We woke at 6:15 when our batman, Bijoy, delivered a pot of English Breakfast tea to our tent. Then we got up to get ready for our first game drive in Ranthambhore National Park, which is known for tiger spotting.
It was chilly, but the tea and toasty tent made getting up pretty easy. The incredible staff at Aman-I-Khas sure knows how to take care of their guests– when Bobby, our guide arrived in a open top jeep, we were given hot water bottles and blankets to keep us toasty. The gift shop at the resort also had fleece jackets (well worth the $10)! It’s a short drive to Ranthambhore, but an interesting one, as the village was just waking up and you could get a sense of daily life in rural Rajasthan.
Once we entered the park, we saw lots of wildlife. December, when the foliage is thick and weather is cool, is not the best time to spot tigers, although there had been several sightings in the past few days. Ranthambhore is beautiful and unlike any National Park I’ve visited. There is an ancient fort at the entrance which is over a thousand years old. Also, many people were entering on foot to visit the fort and in the park.
Our morning game drive was thrilling. We saw fresh tiger prints so we knew there was a chance for a tiger spotting! That was the first priority of the day, as tigers are on the move in the early morning hours and the prints were fresh. Male tigers can travel up to 15 kilometers at night, and the females about half that. The females have their cubs with them for the first two years or so until they are old enough to defend themselves.
We spotted many other animals and some stunning birds, including Kingfishers who were too quick for me to capture their brilliant blue with my camera. The Great Egrets, with their long necks, and a beautiful juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle with stunning yellow eyes. Peacocks were plentiful.
There are several types of deer: Spotted Deer (think Thumper and Bambi) and many Sambars, which are the primary source of food for the tigers. We also saw several Blue Bull Antelope.
We had quite the adrenaline rush– a few minutes of a bumpy jeep ride– when Bobby and the other guides and trackers heard Sambar distress calls nearby. Sambars make these noises to communicate that there is danger (meaning a tiger) in the area. We spent a bit of time zeroing in on the distress call and knew a tiger was in the near vicinity when we saw Sambars walking tense and slowly, with their tails erect. This is high alert in Sambar body language. Unfortunately, we couldn’t locate the tiger and had to settle for photographing their fresh tracks.
After three great hours of game viewing, we returned to Aman-I-Khas a bit dusty. The staff greated us with hot towels and tea and Bijoy took my backpack to wipe the dust away. We ate breakfast under the shade of trees. Indian breakfast is growing on me, especially the Poori Potato Curry, a dish from Northern India served with deep fried unleavened bread. They also had all the usual breakfast items on the menu– Eggs Benedict, omlettes, French Toast and waffles. The fresh fruit was exotic and deliciously ripe. The lime wedge was unbelievably juicy and went so well with the kiwi slices.
With full stomachs, we returned to our tent to freshen up. There was plenty of hot water (and water pressure) to clean up the dust from our game drive.
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