Tiger Tiger Burning Bright!

Planning for a forest trip in India has many nuances. Apart from the attraction of coming as close to nature as possible the thrill of watching the bigs cats is paramount.

I had been on the lookout for a vacation for a very long time. Being absolutely in love with Rajasthan the first natural choice was Ranthambhore. Having completed a 6 day trip to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer in the past, a forest vacation was sure to be a refreshing change. I had the benefit of a cousin's recent visit and made full utilisation of the same. I took cues on the place to stay, what to see, how to go about the forest safari, in other words all the dos and don'ts.

The first step was to book the journey and the FIR clearly showed the benefits. There are only 4 allotted berths on the August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Delhi to Sawai Madhopur, the railway station closest to Ranthambhore. I booked it immediately the moment the bookings opened and got confirmed tickets.

The next step was to pick from the numerous resorts - from modest to über luxury, Ranthambhore offers it all. As in all tourist places, the best of the lot are the ones owned by the respective state governments - unbeatable locations, spacious rooms, affordable prices - can it get any better? There are 2 hotels owned by Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation in Ranthambhore – one located among the forest and hilly landscape and the other on the main road towards the forest reserve. Both offer forest like ambience and have almost the same amenities and facilities with a modest difference in tariff for the location. We chose the one on the main road for our stay. Booking for the RTDC hotels need to be made online on its website. The website was surprisingly well equipped with all information, was user friendly and functioned efficiently when we made our booking.

The last step to complete the booking process is to opt for/book a safari in advance to obliviate the chances of not being able to get hold of your choice of vehicle. Basically safaris can be undertaken in either a 6 seater open gypsy or a 20 seater open canter. The gypsy has certain advantages such as it is easy to move around in, reach a place more quickly and is less noisy. Further, if you are in a personal group it also offers privacy. The canter on the other hand, has seats which are comparatively higher, and thus has an edge over the distance one’s eyes can reach/cover when looking out/trying to spot the big cats from a distance. Bookings for safaris open 90 days in advance and can be done online through http://www.rajasthanwildlife.in/.

If you miss out on the advance booking, as I did, once you are in Ranthambhore, you can book it directly by standing in queue at the forest department’s counter before the safari commences or get it done through your hotel. However, the chances of getting a gypsy are almost negated. Further, if it is peak season and there is a huge rush, there could be a rare chance that you may not get any vehicle at all. 

All said and done, you need a bit of luck and loads of blessings from the Almighty to make a trip…just like I found out.

Our train’s scheduled departure was at 4.55 pm from Nizammudin station in New Delhi on a Saturday. Considering it to be a Saturday, we left our Gurgaon home at about 3.15 pm, the last minute packing delaying our scheduled departure by 45 minutes. Oblivious to the worsening traffic scenario in Delhi, I was quite shocked at the reckless speed at which my cabbie was driving. It was not long before I found out to my horror that even one and half hours may not be sufficient time as it took us 40 minutes to cover the last stretch of 5 kilometers from the AIIMS flyover. Every second made us wince at various possible consequences and also despair at not having started earlier. The air was palpable when we reached the entrance of the station barely 5 minutes before the departure time. With my heart in my mouth, we made a dash inside and a quintessential porter instantly helping with the luggage. The sudden rush coupled with the usual chaos in an Indian railway station left us breathless and our hearts pounding as we got on to the platform….and then the train departed…..

(to be continued)