Ranthambore National Park Rajasthan India

Ranthambhore National Park : Ranthambore is a national park and tiger reserve in Rajasthan state of western India. It is located in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 130 km from Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, 11 km away.

Situated between the Vindhya and Aravali range of hills, Ranthambhore National Park is one of Rajasthan's last remaining sizeable area of forest and savannah. The terrain changes dramatically from the flat topped Vindhya hills to the sharp and conical Aravali hills. Elevations in the park range from 200 meters to 500 meters above sea level. The landscape is rugged with hills, rocky escarpments and valleys containing lakes and rivers. Ranthambhore National Park forests are of the tropical dry deciduous type and were once part of the jungles covering central India.

The most prominent tree in Ranthambore's forests is the dhok, an extremely hardy tree, capable of withstanding prolonged droughts. Ranthambhore National Park has a rich diversity of plants and animals with over 200 species of birds, 30 species of mammals including the tiger and 12 species of reptile. Ranthambore holds several permanent lakes complete with lurking crocodiles. The three biggest lakes are Padam talab, Malik talab and Rajbagh. Commonly observed wildlife includes peacocks, langurs, wild boars, spotted deer (chital), sambar deer, blue bull (nilgai), Indian gazelle (chinkara), black buck and crocodiles.

KEY SPECIES

MAMMALS Tiger (above), Leopard, jungle Cat, Striped Hyena, jackal, Sloth Bear, Patel, Sambar (below,), Spotted Deer (Chital), Nilgai (Blue Bull), Chowsingha (Four-horned Antelope), Chinkara (Indian Gazelle), Common Langur, Wild Boar, Indian Pangolin, Small Indian Mongoose

WOODLAND/SCRUB Indian Peafowl, Grey Francolin, Painted Spurfowl, Lesser Flanieback, Rufous Treepic, Asian Paradise-flycatcher. White-bellied Minivet, Marshall's Iora, Indian Pitta, Large Grey Babbler, Common Woodshrike, White-bellied Drongo, Barred Buttonquail, Eurasian Thick-knee

WATERSIDE Painted Stork, Asian Openbill, Darter, Black-headed Ibis, Stork-billed Kingfisher, River Tern, Ruddy Shelduck, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, White-browed Wagtail, Great Thick-knee

Ranthambore national Park is open for visitors from Oct'07 and will remain open till 30th June'08. Holiday Destinations India