Trip To Rajasthan-Ranthambore

Day 3 and 4-Ranthambore
Wildlife had always attracted me.That is one reason Kunal included Ranthambore in my itinerary. I reached Ranthambore by 3 pm.That was where Narendra was to give a last drop to me and head back to Jodhpur.
Well I reached Ranthambore Regency where my booking was done and checked in. The lunch which was a buffet was  served at the hall was closes at 3:30 pm.So I freshened up and had  my lunch.Kunal had arranged for 2 safaris ,one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I could have gone in the same day I checked in as the safari starts at 3:30 pm. But I decided to relax that day and informed the reception I would do the safaris tomorrow.i was tired and retired to my room ,a very nice and pleasant room and watched some tv since they served us dinner which starts at 7 pm to 10 pm.After having dinner I slept off early as the morning safari starts at 5:30 am. I asked for a wakeup call though I am used to waking up early.I was up and ready by 5:30 am where they served us tea and biscuits and when the entire group arrived ,we boarded the canter which was supposed to take us to the wildlife sanctuary. Canters are like army trucks which can seat some 20 people. But the tops of the trucks are open .One can opt for open jeeps or canters.Jeeps are much more costly.
 Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest national parks in northern India. It is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 110 km northeast of Kota and 160 km southeast of Jaipur, Ranthambhore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India and was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambore became a national park in 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include the Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries.
Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is known for its tigers and is one of the best places in India to see these majestic predators in the jungle. Tigers can be easily spotted even during the daytime. A good time to visit Ranthambore National Park is in November and May when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common.
Well we reached the santuary by 6am .Each canter and jeeps are accompanied by one naturalist who will show us inside the santuary.We reached the entrance where the naturalist took permission for entering and we made our way in. The core park area has been divided into several zones and the safari vehicles go on one of those zones. Since there is a good chance of not sighting a tiger in one outing, people usually take more than one ride.In fact I felt lucky as the very first turning of the forest, the naturalist made us listen to the warning sounds of Sambar deer which we sighted after some 5-10 minutes on the opposite side of the hills. Everybody was excited that they might sight the tiger.After screening up and down the hill we were able to see the leopard just a few hundred metres from the 2 sambar deers.We waited to see whether it will attack the deers or not. But I think it was not hungry as it quietly walked away from the deers. That was the first and last of the carnivorous animals of the cat family that we all saw. After that, the safari which is of  almost 2 hours took us all around the forest but we did not see any tiger but we were able to see the pug marks of the tiger right in front of our vehicle. In between we were able to see the spotted deers and peacocks and baboons which were in abundance. The naturalist stopped the vehicle in between so that we could click some pictures of the deers and the peacocks and the baboons.In fact a peacock came right in front of our vehicle and spread its beautiful wings.We waited and watched till it danced and took a 360 degree turn and then walked away. A beautiful sight.We also saw the Antelope ie the Nilgai which is one of the largest Asian antelope. The mature male appears ox-like and is also known as the blue bull. A blue bull is called a nil gai or nilgai in India, from nil meaning blue and gai meaning a bovine animal (literally 'cow').We finally made our way back to the resort and reached by 9:30 am.I had breakfast and there other groups were talking that they were able to see the tiger.
I was hoping to see the tiger in my afternoon safari .The weather being hot, it is natural for animals to come out near the water bodies. I went back to my room took bath and relaxed. Lunch was served at 1 pm but I was not hungry as I had breakfast late.so I had little. Soon after it was time for us to go for our 2^nd round of safari. By 3:15 pm everybody had assembled and we all left once again by 3:30 pm.This time there was a different naturalist who made us all sign one paper saying we would be solely responsible for ourselves  in case  anything happens. Once we had signed we all entered the santuary. This time also we were not able to see the tiger.The weather was very very hot.I had taken a stole to cover my head.We sighted the usual animals that we saw in the morning and in addition a baby crocodile relaxing on the rock near a pond and a mongoose.In fact the naturalist stopped at 2-3 different places in between and we kept watch for some 15-20 minutes in each place as the forest authorities had told the the tiger had gone that way since morning.We were there in the santuary till 5:30 pm  and then we headed back.I was disappointed.We reached our resort at 6 pm .I took a head bath as the forest track was a dusty track .
I Relaxed for a while till I was called for dinner.I befriended a British old man who was on a 2^nd vist to Ranthambore with his son. He told me that yesterday they were able to see the entire tiger family. I became more disappointed.We had dinner together  and then took leave from my new friend and retired early as I was to checkout early morning by 6:30 am.
My train to Delhi was at 7 am. The kitchen staff had packed breakfast for me on the way which was in my package .The hotel arranged for a car to take me to the station and see me off. I had requested Kunal to arrange for somebody who could help me find the platform and train to avoid any last minute confusion.I took leave from Ranthambore. The train arrived at 7:30 am.The car driver helped  me keep the luggage inside the train and went away.The train was there maximum for 10 minutes at the station and started moving towards Delhi. I came back to Delhi with a lot of wonderful experiences of my Rajasthan trip.