Experience the best of Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park covers dry deciduous forest and rocky hills near Sawai Madhopur in eastern Rajasthan, where the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges meet. It became a Project Tiger reserve in 1973, and tigers here are often seen in daylight beside the lakes. Leopards, sloth bears, sambar, spotted deer, wild boar and marsh crocodiles also live in the park.

Ranthambore Fort, a tenth-century hilltop fortress within the park, is part of UNESCO's Hill Forts of Rajasthan and holds a Ganesh temple that draws pilgrims. Lakes such as Padam Talao and Raj Bagh Talao have ruined palaces and pavilions on their shores. Jaipur lies to the north-west, and the Chambal river runs to the east.

Sawai Madhopur's restaurants serve Rajasthani dal baati churma and local sweets, and the nearby market has stalls of tea and snacks. Winter mornings are cold and misty, and the hot dry weeks of April to June are often best for tiger sightings, as animals gather at the waterholes.