Ranthambore
Travel Advice for Seniors: Ranthambore
We are both avid safari fans so a stop by Ranthambore National Park for a chance to see the famous Bengal tigers was a draw we couldn’t pass up!
Ranthambore National Park is a vast wildlife reserve in Rajasthan. We made a two-day stop at the Park between our stay in Agra and Jaipur.
Ranthambore is a former royal hunting ground and home to about eighty tigers, as well as leopards and marsh crocodiles among other wildlife. It also had ruins of a10th-century Ranthambore Fort, and the Ganesh Mandir temple. We didn’t see any leopards or crocs, but we did see plenty of deer, monkeys and birdlife in addition to….TIGERS!
We did see tigers on both days of our game drives. Interestingly, we had one game drive with a gentleman who had been on nine different game drives and had not seen one tiger. So luck was with us! We were even lucky enough to spot a female and her two one-year old cubs! A pretty major score.
A word on game drives…most safari vehicles hold six people, and you will usually at least have another couple with you in the Range Rover. It is polite to exchange seats if you are with the same group two days in a row. We usually always have good luck with pleasant passengers, after all we all want to see the same thing!
You will likely not have a clear view of the tiger(s) and a telephoto lens for your camera is a must. Many times, the tigers are deep in the brush, and you have to wait them out. Your vehicles is unfortunately, usually one of at least six-ten other vehicles, so sometimes you will get the best view, sometimes you will not.
Interestingly, the animals see the vehicle as a wall or large rock, they don’t actually see you in the vehicle, of course if you get OUT of the vehicle it is a different story. The guides have a saying “In the Range Rover, out of the food chain, out of the Range Rover, into the food chain”. They aren’t kidding.
A word on tipping…the guides/drivers do expect a tip and if they do a good job, you should reward them. Also, we did tip the staff at the hotel…there was a communal tip jar in the Lobby.
We stayed at the Dev Vilas, an all-inclusive resort which was nice and more importantly, was very close to the park.
Where we stayed: Dev Vilas, breakfast included.
How we got there: Six hour drive from Agra to Ranthambore.This was part of a three week private tour through Nepal and India.
General Accessibility Information: India is not known for accessibility, though they are making progress by introducing ramps at some major sights. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements.See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.
