Other things to do around Ranthambore national park

So turns out that not everybody sees a tiger in the national park. Unfortunately I can add myself to that list. But I did find Ranthambore to be very calm and peaceful – something that I had not yet found in India.

In-between going on safaris, or if you just want to do something different you can go and visit Ranthambore Fort. The thing is huge and it is free (at least as of December 2019) – you just need to get a driver to take you there. I asked the hotel although this is probably not the cheapest, it is the easiest.

Wildlife

One of the nice things about the fort, other than the hike, was the wildlife. There were a lot of monkeys around as you hike up. They seemed to be very used to people and none of them attempted to grab anything from me, but if you carry a backpack, make sure to keep it zipped up. I have had experience before when monkeys took things out of a bag as I was hiking 🙂

Monkey cry

The monkeys have a warning call if they sense danger and they have very good vision. So if they see a tiger (even a long way away) they will howl. Once you learn to recognize this warning call then you can look out into the distance to see if you can see a tiger (I still did not see one)

Views

On a clear day you will get some good views from the top of the fort. If you like hiking then this is a nice half day trip to do between safaris.

The search for tigers

Ranthambore National Park is famous for Tigers. Apparently there are now more than 60 tigers in the park. The number is becoming so large that there is talk or relocating some of the tigers to other parks in this area. Since tigers are territorial you can only have so many tigers on one area.

Getting there

The best way to get here is to take a train to Sawai Madhopur station. Since you cannot stay in the park, this town is the closest place to stay. It’s quite small and very peaceful comparing to large Indian cities like Delhi and Agra.

Do you actually see tigers

From what I have been told – yes. However, so far I have not been fortunate. I have seen deer, lots of birds, crocodiles, and plenty of monkeys. Of course, you can see monkeys without going into the park too!

Morning Safari

It was quite chilly for the early morning safari. I would suggest wearing layers so that you can take clothes off if it gets too warm. The hotel provided me with a blanket which was handy. There are two options for a tour – jeeps which hold up to 6 people (although mine only had 4) and canters (basically I big flat bed truck with seats) which seems to hold 20+ people. I took the jeep and it was nice.

A lesser known attraction and perhaps a reason why

Fatehpur Sikri Fort was built before the Taj Mahal. It was built as a town but that mysteriously was abandoned and everybody was moved to Agra. Some say that it was abandoned due to a lack of water, but nobody seems to know for sure.

I think that if the situation with the touts in 1571 was the same as today then I would have abandoned the city too.

Why visit?

The architecture is beautiful and the temple has the highest gate in Asia. The gate, however, is very similar to the gate that you enter for the Taj Mahal.

The downside is that the area is just full of people that you would probably rather not interact with. It’s very known for pickpockets, so you should keep you belongings close but I found that the worst thing is you are constantly hounded by people trying to sell you think. Books, postcards, jewelry, carpets – anything you want to buy you can find at Fatehpur Sikri at very inflated prices.

Two parts

There are 2 parts to visit. The fort and the mosque. The fort you have to pay to go in. It was Rp/550 when I visiting in late 2019 if you paid with a card. The cash fare is Rp/50 higher.

The mosque is free and it is a working mosque – you will see muslims praying inside. You need to take your shoes off to go into the mosque (just like any mosque in the world), however I was asked for a “tip” to get my shoes back afterwards. If you want to avoid giving small chance then you can carry your shoes with you (bring a bad).

FInal thoughts

I’m not sure it is worth visiting. The fort and the temple are lovely buildings but the situation is ruined by the constant onslaught of people asking for money. If you can ignore all that then you should be ok.

I think for a world heritage site, Rajasthan should do better than this. Touts and merchants should not be allowed inside of monuments. I think if this situation is not improved then less tourists will visit Fatehpur Sikri.