If there is a park that can almost guarantee tiger sightings, it must be Ranthambhor, its landscape dominated by the Vindhyan hill range with its steep escarpments.The ancient sedimentary, limestone and sandstone rocks, perennial lakes, and dry deciduous vegetation are part of its indicative topography. Ranthambhor's great fort, in the background , is a royal presence, but abandoned for centuries, the only majesty here is the tiger's presence.Once a hunting preserves for the maharajas of Jaipur, now a Project  Tiger reserve, the park has also shown that tigers can live and breed in close proximity to human settlements.

But the tiger isn't the only predator at Ranthambhor, though it may be its famous one.

Leopards live in the higher vegetation, while the lakes are infested with marsh crocodiles on whom the tigers sometimes prey.There are also caracals , jungle cats, jackals , hyenas and sloth bears.Among foraging animals are deer (sambhar,chital,nilgai,chinkara), wild boar,and of course also species such as hare, lizard, mongoose and monitor lizard. The park is also endowed with rich avian life and the ever-present langurs.

Best Season: Nov to March. Access: From Jaipur, New Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta, daily trains connect to Sawai Madhopur, the rail-head. Also accessible by road from all prime tourist spots of Rajasthan. Accommodation: A choice of lodges including the Sawai Madhopur Lodge.

History and natural history blend in right proportion in the Ranthambhor National Park, a tiger reserve under the Project Tiger. Here various  species of deer, antelopes and wild boar are prey for   tigers and their co-predators, leopard and jackal.

A number of sloth bear and hyena also live in the 392 sq km habitat of dry deciduous forests.

Ranthambhor is approachable both by rail (132 km) and road (180 km) from Jaipur. It is situated 14 km from Sawai Madhopur railway station on Delhi- Bombay trunk route. You can stay at the The Sawai Madhopur Lodge.