India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [450]
Note, too, that park authorities are planning to introduce a small safari park that should provide impatient visitors who are hell-bent on spotting tiger with an almost zoolike experience. If you’re desperate, ask your host about this development.
Not Just a Pretty Face: Fascinating Tiger Tidbits
Unlike most cats, tigers have round pupils and are adept swimmers. Cubs are, however, born blind; it takes 1 to 2 weeks before they can see. When a tiger sticks its tongue out, curls its lips, and closes its eyes slightly (as if snarling), it’s actually checking for scents in the air. This behavior is called the “Flehmen Response,” wherein the tiger analyzes smells using sensory receptors in the roof of its mouth. Tigers are immensely powerful—strong enough to kill and drag an animal heavier than itself—and can eat over 30 kilograms (66 lb.) of meat in a single night. Females make better hunters, while the males are notoriously lazy—even when it comes to sex. When a female is in heat and makes a mating call, the male will often hide until the female seeks him out and foists herself upon him. Much like the human fingerprint, every tiger’s pug markings (footprints) are totally unique. By the time hunting was banned in the 1970s, only 2,000 tigers were left out of an estimated population of 50,000 in the 19th century. Today some 6,000 survive throughout the world, of which between 2,000 and 3,000 are found in India.
Essentials
VISITOR INFORMATION Ranthambhore National Park is closed July through September due to the monsoon. Unlike at Bharatpur, traffic and numbers are closely regulated. For general information, call the Sawai Madhopur Tourist Centre (Sawai Madhopur Railway Station; 07462/22-0808; Mon–Sat 10am–1pm and 2–5pm).
GETTING THERE The nearest airport is Jaipur’s, which lies 180km (112 miles) away; it is just under a 4-hour drive. Alternatively, the sprawling village of Sawai Madhopur (10km/6 1⁄4 miles from the park gates) is well connected by rail to Jaipur (just over 2 hr.) and to Jodhpur (8 hr.), and is on the main line between Delhi (51⁄2 hr.) and Mumbai. All accommodations listed will arrange pickups from the station.
GAME-DRIVE FORMALITIES Only official vehicles with sanctioned drivers and guides are permitted to take visitors into the park. There are two types of vehicle: jeeps and Canter buses. The latter—ferrying up to 25 passengers—should be avoided, even though they’re slightly cheaper. To ensure your place in a game-drive jeep, it’s best to arrange well in advance through your hotel. Places on the 40 vehicles that are allowed into the park for each drive session are often booked up to 2 months in advance. For bookings in a jeep, call the Project Tiger office ( 07462/22-0223; Mon–Sat 5–7am and noon–2pm for advance booking). If you have no alternative, Canters buses can be booked a day in advance at the tourist reception center at RTDC’s Hotel Vinayak. If you book with any of the accommodations recommended below, they will arrange all this for you (they also enjoy unofficial priority access to the park, and seem to be able to arrange entrance at short notice, although you shouldn’t count on it). Please note, however, that you must let your host know when and how often you would like to go on a game drive as soon as possible—these officially need to be booked 60 days in advance. The price varies depending on where you stay; the official rate charged by the park is Rs 800 for a seat on a jeep (which includes park entry, but excludes a Rs 200 video fee), but you can also book through your lodge, essentially sparing you the bother of exchanging cash at the park entrance. For a wonderful introduction to