WildLife
The magnificently beautiful state of Rajasthan is not only renowned for its rich cultural heritage and architectural masterpieces but is also blessed with diverse flora and fauna. Rajasthan is a home to various exotic wild life sanctuaries and national parks providing shelter to the most endangered species of birds and animals. The state has some of the finest wild life sanctuaries and animal reserves that attract thousands of animal enthusiasts and bird lovers from all around the world. Some of the amazing wildlife destinations that the visitors can explore on Rajasthan wildlife tour include.
The state of Rajasthan is recognized by the people of India as an open-air museum, since many of the main characteristics of this place are available to anyone with just a short trip through the territory.
Among the main tourist destinations that we will be able to visit in this territory, the National Park of the Desert stands out as a place that demonstrates the great beauty that a desert can have, and that will surely make us change the way we see these places. They have occurred due to the geography of the planet.
There are four National parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in Rajasthan. The named; Koeldeo National Park (Bharatpur Bird Sanctury) in Bharatpur district, Sariska Tiger Reserve Park in Alwar district, Ranthambore Naitonal Park in Sawai Madhopur district and Desert National Park in Jaisalme.
Sariska Tiger Reserve Park and Ranthambore National Park are famous worldwide for their Tiger and considered for both Wildlife lovers and Photographers as the finest places in India for spot Tigers. Beside it Rajasthan is also keeps several small Wildlife Sanctuaries and Eco – Tourism Parks. Prominent among them are Mount Abu Sanctuary, Bhensrod Garh Sanctuary, Darrah Sanctuary, Jaisamand Sanctuary, Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sancturay, Jawahar Sagar Sanctuary and Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary.
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Ranthambore National Park, Sawai Madhopur
The Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest and most important national parks in the country. It is one of the most popular wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan. It is located in the Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan. The Ranthambore National Park was originally established as the sanctuary of the Sawai Madhopur game in 1955 by the Indian government and was submitted to the Tiger Project in 1973. And it was declared a National Park in 1980. The adjacent forests of the sanctuary were declared the sanctuary of Sawai Man Singh and the Keladevi Shrine. In 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged by the merging of nearby sanctuaries, and thus the Ranthambore National Park was formed.
The Ranthambore National Park is best known for its population of tigers. Tigers can be easily detected in the park. The best time to visit the park is in the months of November and May since the foliage gives way to good opportunities for sighting of these majestic animals in their natural habitat. The park is located on a plateau and is linked by the Chambal and Banas on both sides. The majestic Fort Ranthambore is also located within the boundaries of the Ranthambore National Park in this park abounds with wildlife and is home to a large number of species, including chitals, sloths, hyenas, sambars, boars, nilgai, leopards and tigers .
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Sariska National Park , Alwar
The Sariska Tiger Reserve is located in the Alwar district in the state of Rajasthan and is one of the important national parks in Rajasthan. It was the hunting territory of the State of Alwar. The sanctuary was declared a Wildlife Reserve in 1955 and was brought under the scheme of the Tiger Project in 1978. The vegetation of the Sariska tiger reserve is composed of dry deciduous forests, shrubs and herbs. The park covers 866 square kilometers and is located at a distance of 107 km from Jaipur and 200 km from Delhi. The Sariska tiger reserve is a part of the Aravalli range and is rich in minerals such as copper.
The most attractive feature of the Sariska tiger reserve is its population of Bengal royal tigers. It is home to a large number of wild animals including Rhesus monkeys, Hanuman langurs, hares, boars, chousingha or the four-horned antelope, chinkara, nilgai, sambhar, golden jackals, striped hyenas, caracal, jungle cats and leopards. It also has a significant number of species of birds such as the great Indian horned owl, snake crest eagle, golden charged bird, tree pie, sand grouse, bush quail, gray partridge, peafowl, and more. The reserve also boasts of some great historical sites such as the Kankanwadi Fortress, the Pandupol Hills, the Hanuman Temple on the Pandupol Hill, among others.
The Sariska Tiger Sanctuary is also the first tiger reserve in the country where the relocation and rehabilitation of the tiger has been carried out successfully. The decrease in the number of tigers in the Sariska tiger reserve was confirmed in a report by a prominent journalist in 2005. A reporter in his story stated that there were no tigers in the reserve. This led to a series of investigations by the authorities and upon learning that the report was true, efforts were made to relocate tigers. Three tigers were reintroduced into the Sariska Tiger Reserve. The number has now grown to a total of seven with five adults.
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Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary , Bharatpur
The national park of Keoladeo Ghana was formerly known as the bird sanctuary of Bharatpur. The sanctuary is home to a large number of migratory birds during the winter season and is a popular tourist spot in Rajasthan. The bird sanctuary, which attracts a large number of ornithologists from all over the country and the world during the migratory season, hosts 230 poultry species. In 1971, the park was declared a protected area and was later included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The bird sanctuary is an artificial wetland and an important national park of Rajasthan.
The national park is of great importance, geographically, as it protects the city of Bharatpur from flash floods and also provides pastures for the village's livestock. In previous days, the place served as a waterfowl hunt. The bird sanctuary houses 379 floral species, 366 species of birds and several animals. The sanctuary is one of the richest areas of avian housing in the world. It was born about 250 years ago and bears the name of the Keoladeo Temple located within its facilities. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park is one of the best bird watching areas in the world and receives up to 1,00,000 visitors each year. Of them, about 45,000 are foreigners. It is a very popular tourist destination in Rajasthan and for this reason there are accommodation facilities also around the sanctuary.
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Desert National Sanctuary, Jaisalmer
The Desert National Park is one of the major national parks in Rajasthan and is located near the city of Jaisalmer . Around an area of 3162 square kilometers, the national park is one of the largest national parks in the country. The unique landscape of the national park is one of the biggest attractions for tourists from around the world. Almost 20 percent of the park is made up of sand dunes. The rest of the signal consists of fixed dunes, intermediate areas, salt lake bottoms and steep rocks. It is an excellent example of the desert ecosystem.
Despite the landscape, the national park abounds in bird life. The birds most commonly seen in the national park include the endangered Indian Bustard, sand worm, kestrels, laggar hawks, spotted eagles, red eagles, short toed eagles, vultures, buzzards, hawks, harriers and eagles. The National Desert Park also has an impressive collection of plants and animal fossils that are as old as 180 million years old. The best time to visit the National Park of the Desert is between November and January. The most commonly seen wild animals in the national park include chinkara, black dollars, hedgehogs, wolves, desert cats, Bengal foxes and desert foxes. You want to know tour around India.
The most important attraction of the national park is the great Indian bustard, which is a magnificent bird found in very few numbers. The bird is brown and white, is about one meter tall and has long legs and neck. Some of the other attractions near the Desert National Park are Sam's sand dunes located near the Thar Desert and the Gadsisar Sagar tank. The Gadsisar Sagar tank is one of the most popular tourist spots in Rajasthan. A large number of migratory birds visit the lake during winters every year. Tourists can also enjoy jeep safaris to explore a greater part of the area.
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Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Udaipur
It is located in the most rugged region of the Aravalli hills in Pali , Rajsamand and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan . It takes name after the impressive historic fort of Kumbhalgarh, which eats into view over the park. It is spread over 578 square kilometers at an altitude of 500 to 1,300 meters above sea level. It is home to a large variety of wildlife, some of which are highly endangered species. The wild life includes wolf, leopards, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, jungle cat, 'sambhar', 'nilgai', 'chausingha' (the four horned antelope), 'chinkara' and hare.
The bird life at Kumbhalgarh is also gratifying. The normally shy and un-trusted gray jungle fowl can be spotted here. Peacocks and doves can be sighted regularly feeding on grains scattered by the jungle guards. Birds like the red spur owls, parakeets, golden oriole, gray pigeons, bulbul, dove and white breasted kingfisher can also be seen near the water holes.
Kumbhalgarh's natural beauty is attracting many tourists and especially for its accessibility from Udaipur, which is only 100 kilometers from here. Foot tracking and horse safari organized by local tour operators are proving to be very popular. A typical safari route enters the sanctuary from the Kumbhalgarh Fort and while cutting across the sanctuary it reaches Ghanerao, and then borders an old abandoned road. On this road, one can sight 'chinkaras', 'neelgais', four horned antelope and many birds
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Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary, Bikaner
Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary is the lush vegetation of the forest, at a distance of 32 kilometers from Bikaner on the road to Jaisalmer . It is a paradise for nilgai, chinkara, black deer, wild boar, flocks of imperial sand grouse and many migratory birds more than the house in the extensive forest in the winters. It can be visited by jeeps with forest officials as guides.
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Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary, Mount Abu
The Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over at 288 square kilometer area; which is in fact to plateau 19 kilometers in length and 6 kilometers wide, at an altitude of 300 meters to 1722 meters within the Aravalli Mountain Range in the Rajasthan State of western India . Established as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1960, the rocks that make up this plateau are igneous with large cavities that are common due to the weathering effects of the wind and the water.
The environment of this Wildlife Sanctuary is very rich in floral bio-diversity beginning from xenomorphic sub-tropical thorn forests located at the foothills to sub-tropical evergreen forests along water courses and valleys at the higher reaches of these mountains.
This sanctuary is home to about 112 plant families with 449 genera and 820 species. The Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is the only place in Rajasthan where you get to see a variety of orchids. Three species of wild roses and 16 species of feras which have been recorded from this region. More than 81 species of trees, 89 species of shrubs, 28 species of climbers and 17 species of tuberous plants with medicinal value have been identified within the Sanctuary.
The variety of fauna found within the Sanctuary includes many rare, threatened and endangered species. Leopard is the apex predator with a chain of other animals like the Sambar, Jungle Cat, Small Indian Civet, Wolf, Hyena, Jackal, Indian Fox, Common Langur, Wild Boar, Pangolin, Common Mongoose, Indian Hare, Porcupine, Hedgehog and Sloth Bear. Over 250 species of birds are also found here, including the Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary special, the Gray Jungle Fowl. The terrain of the region offers various sight-seeing points and exquisite lakes, creating an environment which keeps visitors enthralled.
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Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Udaipur
Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary is situated 5 kilometers away in the west of tourist city Udaipur , which surrounds the Sajjangarh Palace overlooking Udaipur City. From the palace, one can have a magnificent view of lakes of Udaipur and Aravalli hill ranges. The view of sunrise and sunset attracts every visitor atop of Bansdara hill. Safari Park was created and wild animals like Chital, Sambar, Wild Boar, and Blue Bull were reintroduced. Animals like Panther, Hyena, Hare and Jackal have reappeared apart from a variety of reptiles and birds. The wall extended further and now the whole hillock has been fenced, improving the vegetable cover of the sanctuary area.
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Tiger Lake
Withn the hills, at a short distance on the North-West of Sajjangarh, there is an artificial lake named Jiyan Sagar, popularly known as "Bari Lake" or "Tiger Lake". The lake was constructed by Maharana Raj Singh, the ex-ruler of Mewar, in 1664 AD and was named after Jana Devi, the mother of the Maharana. The lake has an area of 1.25 square miles with a storage capacity of 400 million cubic feet.
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Safari Park
Herbivores like Chital, Sambar, Blue Bull, Wild Boar, etc. have been reintroduced in the Safari Park to view the wild animals from close quarters. A network of forest roads has been provided to reach different parts of the Safari Park
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Darrah National Park, Kota
It is a thickly forested sanctuary on the south-eastern periphery of the Kota City of Rajasthan . Spread over a 250 square kilometer hilly terrain, it is in fact an erstwhile hunting preserve of the Maharaja of Kota, whose hunting lodges are specially built by the kings are a sight to behold and great observation posts. The Darrah National Park actually consists of three wildlife sanctuaries rolled in one; the Darrah WLS, the Chambal WLS and the Jaswant Sagar WLS. Hence, it is a great treasure house with a varying topography and a variety of flora & fauna to charm and lure the wildlife enthusiast.
The variety of wildlife at the Darrah National Park includes the Panther, Wolf, Sloth Bear, Chinkara and the Leopard. The herbivores found in this region are the Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Sambar and Antelopes. There are a whole lot of birds and reptiles for an enthusiast to explore and undertake treks into the varying terrains defining this region.
Kota is the ideal rail-head on the Mumbai-Delhi route, a junction which is also connected to the rest of the country. It is also comfortably accessible by road from Jaipur and other parts of Rajasthan. Udaipur however, is the nearest Airport and located at a distance of 295 kilometers to the south-west of Kota City. Visitors however need to seek permission from the Forest Ranger or the Forest District Office in order to visit the Darrah National Park which usually remains closed during the monsoon season from July to September.
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Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary, Udaipur
In the forests with deciduous vegetation and dry bamboo at a distance of 108 kilometers from Udaipur , this sanctuary offers rich pastures for a variety of deer that includes chausingha. Along with this, it also offers houses for wild boar Caracal, pangolins and leopards.
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