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Published: October 31st 2009
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Langur monkeys at Ranthambhore Fort The meticulous planning back home in England worked, and I met my parents on the platform at Sawai Madhopur station on the afternoon of the 19th October. After four months on the road, it was great to see them, and I was relieved that they'd managed to negotiate New Delhi train station, Agra and a taxi ride to meet me at a small stop somewhere in eastern Rajasthan! We were here to visit Ranthambhore National Park - one of the best known tiger reserves in India.
Following the obligatory catch-up drink, Mum's anecdotes of trying to get a 'proper' cup of tea in Agra (a quest for separate, cold milk that was to continue throughout our time together) and an exchange of supplies (Dad is my unofficial support team, providing me with a new 18-70mm lens, lens cleaning kit, iPod charger and Nepal Lonely Planet) we headed out for a stroll from our hotel, a former hunting lodge in the park, and spent a happy few hours spotting peacocks, deer and all sorts of birds and butterflies. I'm not a great fan of birds, but my dad is, as well as being a keen photographer (with a new 400mm lens
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Mine's bigger than yours! bought especially for the trip), so he was in his element with the kingfishers, bee-eaters and other flying creatures which abound at Ranthambhore. Mum contented herself trying (not all that successfully, as evidenced below) to take photos of the crickets that inhabited every corner of our hotel.
Our first morning was spent visiting Ranthambhore Fort, a formidable ruin set spectacularly atop an escarpment within the park itself. The fort (one of the largest in Rajasthan) is largely abandoned, aside from a temple inside dedicated to the elephant god Ganesh, which ensures that a steady trickle of pilgrims make the trek up into the fort. As well as pilgrims, the fort is home to bands of langur monkeys, who line the approach to the temple waiting for food from the passing crowds. Despite not being on a formal safari, our drive to and from the temple gave us a chance to see some of the park's less famous residents, including kingfishers, vultures, crocodiles and the odd deer.
That afternoon, the first of our two safaris into the park began. Driving at breakneck speed (apparently necessary to cover the required distances, though at times flipping dangerous!) we zoomed around in
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A deer plays hide and seek search of a tiger. We spotted antelope and deer, many adorned with impressive antlers but well hidden amongst the undergrowth, as well as the odd monkey and mongoose. Then, after following a trail unsuccessfully along a riverbed and nearing the end of the safari, we came across a tiger lying in some long grass. Annoyingly, several jeeps had made the discovery before us, and unlike in Africa where silence rules once a spot has been made, anything goes in India... clapping, whistling, shouting and shaking bushes to try and make the slumbering cat look in our direction. After clambering onto the roof of another jeep for a better vantage point (again, don't try that in Africa!), the tiger finally decided to look up for a few fleeting seconds, long enough for our guide to identify it as a fairly young female, before she rolled over and resumed her sleeping.
Our second drive didn't yield any tigers, despite following a mother and two young cubs for a good while and spotting their tracks in the dirt... tigers that we knew had been spotted the previous day by a Kiwi couple sharing our jeep. So we left Ranthambhore satisfied that we
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A tiger in the long grass had at least seen a tiger, and that they did indeed still exist in the wild despite years of uncontrolled poaching. Incidentally, on the day we left Ranthambhore, the Times of India carried a story about the relocation of a small number of tigers from Ranthamnhore to nearby Sariska National Park, where the entire population of tigers had been wiped out by poachers. Hope, then, for the future of this magnificent cat.
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Muniraj
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Lovely Pics!
Hi Smith, This is simply awesome dear! I really enjoyed this read and during read I felt as if I was on your place, I mean so exciting, so beautifully crafted this, I become fan of you!! Thanks for the lovely reading time! Have a nice time always! Muniraj http://www.stayandroam.com