Tigers are territorial animals and they have marked their territories in the national park. So, there are 10 zones out of which 1-5 are the zones in the core area and 6-10 are buffer zones. It is said that sightings are more common in core area because of the water bodies like Padam Talao etc.
The Ranthambore forest is spread across an area of 1,334 sq km. According to the officials, it is home to 70 tigers, Leopard, Caracal, Fishing Cat, Jungle cat, Sloth bear, Striped hyena, Jackal, Nilgai, Indian Gazelle and huge variety of deer including Chital and Sambar.
Best time to visit the Park:
It is usually summers but Rajathan becomes quite hot as it is near the Thar desert so you should plan in the months of March or April.
Zone 3 Vs Zone 10:
I would suggest you to select Zone 3 followed by Zone 2 and Zone 4 if you have enough time for doing more than one safari. Zone 3 is the most scenic of all the zones as there are a number of water bodies making it ideal for animal spotting.
You can read the detailed experience of Zone 3 in my previous blog: “Latest Ranthambore blog- planning and itinerary “.
We were quite elated after our wonderful experience in Zone 3 safari so we thought to check our luck for another safari. All the safaris were either booked or were very expensive by the time we decided. There is an option of half day and full day safari booking which can cost you as high as 19,000 per gypsy but I will not suggest you to take that since morning and evening safaris of 3 hours are equally good as per my experience.
We finally thought of checking with a local person who was also front office executive of our hotel, “ Ananta Bagh Elite”. Mr. Pawan Singh was quite friendly and he suggested to book for Zone 10 because of the increased number of sightings in zone 6 and Zone 10. We took his advice of Zone 10 and booked Canter this time since Gyspy was expensive and we wanted to have a different experience.
My second sighting in Zone 10:
Since there are a number of people who can be accommodated on a canter so they are picked on the way to the safari which is annoying as you waste a lot of time waiting and picking people. That is a disadvantage of booking a canter but it is bigger in size as compared to gypsy and you feel as you are observing everything from the top. Well, It took us almost 40 minutes to reach the gate of forest as Zone 10 falls in buffer zone and you will feel that the canter has crossed the whole city. Since the forest is dry deciduous and the path is narrow so beware of the sharp branches which can hit you as you enter the forest which didn’t happen in Zone 3 with us.
As soon as we entered, We saw a group of canter waiting as one of the driver saw a tiger crossing the path. Soon more canters and gypsy joined and shared the excitement.
We waited there for 15 minutes but thinking it was a false alarm we started along the path. Everyone was excited to the core and the driver was talking to his fellow drivers to check about the last spotting.
Meanwhile, one of our friend started showing previous days photographs to other travellers and narrated the thrilling experience. We were delighted, after all!! It was a feeling of accomplishment😊
Soon after our driver stopped at a particular spot of usual sightings. We began focussing our camera when we suddenly heard someone shouting in excitement. As we rushed to the spot we saw a huge tiger walking on our right side almost 25 feet away.
Though it was our second one but we jumped and secured our cameras as fast as we could. The driver asked us to come forward to take a better view of the giant. Our vehicle was moving along with tiger as he kept walking and crossed the path to the other side.
By this time a good number of vehicles were gathered around and we could not take a close view. The drivers knew that the tiger will go to a water area and we followed the place where he arrived in style in a few minutes.
There is no feeling like seeing such an incredible creature in the wild, tigers are such beautiful animals. We finally managed to take a few shots though we were quite far away.
Was our driver right in saying that we finally broke that spell? We saw the big cat again in its natural surroundings. How fascinating it is! I can’t explain this feeling to you in words.
You can read the detailed experience of Zone 3 in my previous blog: “Latest Ranthambore blog- planning and itinerary “.
If you are some one like me who has not seen tiger in any previous safari then you should come and experience it yourself. Trust me this memory will stay with you forever. Hope to hear about your experience super soon!
