Ranthambore National Park ("Ranthambore") is located in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, India. Information, including maps, is difficult to obtain and decipher. I spent three days there in November 2025, did 5 safaris, and I have done quite a bit of researching it on-line and I am still finding it difficult to wrap my head around what is going on there. I've not found a decent map, much of the background is sketchy and the descriptions of Ranthambore and its safari routes are not good, including names of places on routes that themselves have no descriptions. On Google Maps, Ranthambore is south and a bit east of Jaipur and west of the north end of Kuno National Park. The following is my attempt to make some sense of what I experienced and saw and to frame it in a way that makes sense to me.
Ranthambore was originally established as Sawai Modhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 and covered 109 square miles. In 1974 it was declared one of the first nine
Tiger Reserves and in 1980 a national park. Over the years additional land has been added to it to provide a buffer for the tiger and the surrounding civilization and to provide a corridor for the tiger and other wildlife to nearby habitat. The original game sanctuary land appears to be what is now referenced on the map key above as the "core area" with good water for tigers and established tiger territories. It is the white area in the map above with "RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK" emblazoned on it, surrounded by shading which is referred to in the key as "buffer area." With additions over the years, all shaded in the map above, Ranthambore now covers 515 square miles. For example,
Kela Devi Sanctuary on the map, or
Kailadevi Sanctuary on Wikipedia, to the northeast of the original land, was added to Ranthambore in 1983 and was an additional 261 square miles. It provides a wildlife corridor for the land in the tiger sanctuary and the Chambal River region. In 1984 the
Sawai Man Singh Wildlife Sanctuary on the map was added to Ranthambore and added a 40 square mile buffer to the south of the original tiger sanctuary and provides habitat connectivity to the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges. Some time later the Kualji Close Area, that appears to be related to the Kualji Game Reserve on the map, added 2.9 square miles to the south end of Ranthambore.
Ranthambore has 10 designated zones (or gates) for tourist safaris which cover 151 square miles. Safaris are conducted in open-roof 4 wheel drive vehicles that they call jeeps or gypsies, seating a maximum of six very tightly squeezed tourists (as well as a guide and driver), and canters, seating a maximum of 20 tourists (as well as a guide and driver). For obvious reasons, the gypsy safari is more expensive. The vehicle has more flexibility in movement and can access areas the canter cannot, and more importantly, there is a higher ratio of guide to tourist and better views trying to look over other people in a smaller vehicle. A safari lasts approximately 3.5 hours and is twice a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. There are also a limited number of safaris in the evening. The timing of the safari varies by date. From November thru January, while we were there, the morning safari started at 7:00 a.m. and ended at 10:30 a.m. The afternoon safari started at 2:00 p.m. and ended at 5:30 p.m. Those are the hours posted by Ranthambore. We stayed at Khem Villas, in Sherpur, about 4 kilometers (10 minutes by car) from the Ranthambore Gate, which is also known as the Sherpur Gate. Khem Villas is located on the boundary of Ranthambore and has land within the buffer zone. I did not keep track of the time we left for or returned to Khem Villas or the time we arrived at Ranthambore Gate and returned to it at the end of each safari. My guess is that we were not following the starting times strictly, as we usually found vehicles there ahead of us in our zones, but the guides are expected to get out of the park on time and I believe they can be fined, so the guides are vigilant about getting out on time.
There are various dirt roads in each zone that vehicles can traverse and specific routes or areas in each zone can have access restricted weekly or seasonally. I read suggestions that vehicles are required to stick to designated, often inter-connected, routes within their assigned zone, but if that is the case, the rules appear to fly out the window when a tiger is spotted and every vehicle in the zone converges on that orange and black striped tourist gold. They refer to the "core zones" for tiger viewing as Zones 1 through 5. This gets confusing as "core" in this sense appears to differ from "core" on the map above. Entry for those zones is from the west side of Ranthambore at Ranthambore Gate, also called the Sherpur Gate, which then provides access to the other 5 gates. It generally takes about 10 to 15 minutes, once entering the Ranthambore Gate, to get to the Singhdwar gate (listed on Google Maps as Singhdwar Check Point). It appears that the area from Ranthambore Gate to Singhdwar gate is part of the buffer zone. Singhdwar gate is the starting point for Zone 1 and the route to the four gates pass it or go through it. The core routes have more limited vehicle access and stricter regulations than routes in the buffer zone. For example, no deforestation or commercial activities are permitted in the core areas. Zones 1 through 5 are only open for safaris in the months of October through June and are closed on Wednesdays. Zones 3, 4 and 5 are particularly popular. October thru March is more pleasant, weather-wise, but April through June is best for seeing tigers because of the heat which draws the tigers to the water. Two trip consultants at Audley Travel, who helped us with our planning, described sweating profusely in the heat at Ranthambore when they visited in the summer, but each also saw lots of tigers.
Safaris in zones 6 through 10 were added in the buffer zone to help disperse tourist traffic and offer additional wildlife viewing. These zones consist of more open grasslands and hills. Entry gates for these zones are further south on the west side of Ranthambore. They are generally less crowded and are also used for safaris during the monsoon season when tigers are mating and Zones 1 through 5 are closed. These buffer zones can accommodate a larger number of vehicles and visitors. Land in the these 5 buffer zones, as well as other buffer zone land, can be used by local people for farming and other purposes while still being managed for conservation by the government. Zones 6 through 10 are closed on Tuesdays. Overall, a total of 140 vehicles can enter Ranthambore at one time, a mixture of gypsy and canter vehicles distributed among all 10 zones. Precise zone vehicle counts vary by day and quota numbers are not published. The majority of tourist safaris are reserved by advance booking, particularly for zones 1 through 5. However, there are around 20 gypsies released for a premium on a last-minute booking system for zones 1 to 5.
Our guide told us that the vast majority of Ranthambore is off-limits to the public to protect the delicate ecosystem and provide undisturbed space for the animals. In some respects, that seems inconsistent with what I've been reading as the added land from the Kaila Devi Sanctuary, Sawai Man Singh Wildlife Sanctuary and Kualji Game Reserve can be accessed by the public. On the other hand, as I've reviewed the zone routes it appears that there is quite a bit of core land on the east side of Ranthambore that is not open to the public. The five core zones, 1 through 5, have the highest concentration of tigers, but there are tigers throughout Ranthambore. The total number of tigers in Ranthambore is currently 71: 25 males, 25 females and 21 cubs. Ranthambore can easily handle 40 tigers and 50 tigers is a maximum. 71 is more than the area can handle which is leading to conflict among the tigers and tiger/human conflict as tigers are being pushed into civilian areas. Further complicating the situation is that a male tiger ideally has a harem of three tigresses.
Zone 1
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| This is a map of Zone 1. This and the other zone maps are from Tigerwalah.com. "Tourism Centre" is the Ranthambore Gate and the beginning of the buffer zone. "Singhdwar Chowki" is the Singhdwar gate. On Google Maps Amreshwar Daang, Tuti Ka Nala and Sultanpur Chowki show up and they are in the buffer zone, so it appears that most of Zone 1 is actually in the buffer zone. The main road is 14.3 miles long. I don't think we went the full distance because we were looking for a tiger for half of our time. |
Zone 1 descriptions say it contains a mix of dense forest, rocky hills, water bodies and ruins. It was by far the thickest forest and most hilly area we were in of the four zones we visited. Even though much or most of it is in the buffer zone, it still has a high density of tigers. In fact one of the two tigers we saw at Ranthambore was in Zone 1. Entry is through the Singhdwar gate. Lots of websites list main tiger-sighting areas, but there is no descriptions of those areas and our guide did not give us the names of the landmarks we were seeing, so it is difficult for me to look on the map and correlate what is on the map and what I remember from our actual visit to that area. Amreshwar Daang is shown a little south and west of Singhdwar on the map above. It also shows up on Google Maps as being in the buffer zone. I found a description of it as a green area where deer can be seen grazing. Tuti Ka Nala is shown on the map above as southeast of Amreshwar Daang and Google Maps shows it in the buffer zone. I found a description of it as a stream that serves as a watering hole and a chance to see animals like deer, wild boar and tiger. Main tiger-sighting points that I find listed are Singhdwar; Khabli; Kala Peela pani; Sultanpur that includes Sultanpur Chowki, on Google Maps, is quite a bit southwest of Tuti Ka Nala; Some other spots mentioned as good tiger sighting places are: Sultanpur, Gada Dub, and Peela Pani.
We were in Zone 1 on our fourth safari, on the afternoon of Friday, November 28. Me, and my brother-in-law Stan, were the only ones of our six on it. The other four, Judy, Chris, Dave and Bonnie took a separate tour of Ranthambore Fort. I photographed an Alexandrine parakeet, a crested serpent eagle, an Indian pond heron, Indian scops owls, a long-tailed shrike, mugger crocodiles, sambar deer, a white throated kingfisher and where I saw my first tiger.
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| Alexandrine parakeet |
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| Crested serpent eagle |
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| Indian pond heron |
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| Indian scops owls |
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| Long-tailed shrike |
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| Mugger crocodile |
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| White-throated kingfisher |
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| Bengal tiger |
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| A sambar deer wallowing in a mudhole that suddenly stood up, below, when another deer deeper in the forest barked a tiger warning. |
We saw the tiger at the bottom of a rather long and steep canyon. Before seeing the tiger we spent about 1 1/2 hours waiting, listening, and our guide talking to other guides and moving the jeep back and forth to position ourselves to see the tiger, as deer barking nearby were the signs that a tiger was near. I'm thinking we saw the tiger at the bottom of the canyon below Sultanpur Chowki, and possibly, but less likely, Khara. I don't think we got as far as Peela Pani.
Zone 2
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| Map of Zone 2. Ranthambore gate and Singhdwar gate are shown, as in Zone 1, but you continue on to Jogi Mahal (or Jogimahal on Google Maps) which is the gate for Zone 2. This map shows one long route. Google Maps shows a circular, or even more rectangular, route. Nal Ghati, mentioned below, does not show up on this map, but does show up on Google Maps on a part of the circle not shown here. |
Zone 2 is known for multiple water holes which attract a high concentration of wildlife, including tigers, leopards, spotted deer and sambar. Zone 2 is east of Zone 1 and is completely in the core zone. We were scheduled to do Zone 2 for our first safari, on Thursday, November 27, 2025, but we were told that landslides had closed the route and we were directed to Zone 3, which uses the same Jogimahal gate. Key locations I found listed are Jogi Mahal (or Jogimahal), near Padma Talao lake and Nal Ghati for spotting tigers. A semi-circular route is shown for Zone 2 on Google Maps going southeast, then, turning west and back up to Ranthambore Fort to the northwest. Nal Ghati is visible on Google Maps toward the southeast of the corner of the route if you zoom in sufficiently.
Zone 3
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| Jogi Mahal gate is entry point for Zone 3 and for Zone 2, but the Zone 3 route goes northeast and the Zone 2 route goes south. The main road is 8.1 miles long. |
Zone 3 is known for two major lakes: Padam Talab and Rajbagh lakes. Other important places in Zone 3 are High Point, Raj Bagh, and Tapman Nalah. Our first safari, on the morning of Thursday, November 26th, was scheduled for Zone 2. However, we were told that landslides had closed the road and because Jogi Mahal is also the gate for Zone 3, we were all directed to Zone 3 which greatly increased the traffic in Zone 3. I photographed a black drongo, a black-necked stilt, gray francolins, Bengal sacred langurs, Indian flying foxes (bats), mugger crocodiles, a ruddy shelduck, Indian peafowls, red-wattled lapwings, river terns, rufous treepies, Indian spotted deer, spotted owlets, great stone curlews, a white-browed fantail, a pied kingfisher and a Asian woolly-necked storks. Jogi Mahal gate is a pink building where we saw a very friendly rufous treepie. It was the best zone we visited for water birds and I would guess would be great in summer for tigers with all of the water.
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| Gray francolin |
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| River tern, a new bird for me. |
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| Crested serpent eagle |
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| Indian spotted deer with sambar deer in background. |
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| Red-wattled lapwing. |
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| Rufous treepie, one of my favorites, landing on various vehicles at Jogi Mahal gate while a bunch of jeeps were waiting to get let in. |
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| Bengal sacred langur |
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| Spotted owlets |
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| Black-winged stilt |
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| This and next photo, Indian flying foxes (bats) |
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| Ruddy shelduck |
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| Indian peafowl |
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| Pied kingfisher |
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| Asian woolly-necked storks |
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| Great stone curlew |
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| Black drongo |
Zone 4
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| Singhdwar is the entry point for Zone 4, as it is for Zone 1, but Zone 4 goes northeast and Zone 1 goes south. Unlike Zone 1, Zone 4 appears to be entirely in the core zone. It is also the area closest to Khem Villas where we stayed. The initial part of Zone 4 is northwest of Zone 3, bypassing Padma Talao lake and Rajbag lakes to the west. The Zone 4 main road is 15.5 miles long, while the Zone 3 main road is 8 miles long, so it is much longer. The Zone 4 main road cuts east at Tamba Khan, above Zone 3, goes above Rajbag lake, which is in Zone 3, to pass Malik lake and then turns northeast to Lakadda, Semli, Aadi Daani and Lambi ka Nala. |
Zone 4 has rugged, rocky terrain and dense forests. It is known for diverse wildlife and picturesque locations. Malik Talab (Malik Lake) is the smallest of the three main lakes in Ranthambore and a great spot for crocodiles, sambar deer, tigers and birds. Baba Ki Gufa is very scenic and a great spot for spotting tigers, but primarily in the morning. Baba means sage and legend is that a sage lived in a nearby cave. Lakarda (I'm assuming that it is "Lakadda" in the map above) is an area of steep hills and dense cover and a prime spot for viewing Indian sloth bears because of the great number of anthills. It is also one of the few areas in Ranthambore where the rare Indian striped hyena can be seen. Lambi Ka Nala is a narrow and dense water channel and a good spot for seeing tigers because it is a key source of water in the dry terrain, especially in summer. Our second safari, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 27, was in Zone 4. I photographed a red-vented bulbul, a common kingfisher, gray francolins, a black-headed ibis, a spotted owlet, a rose-ringed parakeet, a rufous treepie and an Indian wild boar. We saw much less wildlife in Zone 4 than Zone 3, because we did it in the afternoon rather than the morning. It was also much more driving.
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| White-browed fantail, a first for me. |
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| Gray francolin, also next photo below, dodging a gypsy. |
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| White-throated kingfisher |
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| Mugger crocodiles in Malik Lake. |
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| Rufous Treepie |
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| Red-vented bulbul |
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| Black-headed ibis |
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| Spotted owlet |
Zone 5
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| Zone 5 map. The entry gate is Singhdwar gate, the same as Zones 1 and 4. The main road follows the Zone 4 road to Tamba Khan, but then continues straight northeast, while the Zone 4 road turns right and goes southeast. The Zone 5 road continues quite a distance to the northeast. It is 16.8 miles, the longest road of the 5 core zones. Listed places on the map, up near the end, are Jokha, Kachida, Bagda, Anantpura and Bakhola. |
Zone 5 has relatively gentle terrain with diverse wildlife, including monkeys and various deer. Zone 5 was my favorite zone in Ranthambore and Bakhola may be my favorite place in Zone 5. It is an area with large trees, water holes and small pools. Anantpura, which we did not drive to, is an area where sloth bears and striped hyenas can be found (but rarely). Bagdah is an area with densely forested habitat. Kachida Valley has a large population of leopards, as well as sloth bears which are attracted by the number of ant hills and beehives. I believe it was in the Kachida Valley that we saw our second tiger.
Our third safari, on the morning of Friday, November 28, was in Zone 5. I photographed black headed ibis, a black-winged kite, a dusky eagle owl, an Indian scops owls, a nilgai, Bengal sacred langurs, a red-wattled lapwing, a red-vented bulbul, a rufous treepie, a black-crowned night heron, a cormorant, a crested serpent eagle, a kingfisher, mugger crocodiles, an unknown bird, a white-breasted mudhen, and an Indian wild boar. Our fifth and last safari, on the morning of Saturday, November 29, was also in Zone 5, our second time in Zone 5. I photographed Bengal sacred langurs, common kingfishers, crested serpent eagles, Indian wild boars, a great egret, a little cormorant and Indian spotted deer. Best of all, we also saw our second Bengal tiger.
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| Bengal tiger |
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| Crested serpent eagle |
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| Common kingfisher, as is next photo |
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| Little cormorant, as is next photo. |
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| Great egret |
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| Indian spotted deer |
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| Indian wild boar, as is next photo. |
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| White-throated kingfisher |
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| Indian scops owl |
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| Red-wattled lapwing, as is next photo. |
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| Dusky eagle-owl |
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| Rufous treepie |
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| Black-winged kite |
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| Bengal sacred langurs |
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| Red-vented bulbul |
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| Black-headed ibis |
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| Rose-ringed parakeet |
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| Black-crowned night heron |
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| Green sandpiper |
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| White-breasted mudhen |
Zone 6
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| Zone 6 map. |
Zone 6 is known as Kundal and the entry point is the Kundal gate, which also provides entry to Zones 7 through 10. The Kundal gate is 8.7 miles southwest from the main entry point at Ranthambore gate. The main route is 14.9 miles long. The south end of Zone 1 at Peela Pani is very near the Zone 6 end, which goes north at Patwa Ki Baori to Kala Pani. It has open rocky landscapes, grasslands and the Aravalli Mountain range as a backdrop. It is close to the city and cattle can be found grazing there, which the tigers also like. The Indian gazelle can be seen there and some rare birds, including the Indian red-headed vulture. At least one source said it is the most desired zone by tourists and wildlife photographers, because of the excellent visibility, and one 2018 source indicated that more tigers were seen by tourists in Zone 6 that year than any other Zone at Ranthambore.
Zone 7
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| Zone 7 map. |
Zone 7 starts at the Kundel gate, like Zone 6, and follows the same route as Zone 6 down to Raj Bagh Chowki. There the Zone 6 route veers southeast to Palli Darwaja and the Zone 7 route goes south and a little west toward Kedi Kund and ultimately does a circle, starting near Luhari, and goes to the south and then north to hook back into the same route at Luhari. The main route is 12.4 miles long one-way.
Zone 8
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| Zone 8 map |
Zone 8 starts at the Kundel gate, like Zones 6 and 7, and follows the same route as Zone 7 down to the Hospital. From the Hospital it continues south to around Ratan Ka Nala where it does a much tighter end circle than the one in Zone 7, back to around Ratan Ka Nala, then follows the same route back. The main route is 14.9 miles long one way.
Zone 9
Zone 9 is located on the banks of the Chakal River through the Kualji gate. Zone 9 goes to what is listed as the Kualji Game Reserve on the initial map in this post. It features the Chakal River, flowing streams, dense forest patches and open grasslands. I don't find a reference to the Chakal River, but the Chambal River flows by it to the east. I am guessing that the Chakal River flows east into the Chambal River. It is possible to see tigers, sloth bears, caracals and lots of aquatic birds. It is a quieter, less crowded experience. On January 20, 2025, Ranthambore issued
notice of a major change in the Zone 9 route. It re-routed Zone 9 through forest areas near Zone 6 to give tourists more wildlife viewing instead of excessive time traveling to get to the main entry area. It starts from the Badh Gate, High Point Tiraha and goes through Gadha Ghati Top, High Point, Andhu Kua Tiraha, Andh Kua, Bans Khori Tiraha, Patwa Baudi and Banskhari Tiraha, before returning to Badh Gate. I've not spent any time trying to decipher where these places are. There is not a route map on the tigerwalah website. I note on Google maps that it says that Zone 9 is temporarily closed.
Zone 10
Zone 10 is accessed through the Kundal gate. It is in Aantri, Kushalipura (same as Kailashpuri which I also see?), Bodal, Halonda, Jojeshwar Mandir and Debpura. It has a rocky landscape with dry deciduous forest. There is not a route map on the tigerwalah website.
Khem Villas
We stayed in Khem Villas which is on the boundary of Ranthambore and has quite a bit of land in the buffer zone. I did not spend much time on the grounds there, but saw quite a bit of wildlife on the grounds in the short time I did so. In particular, Stan and I were shown a tiger track in the dirt on the grounds. The following are animals I saw at Khem Villas.
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| Indian pond heron |
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| This and the next two photos are of nilgai. |
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| Purple heron |
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| Red-wattled lapwing |
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| Indian robin |
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| Oriental magpie robin |
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| Oriental magpie robin |
Morning safaris are much, much better than afternoon safaris. Zone for was pretty much a dud in the afternoon, but sounds like it is one of the best zones. I'm sure we'd have had a different experience if we'd done it in the morning. On the other hand, we had a great experience in Zone 1 in the afternoon, seeing our first tiger. It was probably helped by the dense forest and cover. Having read a lot on Ranthambore in the last little while, I would really love to try Zone 6.
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