Trip Report April 2023

On Monday 17th April at 19:35 my wife and I departed London Heathrow on a British Airways Boeing 787 for an overnight flight to New Delhi, India, for a photography safari to Ranthambhore National Park, which is in the Sawai Madhopur district of southeast Rajasthan.

Tuesday 18th.
We landed at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport at 08:30 after an 8.5‑hour flight. After clearing customs and converting our money to rupees, we travelled to Claridges Hotel in the city centre, where we had breakfast and used the restroom facilities to freshen‑up. From the hotel it was a short drive to the Hazrat Nizamuddin rail station to catch our 12:45 train departure to Sawai Madhopur.

Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, New Delhi.

Express train to Sawai Madhopur awaits.

After nearly a five‑hour journey our Kota‑Hazrat Nizamuddin Jan Shatabdi Express arrived at Sawai Madhopur. From the station it was only a short taxi ride to our hotel, the Ranthambhore Kothi, which is located close to the park entrance.

We previously visited the hotel in early 2020 when on safari to Ranthambhore. The main reason we chose the hotel over others, apart from the clean, comfortable rooms, very friendly and helpful staff, was the food. The hotel caters for local visitors, but also European visitors like myself, whose diets don't always agree with the local delicacies. On both visits I never experienced an upset stomach.

Ranthambhore National Park is one of the biggest and renowned national parks in Northern India. The once former hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur, today the park is a major wildlife tourist attraction that has drawn the attention of many wildlife lovers and photographers. Over the next eight days and fifteen jungle safaris, we hired our own Suzuki Gypsy vehicle (the only permitted ones allowed in the park) and naturalist/tracker. The benefit of conducting a safari on your own is that we are not constrained by the wishes of others ‑  for example: wanting to spend more time at a particular wildlife sighting (i.e. be it a tiger or rufous treepie). The Suzuki Gypsy vehicles which are “compact” and have good all‑around visibility for photography, sometimes lack leg room for taller people, so having our own jeep gave me plenty of room to sit comfortably and store my camera equipment.

Suzuki Gypsy vehicles waiting to enter the park.

Ranthambhore National Park, like other parks in India is open between October to June. The parks close during the monsoon season of July to September, as dry riverbeds become torrents of flowing water, with jungle tracks becoming flooded and impassable. The monsoon break also provides an opportunity for the forest to rejuvenate itself. (Note: Ranthambhore Zones 1‑5 close, but Zones 6‑10 remain open during the monsoon season).
We decided to visit in April as its hot (but not as oppressive as May/June) and wildlife tends to congregate near the waterholes. The vegetation is not lush and green as in the winter months, so spotting wildlife is easier.

The itinerary for the next eight days was as follows:
Up early (05:15) for our morning game drive, as the park opens at 06:00. A cup of coffee and some biscuits in the hotel lounge helped wipe away the tiredness as we waited for our naturalist/tracker and his jeep driver to arrive. From the hotel it was only a ten‑minute drive to the park entrance, where we had to show our passports. The passport details must match those of the original booking, otherwise access will be denied. All jeeps must exit the zone by 09:30, or the naturalist and driver could be fined or given a limited ban. We then return to the hotel for a hearty breakfast and have free time till lunch, which was served at 13:30. After lunch we had more free time till the afternoon safari. The park opened for the afternoon safari at 15:00 and closed at 18:30. Returning to the hotel, we had time for a shower and change of clothes before the evening meal. After the evening meal we retired for the evening after a long exhausting but enjoyable day.

Wednesday 19th. Morning safari, Zone 4.
Entry and exit gate is the Singh Dwar. A quiet safari with no tigers seen. Two jackals crossed the road ahead, but disappeared before I could take any photos.

Wednesday 19th. Afternoon safari, Zone 2.
Entry and exit gate is the Singh Dwar. My first photo opportunity of a sloth bear. Normally they are very shy and elusive, with the bear disappearing as soon as it appears, but this was a large confident male walking along a dry riverbed, which allowed ample time to take photos. First tiger sighting was of tigress T‑105 ‘Noorie’. The tigress approached from Zone 3 following the river. She passed our jeep and lay down on the road with her back towards us, but she did turn occasionally to present some nice facial photos. Some spotted deer (chital) attracted her attention and she started stalking them, but soon lost interest and fell asleep on the riverbank.

Male sloth bear walking along a dry riverbed in zone 2.

Thursday 20th. Morning safari, Zone 3.
Entry and exit is through the Jogi Mahal Gate. A favourite zone of many tourists due to the good tiger sightings and stunning scenery. Entering the zone, you pass the Padam Lake with the historic Ranthambhore Fort overlooking the area creating a scenic backdrop. Further on, standing on the shore of the Raj Bagh Talao Lake is the abandoned ruins of the Raj Bagh, once a hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Jaipur. The derelict building is a favourite place for tigers and leopards to avoid the summer heat and relax in the shade.

Ranthambhore Fort viewed from the Jogi Mahal Gate.

This morning we had a sighting of tigress T‑124 ‘Riddhi’ who suddenly appeared from the jungle and crossed the road ahead of us. Our naturalist anticipated where she would re‑appear, as tigers patrol their territory using the same jungle tracks. We waited where a known trail crossed the road, but the tiger did not appear. Eventually we moved‑on and approached a man‑made waterhole where we found ‘Riddhi’ happily relaxing, cooling‑off in the water. I first saw ‘Riddhi’ along with her sister ‘Siddhi’ during my first visit to Ranthambhore in March 2019 when they were approximately three months old. They were with their mother T‑84 ‘Arrowhead’ and were at an age where the forest department had not yet given them names.
Later in the safari we had a sighting of the dominant male, T‑120 ‘Challenger’. He went into the ruins of the Raj Bagh hunting lodge, but soon re‑appeared and cooled‑off in the lake. Eventually he crossed the relatively shallow lake and walked past our jeep. An excellent end to the morning safari.

Thursday 20th. Afternoon safari, Zone 5.
Entry and exit gate is the Singh Dwar. Sloth bears were becoming like waiting for a bus. Never see any and then you end up having many sightings. Again, it was a large male. This bear was climbing a tree trying to get a beehive. All the jeeps in the vicinity beat a hasty retreat to avoid the swarm of bees that suddenly engulfed the bear. The bear eventually climbed down the tree and walked along the riverbank, where she disturbed an adult tigress, T-41 ‘Laila’ lying in the undergrowth. (fortunately, there was no conflict between the bear and the tiger). For the next twenty minutes ‘Laila‘ treated us to some wonderful photo opportunities.

Tigress, T-41, Laila. Zone 5.

Friday 21st. Morning safari, Zone 4.
We checked all the waterholes. We did see fresh pugmarks, but there were no alarm calls. The deer which graze on the hills during the evening for safety had moved back down to the lower areas to drink and graze and were looking relaxed. No tigers were seen.

Friday 21st. Afternoon safari, Zone 1.
Entry and exit gate is the Singh Dwar. Very quiet with no alarm calls.

Saturday 22nd. Morning safari, Zone 5.
Approximately five minutes after entering the park we heard alarm calls. Nothing was seen and we assumed it was a leopard as they are known to favour the area. No tigers were seen.

Saturday 22nd. Afternoon safari, Zone 5.
We were late entering the park, as Vijay Kumawat our naturalist had fallen off his scooter and injured himself, so we had to wait for his replacement. The replacement naturalist had been informed from a morning safari, that a tiger had been sighted in the vicinity of where Zone 5 borders Zone 4. We waited in the area, along with several other jeeps, but the tiger did not appear.

Sunday 23rd. Morning safari, Zone 1.
Where Zone 1 borders with Zone 6 we heard sambar deer and monkey alarm calls. A sambar deer warning call is regarded as a 99% guarantee of a tiger. The tiger was assumed to be hidden from view in a dry riverbed. We waited for over an hour but the tiger did not appear.

Sunday 23rd. Afternoon safari, Zone 3.
A wild boar killed by the tigress T‑124 ‘Riddhi’ was known to be lying under a tree in a dry river gorge. A lot of jeeps had congregated around the area hoping she would return to feed on the boar, but she did not appear. We searched the area around the Raj Bagh Talao Lake and were informed that ‘Riddhi’ had been seen earlier entering the long grass that borders the lake. Nearing the exit time and with no sign of the tiger we decided to leave the area. Driving around the lake towards the exit on our own, we suddenly came across ‘Riddhi’ lying by the side of the track ‑ unbelievable. It was nice to watch and photograph the tiger lying peacefully in the fading light of the day, without the chaos and pandemonium that can normally happen when several jeeps witness a sighting. By the time other jeeps arrived, ‘Riddhi’ had left. I considered the sighting one of those moments that will stick in my memory for a lifetime.

Monday 24th. Morning safari, Zone 4.
Apart from an alarm call from a spotted deer, it was a quiet safari with no tiger seen.

Monday 24th. Afternoon safari, Zone 5.
Another quiet safari with no tiger seen.

Tuesday 25th. Morning safari, Zone 3.
Tigress T‑124 ‘Riddhi‘ was sighted sleeping in the long grass bordering the Raj Bagh Talao Lake. We left the sighting to search for the male tiger T‑120 ‘Challenger’. We did not find him, but did find three young dusky eagle‑owls perched in a tree. After photographing the owls, we went back to where ‘Riddhi’ was sighted. Some spotted deer had entered the area and where grazing on the lush grass by the lake and ‘Riddhi’ was awake and aware of them. The deer were very cautious and kept away from the long grass where ‘Riddhi’ was hiding. Eventually they sensed her and scattered.

Jeeps full of expectant wildlife observers waiting for tigress T‑124 ‘Riddhi’ to appear.

Tuesday 25th. Afternoon safari, Zone 2.
We checked all the waterholes but heard no alarm calls or saw any signs of a tiger. We were having a comfort break at a forest checkpoint, when a forest officias jeep pulled‑up. The driver informed us that he had sighted a tiger by the river a few miles back. We immediately rushed to the area along the narrow bumpy track (my backside was off the seat, more than on it).When we saw spotted deer grazing on the riverbank, we realised we must have passed the location, so we doubled back. Eventually we sighted the tigress T‑84 ‘Arrowhead’ lying on the opposite riverbank. ‘Arrowhead’, the mother of ‘Riddhi’ and ‘Siddhi’ had been ousted from her territory in Zone 3 by her daughter ‘Riddhi’, so she now resided in Zone 2. She remained relaxed as more jeeps arrived at the sighting. Eventually she rolled over and fell asleep and it was time for us to leave.

Tigress T‑84, Arrowhead, lying peacefully on the riverbank in zone 2.

Wednesday 26th. Morning safari, Zone 4.
Final safari. Lots of pugmarks were seen, but the jungle was quiet. No alarm calls were heard and we exited the zone with no tigers seen. After lunch it was time to bid our farewells to our naturalist and hotel staff and make the 160km (approx. 3 hours) journey by private taxi to Jaipur to catch an internal flight back to New Delhi, from where we boarded our B.A. flight back to the U.K.
Photographs from my trip can be viewed at: 2023 ‑ Ranthambhore, India.