Ranthambhore National Park & Tiger Reserve

Ranthambhore National Park, situated some 175 km from Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, is one of the best-known tiger reserves in the country. It is one of the few sanctuaries in India with a growing tiger population. It is a beautiful park with full of lakes, living temples, scrublands and ruined palaces. It is said that between 75% and 95% of all the photographs taken of a tiger in the wildlife have been taken in Ranthambhore. 

The park derived its name from the magnificent Ranthambhore fort which lies within the national park. The park was once the hunting area of the Jaipur Maharajas, and later the British. Spread over an expanse of 392.5 sq km, the park was established as the Sawai Madhopur Wildlife Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India. It became a part of the centre's Project Tiger in 1974.

The park was among the first nine Tiger Reserve at the launch of Project Tiger in India. In 1981, Ranthambhore was given its current status as a National Park. Later, the surrounding areas of Keladevi Sanctuary, the Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary, and the Kualji Close, lies further South-West of the park were merged to the National Park in 1992.  

Lies at the edge of a plateau, it is enclosed to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. Ranthambhore National Park has six man made lakes and many perennial streams.

As per a census conducted by the state government in 2007, the number of tigers in the park has increased to 32 from the earlier count of 26 in 2005, without taking 14 cubs into account.