to give you a ride). If you want to go on the morning safari (reccomendable when it’s really hot) you have to be there before 5 in the morning. After filling up a paper with all your details, you have to wait for the windows to open. Give them the paper and you will be assigned a driver and a zone after paying the 1800 rupees per person including safari, driver and vehicle.
Note that within the tiger reserve there are 10 different zones. Don’t ever take any zone from 5 to 10. The best one is zone number 3 but it is always booked. Just tell them you want any zone from 1 to 5. We got number 2. About vehicles, gypsies (6-seat jeeps) are always booked in advance, so your only bet is the canter (20-seat roofless bus).
Once you get everything, you will be picked up around 7 in the morning from your hotel. Even if you will be sitting in the car for some 3 hours, you only spend one hour of proper safari. The rest of time is spent collecting other tourists and getting to the park, so not really enjoyable.
Still, after all the hassle, we enjoyed driving inside the park, as the scenery is beautiful. We didn’t see any tigers but other animals. But had we known it was like this, we would have skipped the visit to Ranthambore. Too much hassle for too little time of fun.
Our recommendation: there are plenty of better safaris in the world. Don’t waste your time and money in Ranthambore. If Indian authorities ever change the booking system and the amount of time spent inside the park, then give it a try, otherwise don’t go there.
Accomodation
We stayed at Green Valley Hotel for 500 rupees per night after bargaining. It is located in Ranthambore road, quite far from the railway station and from everything. Staff didn’t speak much English but they were really helpful and nice. There’s no wifi but a computer you can use. Rooms are big and clean and they have a ventilator which works really well when outside is 40 plus degrees.
Reccomendable. Otherwise, there are plenty of guesthouses in Ranthambore Road.
Reccomendable. Otherwise, there are plenty of guesthouses in Ranthambore Road.
Food & Drink
Very few options in Sawai Madhapur. There are a lot of guesthouses with restaurant, but when we visited, most of them were closed. Stock up on goods before you get there, or just buy something in the shops scattered around town.
In the market area there are a few places to eat, but they don’t look very safe, so better stay away.
At least one beer shop in Ranthambore Road, but Kingfisher at 130, so very expensive. No good lassi found.
In the market area there are a few places to eat, but they don’t look very safe, so better stay away.
At least one beer shop in Ranthambore Road, but Kingfisher at 130, so very expensive. No good lassi found.
Transportation
-From Jaipur: We booked the ticket at Jaipur Railway Station and we got a waiting list ticket. Luckily the next day our ticket was confirmed. If you don’t want to risk, go the day before your train departs at 10 in the morning to the train station and book a Tatkal (last minute) ticket. They are a bit more expensive but you will have ticket al most for sure.
-To Ajmer (Pushkar): If you’re heading to Pushkar, you have to go to Ajmer Railway Station and from there take a 30-minutes bus to Pushkar. We booked our ticket at Sawai Madhapur station. The ticket costs 535 rupees in AC sleeper, it departed at 9:40 and arrived in Ajmer at 14:20, so almost 5 hours of travel time.
-To Ajmer (Pushkar): If you’re heading to Pushkar, you have to go to Ajmer Railway Station and from there take a 30-minutes bus to Pushkar. We booked our ticket at Sawai Madhapur station. The ticket costs 535 rupees in AC sleeper, it departed at 9:40 and arrived in Ajmer at 14:20, so almost 5 hours of travel time.
Safety
Very safe and being a small town quite calm. Traffic is not very heavy and there are just a few cows. The biggest annoyance is money. This means it is almost impossible to find a working ATM in town. We had to try 12 different ATMs all over the town to be able to withdraw money. So better take enough cash for all the time in Ranthambore.
|
|
|