No Tigers, but Birds Galore: Ranthambore to Bharatpur and Agra

A Dawn Start in Ranthambore

We were up early to leave at 6 for our safari in Ranthambore National Park. It began as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, became one of India's first Project Tiger reserves in 1973, and a national park in 1980. The whole reserve covers more than 1,300 square kilometres. Besides tigers, it's home to leopards, sloth bears, sambar and spotted deer, nilgai, wild boar, crocodiles, hyenas, jackals and langurs. 🐅

Zones and Vehicles

The park is divided into 10 zones, and which one you get decides your chances. Some zones use jeeps, and others use big open-top trucks. Some people come for three or four safaris, in different zones and at different times, and morning is said to be the best time for tigers.

Not a Whisker

Unfortunately, we didn't see a tiger:-( A hotel guest in a different zone saw tigers, and she couldn't believe how big they were in real life. We did see the remains of four forts and gates, which were very cool. 📷 photos by Richard Passy, who was allowed to bring his professional camera But no phones for the rest of us.

A Big Breakfast

Back at the resort at 10am we had a lovely breakfast, with an omelette made to order and pancakes with real maple syrup. We ate lots, which was a good as it turned out, because we didn't eat again until about 9 that night.

A Bird Paradise at Keolade

On the way to Agra we stopped at Keoladeo National Park, also called the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. The wetland was created in the 1700s when Maharaja Suraj Mal dammed two rivers, and it later became a royal duck-shooting preserve. It's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers about 29 square kilometres, and has more than 370 bird species. We drove along the flat roads in an electric tuk-tuk. 🦆

A Guide With Eagle Eyes

I'm not really a bird watcher but our guide Sanjy was amazing. Every so often he'd stop our convoy and set up his telescopic camera, and we'd see these birds clearly, though goodness knows how he spotted them some of them.

- White-throated kingfisher

- Oriental darter (snake bird)

- Purple heron

- Green bee-eater

- Asian pied starling

- Brahminy starling

- Spotted owlet (two, one tucked into a tree hollow)

- Pond heron, with its yellow eyes

- Black-necked stork

We also saw monitor lizards, flying-fox bats, a jackal and an antelope. 

The Snake BirdI loved the snake bird, named for its long, snake-like neck, which sticks out of the water while it swims. It spears fish with its sharp bill, and a kink in its neck works like a spring. Its feathers aren't waterproof, so it swims low in the water and stands with its wings spread to dry. 🐍

My favourite was the Kingfisher with beautiful teal tail

Sunset From the Tower

The sun was setting, and it gave the birds a magical glow. We climbed a big bird tower to look across the wetland, and it was a lovely, nature-filled day.

Through the Fog to Agra

We drove on to Agra through fog, which reminded me of home in the Waikato, with its wetlands. We arrived a bit hungry at about 9 pm, had a quick bite, tomorrw we are up early again - now we're in the city of the Taj  Mahal.

Elephants, Mirrors and a Tiger Dad: Jaipur to Ranthambore

An Early Start at Amer Fort

We got up early in Jaipur to beat the crowds. The bus took us to the bottom of Amer Fort, where we caught a jeep, then walked the last bit up. It's a rigmarole, but the views of the fort over the lake were pretty amazing. Work on the fort began in 1592 under Raja Man Singh I. 🏰

As we approached, we ran the gauntlet of people selling things, and the haggling got annoying. It continued inside. It's an interesting approach to selling. There was a snake charmer and a puppet show, which were fascinating to watch, but the implied obligation to pay often meant you couldn't enjoy them. In Europe the show is given freely, as is the koha. Here, people have their hand out constantly.

Near the entrance we saw a group of girls in their school uniforms, and they were so pretty. I loved them. 

Elephants and a Platform

Inside we saw about 20 elephants taking people for rides around the courtyard in processions. The riders got off onto a raised platform so the elephants didn't need to kneel, which was quite funny to watch. The elephants must have started early, walking up from below. 🐘

The Painted Gateway

We went in through a painted gateway, and the paintings on it are roughly 400 years old. They're beautifully detailed. 

 close-up of the paintings

Mirrors and a Garden

Our guide was great, full of stories, and we took lots of photos. My favourite was the garden, which looked like the inspiration for the Indian garden at Hamilton Gardens. The mirrored ceilings are lovely too. Light a single candle, and it reflects everywhere, a magical effect at night in an age before electricity. ✨

Ancient Air-Conditionin

This is an example of engineering that is hundreds of years old. A continuous flow of water, fed from the fountain in the garden, captures the cross-winds in the courtyard and cools the air, an early form of air-conditioning. From the ceiling above, the queen would have a chair suspended, and she could sit and enjoy the cool breeze.

Embellishments Around the Palace

The Giant Cooking Pot

There's a massive cooking pot here, big enough to feed the entire fort. 

Haggling Round Two

After the fort, the sellers wore me down. One would say 800, I'd say 200, they'd say 700, I'd start to walk away, then 300, walk away again, and finally 200, and okay then. I could take it or leave it, but I got a couple of things that were fine. 😄

-On the Road to Ranthambore

After the fort, we got on the road to Ranthambore. This wasn't on the original itinerary. When Bhooi's friend Balendu Singh heard we'd be in the area, he invited us to stay at the resort he started, Dev Vilas. He's a naturalist and conservationist, and it's a top-of-the-line resort. Ranthambore began as a game sanctuary in 1955, became one of India's first Project Tiger reserves in 1973 and a national park in 1980, and covers over 1,300 square kilometres. We'll go on safari tomorrow, and I'll share the details of the park then. 🐯

A Lovely Welcome

We got a lovely greeting when we arrived. After settling into our rooms, which were just delightful, we sat around a fire for the evening, in our best clothes. I wore my new dress from Pushkar and Monique wore her dress that she'd had made from a ssari she bought in Mandawa. 

It wasn't cold, but why not? 🔥 📷 

The Tiger Dad

Around the fire, we heard stories about the park's history, and a story I loved. In 2011, a tigress known as T-5 died, leaving two young cubs. The expectation was that the cubs wouldn't survive, but a camera trap showed their father, a male called T-25 (Zalim), with them. He shared his kills and let them feed first. It was the first time a male tiger was documented raising cubs, and since then other male tigers have been recorded doing the same. I slept soundly in my comfortable room, and we're up at 5:30 for the 6 am trucks into the park. 🐅

Flamingos, Pink Walls and a Giant Sundial: Pushkar to Jaipur

Salt Plains and Flamingos

We left Pushkar early and drove through the salt plains of Sambhar Lake, India's largest inland salt lake and a Ramsar-protected wetland. Salt has been farmed here for about a thousand years. We stopped at the Naliasar pond, where we saw both greater and lesser flamingos, plus a mix of ducks, waders and herons. The flamingos looked mostly white, with a faint pink tinge on some. Their colour comes from pigments in the algae and plankton they eat, and greater flamingos are naturally the paler of the two. We were also early in the season, which runs from about November to March. 🦩

Highway King Lunch

Before Jaipur we stopped at Highway King, a big highway hotel-and-restaurant complex with shops, in the middle of nowhere. Lunch was good but ginormous, which is why we only needed snacks for dinner. ☺️

The Pink City

Jaipur is another big city, and by now we're used to them. Its nickname, the Pink City, is real. The old city was painted pink(y red) in 1876 for a visit by the Prince of Wales, and the colour is the traditional one for hospitality. It stuck, so everything has a pinkish-red tinge. We also saw black kites circling overhead, the world's most abundant bird of prey in their family. 

🏙️

Jantar Mantar

We read up on Jantar Mantar on the bus, then walked through it. It's an astronomical observatory built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, between about 1724 and 1738. It has 19 instruments, and UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 2010. The 27-metre Samrat Yantra is the world's largest stone sundial and is accurate to about 2 seconds, while the smaller one is accurate to 20. Another instrument, the Jai Prakash Yantra, is a pair of bowls that map the sky, and a small one called the Dhruva Darshak points to the Pole Star. I bought a book, because my photos couldn't do the structures justice. 🔭

The City Palace and Art Deco

Next was the palace, and once again some parts were closed or under renovation. What we saw was impressive, including a museum shop and an art gallery. 

An Evening on the Roof

Our hotel is a new one for Jane, and it's impressive, apart from loud street noise, so my earplugs need a workout. We had snacks and drinks on the rooftop.