For avid travelers like us, Covid put a big halt on our travels!
In October 2021, after not stepping out of Delhi NCR for almost 2 years, we finally planned a trip and set out for Ranthambore for 3 days. Given the Covid factor, we took our set of precautions - we didn't go by public transport, and did a road trip with me driving; we stayed in a high-end property in the middle of the week when the occupancy levels were low; and we booked a full Gypsy to ourselves for our jungle safari, instead of sharing one and unnecessarily increasing our exposure levels.
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| Tiger, Ranthambore National Park |
My wife, Kamalini, our 7 year old son, Rehaan, and I set out on our journey, and it took us 7 hours to drive the distance of about 360 km from Gurgaon to Ranthambore. The road was by and large good, though there were stretches when we passed through towns, and other stretches when we got stuck behind slow-moving trucks. The route was Gurgaon - Manesar - Neemrana - Kotputli - Lalsot - Dausa - Sawai Madhopur. Kamalini takes food very seriously, and she packed enough food to feed a wedding party for a week! She carried sandwiches, rolls, chips, soft drinks, and tea. This meant we didn't have to stop at all on the way. I did get a little agitated about Rehaan dropping food inside the car, but overall he didn't do too badly! Between the iPod blaring music, and our Rehaan's non-stop chatter and constant nudges to get me to drive faster, we got our share of entertainment during the drive!
Ranthambore National Park is situated right next to the town of Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. It covers an area of 1,334 square km, and is named after Ranthambore Fort, which lies within the park. It was established in 1955 as Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary, and initially covered an area of 282 square km. In 1973, it was declared one of the reserves for Project Tiger, and it became a national park in 1980. Over the years, the area of Ranthambore National Park was increased, by including nearby forests. The park has a lot of wildlife, including tigers (there were 62 as per the 2014 census), leopards, many species of deer, hyenas, jackals, foxes, monkeys, sloth bears, and crocodiles, to name a few.
We stayed at Anuraga Palace, a beautiful, palatial property. The rates were reasonable, and it was great value for money because our deal included breakfast, high tea, and one meal. Kamalini also got the hotel to upgrade us to a suite, given that it was the middle of the week and their occupancy levels were low. The property has a beautiful, domed lobby, with pretty Rajasthani paintings adorning the ceiling of the dome. The rooms are spread over three floors, and overlook a central lawn. There is a swimming pool, table tennis, and a restaurant. We got to experience a complimentary Rajasthani folk music performance, a magic show (which Rehaan loved, especially when the magician made three pigeons appear out of thin air!), and a 1 hour screening of a beautifully made documentary film about tigers. The hotel staff was most helpful, and very accommodating of all our requests.
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Anuraga Palace
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| Central Lawn, Anuraga Palace |
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| Lobby, Anuraga Palace |
We went for an early morning safari to Ranthambore National Park in an open Gypsy. We had a driver, Ganpath, and a very knowledgeable guide, Subhash Gautam. I had been to Ranthambore once before, and I had also gone to Corbett National Park twice, but I had never been lucky in spotting tigers in the past. This time, we got very fortunate. Our guide pointed out a tiger (we were told her name was Sultana), who was behind the bushes, eating her recently killed prey. We could barely see the tiger's silhouette, given how thick the bushes were. Before we knew it, about 20 vehicles arrived to see the tiger. After some time, the tiger came out from behind the bushes, and we had the wonderful experience of having it walk on and just to the side of the road for the next half hour. It was least bothered about the group of noisy tourists following it in their canters and jeeps. What a spectacular sighting from close quarters! In the course of the safari, we also saw a family of sambar deer, numerous langoors, a crocodile, peacocks, babblers, and Rufous treepies. The babblers and Rufous treepies came and sat on our stationary jeep, demanding food, and they went back quite satisfied, because Kamalini was well stocked with refreshments!
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Tiger, Ranthambore National Park
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Sambar, Ranthambore National Park
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| Langoor, Ranthambore National Park |
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| Peacocks, Ranthambore National Park |
We went and checked out Nahargarh, a palatial property with an impressive regal building, beautifully manicured lawns, charming water channels, pretty courtyards, and coaches that took us back to another era! Towards the end of our visit, we were politely told by the guard that unless we were hotel guests, we weren't allowed to walk around. I got a bit embarrassed, but by that time we had got a good flavour of the impressive property!
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| Facade, Nahargarh |
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| Water Channel, Nahargarh |
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Coach, Nahargarh
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Kamalini's brother in law, Soumya Goswami, worked with the Oberoi Group for over 2 decades. He lived in Ranthambore for close to 2 years from 2000 to 2002, and was involved with the setting up of Vanya Vilas, the incredible Oberoi property there. Kamalini used to visit her sister Trinayani quite regularly back then. With Soumya's help, we got permission to have a look-around at Vanya Vilas. The General Manager, Ratna Malhotra, was very hospitable and most helpful, as was the F&B Manager, Praveen. We got to walk around the grand property, and Aditi from the front office took out a significant amount of time to take us around. We saw the lobby (with its grand chandelier), the restaurant (with it paintings of wildlife), the bar (with its chandelier, its leather bound limited edition books, and its many works of art), the outdoor pool, the lilly pond, the luxury tents where visitors stay, and the observation tower (from where one gets a great view of the property). We were served complimentary tea, cake and cookies in the bar. What a delightful experience, and what a wonderful gesture from the hotel's management!
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Front Facade, Vanya Vilas
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Lobby Chandelier, Vanya Vilas
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Restaurant, Vanya Vilas
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Courtyard, Vanya Vilas
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Luxury Tent, Vanya Vilas
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We made a second trip to Vanya Vilas because we were told that Laxmi the elephant comes to the hotel entrance at 9:30 every morning for an hour so that the hotel guests can mingle with her. Now 2 decades ago, Soumya and Trinayani's then 2 year old daughter, Rhea, used to go to her nearby school (Fateh Public School) sitting on the backs of Laxmi and her mate, Mala. Mala is no longer there, as she died 5 years ago. But Laxmi is still there, friendly and grand as ever, and an elegant 34 year old! Rehaan was ecstatic seeing Laxmi. Kamalini was also thrilled to bits, and was hit by nostalgia from all those years ago! They both patted Laxmi, and fed her with the fruits that Laxmi's keeper kept cutting for her. Many hotel guests also came to pet and feed Laxmi. What joy to mingle with this gentle giant!
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| Laxmi the elephant, Vanya Vilas |
We also made it a point to visit Sawai Madhopur Lodge, now a Taj Vivanta property. The hotel is situated within a large complex with sprawling lawns. It has villa-type rooms for its guests. It doesn't have the regal look of some of Ranthambore's other hotels, and it doesn't have the luxury of Vanya Vilas, but it still has its colonial splendour! The interior is full of stuffed animal heads adorning the walls of the restaurant, the bar, and other areas. We sat in the bar and ate lunch. I remembered the property from my stay 20 years ago. I had come for a Sales and Marketing out-bound with my company, Britannia Industries Ltd, and we had a very memorable time (though I wasn't lucky with tiger spotting that time).
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Sawai Madhopur Lodge
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Tiger Head, Sawai Madhopur Lodge
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| Safari Gypsies, Sawai Madhopur Lodge |
We couldn't leave Ranthambore without visiting
Ranthambore Fort, a 10th century fort that lies perched up on a hill inside the park premises. It is one of the largest forts in Rajasthan. One gets to the fort by climbing a set of gradual steps, and passing through a series of gateways. At the top, one has several temples (including a famous Ganesh Temple, but we didn't manage to make it that far), a mosque, a dargah, and Battis Khamba Chhatri (an impressive pavilion with 32 pillars). We got some great views of the area from the summit! Langoors were to be seen everywhere around the fort, but they were not a threat or a nuisance in any way, and only added to the charm!
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View from below, Ranthambore Fort
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Battis Khamba Chhatri, Ranthambore Fort
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Dargah, Ranthambore Fort
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Ganesh Idol, Ranthambore Fort
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Stone Figure, Ranthambore Fort
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One thing that soured our visit was that at the Ranthambore Fort entrance, we were accosted by persistent guides who didn't take no for an answer, and kept pestering us till we finally said no a little firmly. Later in the day, when we set out from Ranthambore, we found that the car windshield had a crack. We have no idea how that happened. I certainly hope it wasn't one of the guides who took out his anger! Anyway, every trip does have its share of avoidable adventures, but overall, it was a marvelous trip and a wonderful way of getting back to travel after the long hiatus! Though we stayed in great style, it was also a reasonably priced trip and cost us barely Rs 40,000. So an amazing 3 day visit, and incredible value for money!!
