Sariska National Park & Tiger Reserve

For those looking for adventure, greenery, fresh air and loads of fun with nature, then Sariska National park is the place for you. Surrounded by the barren Aravalli hills, Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district is one of Rajasthan's popular wildlife destinations.  

Formerly a hunting preserve of the Maharaja of Alwar in the Aravallis, the park was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955 and then a Tiger Reserve in 1978 under Project Tiger. Sariska is among the 28 Tiger reserves in the country which have come up since 1970. Covering an area of 800 sq km in total including a core area of approximately 500 sq km, the place is located 249 km South West of Delhi and 110 km North East of Jaipur.

An area of 274 sq km was demarcated as a National Park in 1982. Similar, but larger than Ranthambore National Park, which is also in Rajasthan, Sariska is comparatively less untouched by commercialization. But the sanctuary had become infamous creating nationwide uproar for having lost all of its tiger population.

The topography of the park is mainly hilly with two plateaus, and the vegetation include scrub-thorn arid forests, Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests represented by Acacia nilotica, Acacia catechu Willd (Khair), Acacia leucophloea, Prosopis cineraria, Capparis aphylla, Zizyphus spp., Anogeissus pendula (dhok), Anogeissus latifolia, rocks and grasses. Dhok is the dominant tree species in Sariska covering 90 per cent area of the forest area. Katha Acacia catechu and bamboo are common in the valleys. All these remain lush green during the monsoon period and dry in summer.

Apart from tigers, the fauna of the Sariska Wildlife Reserve comprises of Leopard, Panther, Wild boar, Hyena, Jungle cat, Civet, Four horned antelope, Sambar, Cheetah, Ratel, Caracal, Chinkara, Nilagi, Jackals and other varied and rare kind of animal species. The park is also famous for its large number of Rhesus and Langur monkeys but it is not safe to play with them. 

Amongst the birds, ground birds such as Peafowl, Jungle fowl, Spur fowl and the Grey partridge; Golden - backed woodpecker, Green pigeon, Crested serpent eagle, Great Indian horned owl and Tree pies can be seen. Babblers, Bulbuls are regularly caught sight of.