Ranthambhore Travel Guide

Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve :- Do’s and Don’ts for tourists

Do’s:

Enter the Tiger Reserve with a valid ticket.
Take official guide with you inside the Tiger Reserve.
Drive slowly; maximum speed limit is 20 km/hr.
Always carry drinking water.
Maintain silence and discipline during excursions.
Allow the animals to have the right of the way
Wear colors which match with nature
Take care of your children.
Maintain safe distance from animals.
Follow the instruction given by park officials.
Park vehicles only in parking areas and road layoffs.
Report incidences of breaking of rules, forest fires and any damage to habitat or wildlife, if any, to the park officials.

Don’ts:

Don’t get down, unless told by the guide.
Don’t carry arms, explosives or intoxicants inside the Tiger Reserve.
Don’t blow horn.
Don’t litter with cans, bottles, plastic, bags etc.
Don’t try to feed the animals or birds.
Don’t smoke or lit fire
Don’t tease or chase the animals.
Don’t leave plastic/ Poly bags.
Don’t swim or fish.
Don’t play music or make noise
Don’t use spot light or flash etc.
Don’t smoke, light a fire or cook.
Don’t take pets inside the park.
Don’t do over speed, overtake or honk inside the park.
Don’t encourage your driver to stay parked at one place. The entire park is exotic and tigers are found all over.

By Order

Field Director
Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve

Terms & Conditions for Park Visitors

Right of Admission is reserved with The Government of Rajasthan.
Tiger Reserve may be closed without any prior notice to visitor.
No refund / cancellation is permissible after confirmed booking.
Bookings are non-transferable.
Reserved seats cannot be resold / exchanged with any other visitor.
Identity Proof is must before entry into the Tiger Reserve.
Cost of Ticket and other charge may change after booking and visitor will be liable to pay the difference at the time of entry into the Tiger Reserve in case of any revision in rates.
The visitor is required to positively report for boarding Gypsy/Canter 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of any designated boarding point.
There are no charges for Still Camera.
Under unavoidable circumstances, the entry/ excursions, or the use of any route or place by any person or by all persons can be prohibited.
No person shall destroy, damage or deface any writing or signs etc. on any tree, bridge, rock, fence, seat, notice board, trash box or any other article or place, in any tiger reserve or sanctuary;
No person shall be allowed to use spot lights inside Tiger Reserve/ Sanctuaries by anyone unless permitted in advance by the concerned Director/ Dy. Director/ DFO. Detailed guidelines for filming, trekking, camping and use of watch tower/ hides etc. will be issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden.
The Field Director/Conservator of Forests can prohibit the use of mobile phones by visitors inside any national park /sanctuary.
A minimum seat required for any canter dispatch in the park is 12 seats, in case the seats booked are less than minimum required quantity, Department reserves the right to cancel the booking.
In case the passengers are less than the capacity of the vehicle than the difference of vehicle entry free applicable uniformly per person will be charged extra.

All Information you fill during making the online reservation must be valid.
Make sure that you fill correct name and fathers name as mentioned on your ID Proof.
The ID Proof details like number/type etc mention during booking should be complete & correct and same as in your original ID Proof, since it is mandatory to be reproduced the same ID Proof at counter for collection of boarding pass.
Booking made by incomplete/incorrect detail of ID-Proof will be treated as invalid.
In case if the details filled while making online booking and in original ID don't match, department will not issue any boarding pass for such reservation, No refund will be made against such booking.

What to wear :-

Always wear sober clothes that blend with the forest –khaki, brown, and olive green are ideal colors to wear in a tiger reserve.

About Safari

Time

The premium zones (1 to 5) of the National Park are open for visitors from the first October to the 30th June every year. the rest of zones (6 to 10) are also opened in rainy season. But, it is good to check before making the trip in monsoon time because some time it might be closed due to heavy rain or other season too.There are three types of safaris in a day from October to June. One is regular safari that starts in the morning and the other starts in the afternoon. Second safari is half day safari that starts in the morning and the other start in the afternoon. The Third is full day safari that starts in the morning. Generally speaking, the morning safari starts half an hour after sunrise and the evening safari finishes half an hour before sunset. As a result the timings change slightly every two months or so.

Mode

There are two modes of transport for safaris in Ranthambhore – the 4 wheels drive jeeps called “Gypsy” which seat up to six visitors and 20 seats safari buses called “canter”. All these vehicles are attached to the Forest Department and owned and run by local people. Vehicles that are not attached to forest department are not permitted in to the park. Gypsys and canters are booked in advance and visitors are strongly advised to book their safaris particularly for Gypsy safari well in advance.

To book the safaris it needs the full names of all guests who would be going for the safari along with an identification proof. The only identification proof that is accepted for foreigners is the passport. For Indian nationals the identification proofs that are accepted is any one of the following – Voter ID/Passport/ Driving license / Pan card / school ID/ Government ID/ Employee ID. A copy of the identity proof is required to be submitted before every safari, so please carry multiple photocopies of the identification proof.

Rides

There are three types of Rides in a day. One is regular safari that starts in the morning and the other start in the afternoon. The second is half day safari that starts in the morning and the other starts in the afternoon. Third is the full day safari that starts in the morning. Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve area has been divided in to several zones. Regular safari is allowed only one zone while the half day and full day safari have no zone limit. That means the half day and full day safari can go any zone from one to 10. Since there is a good chance of not sighting a tiger in one outing, people usually take more than two rides to enjoy tiger’s sight and natural beauty. There is a lot of quality resort on the way from Sawai Madhopur to the National Park.

Zone

The tourist’s area of the park is divided into 10 zones. the zones from 1 to 5 are considered premium. . Beside these, there are five other zones numbered 6, 7, 9 and 10 in the adjoining Sawai Madhopur and Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary.

Regular safari is allowed only one zone while the half day and full day safari have no zone limit. That means the half day and full day safari can go any zone from one to 10.

Time Table

Visiting Time
Period	Morning safari	Evening safari
October	06.30 AM To 10.00 AM	02.30 PM To 06.00 PM
1 November To 31 January	07.00 AM To 10.30 AM	02.00 PM To 05.30 PM
1 February To 31 March	06.30 AM To 10.00 AM	02.30 PM To 06.00 PM
1 April To 15 May	06.00 AM To 09.30 AM	03.00 PM To 06.30 PM
16 May To 30 June	06.00 AM To 09.30 AM	03.30 PM To 07.00 PM
Note: Reserve will remain close from 1^st July to 30^th September. Visitors have to reach 15 minute before departure time.

The Ranthambhore Fort is open from dawn to dusk. So, its timings also very according the season, with the exit time set as per the time of the sunset during that time of the year.

Note: It is highly recommended to check all the timings at the office before your first entry.

On line booking: www.rajasthanwildlife.in

Best time to visit: October to March.

General Information for tourists:

Indian tourist should carry a photo-id-proof (passport, driving license, etc.) or any other identification proof provided while booking.

Foreign tourists should carry their passport for identification.

Id-proof to be submitted at the time of receiving boarding pass.

Indemnity bond to be submitted before entry into the Tiger reserve.

Children up to 5 years can accompany their parents, but extra seat will not be provided.

Camera fees have to be deposited at the time of receiving boarding pass or at the entry gate.

Video Camera:

Video camera fee for Indian tourist is 600-INR./- per safari whereas it is 900-INR./- per person per safari for foreign nationals.

Still Camera – free; Professional Video & Movie Camera or feature Films – permitted only with the permission of Chief Wildlife Warden, Jaipur.

How to get Ranthambhore

Air: Jaipur 180 kms is the nearest airport. Jaipur is well connected to New Delhi and Mumbai with daily flights.

Rail: Located on the Delhi-Mumbai main railway line, it is well connected with Jaipur and other major tourist spots. The travel time from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur is approximately two hours and thirty minutes, to Delhi is 5 hours and to Mumbai is around fifteen hours.

Distance by rail: Delhi - 362 km, Agra - 226 km, Bombay 1027 km, Kota - 108 km, Jaipur - 132 km.

Road: Sawai Madhopur is well connected by road to major cities .The drive from Jaipur to Ranthmbhore takes three and a half hours. The drive from Agra to Ranthambhore takes six hours. The drive from New Delhi to Ranthambhore via Jaipur, takes approximately eight hours.

Distance: Jaipur- Sawai Madhopur via Tonk 180Kms, Jaipur- Sawai Madhopur via Dausa 160km, Sawai Madhopur- Kota 125kms, Sawai Madhopur-Agra-390 Kms, Sawai Madhopur-Delhi-450kms.

Local Transport: Un-metered taxis, auto-rickshaws and tongas available.

Park & Figures

S.No.	Protected Area	Area (Sq. km)
1	Critical Tiger Habitat	1113.37
2	Buffer Area	292.92
3	Other Protected Area	288.93
4	Total Tiger Reserve Area	1700.22

Altitude : 215 to 505 meters above sea level.

Coordinates : 26°3'0? N 76°26'7”E

Population : 1,335,551 (2011-census)

Language : Hindi, English & Dhundhari

Type of forest: Dry deciduous and dry thorn forest. Most of the area comes under Annogeissus pendula forest

Geography: Ranthambhore tiger reserve has two hill systems that meet in the forest: Aravalli & Vindhya ranges.

Fairs and Festivals: Ganesh Mela, Mahashivrati, Chouth Mata Mela, Chamatkarji Mela.

General Information

Climate	Mean max Mean Min
Summer	47.0 C 23.0 C
Winter	29.0 C 5.0 C
Annual Rainfall	75 cms
Rainy Season	July to September (the park is closed).
Best season	October- March
Clothing	Summer: Light Tropical Winter: Light Woollen

Community Facility

Communication facilities are good at Ranthambore. Most resorts offer facilities of their own with which you can interstate or overseas. If their phone lines do not have the overseas dialing facility, most of them have tie ups with the local phone booth operators to get your call through using the conference utility. Even if all these options are not available, the nearest phone booth with an overseas dialing facility will only be a maximum of a 10 or 15 minutes walk from wherever you may be located.