Our last stop on our Rajasthan tour was a tiger safari in Ranthambhore National Park. The park is located about equal distance between Jaipur and Agra, south of New Delhi and is one of the best places in India to see tigers in their natural habitat. The best months to see them are May and November so I had high hopes of seeing these guys in the wild. On the ride out, we passed several of these camels with red noses. I’m not sure what the purpose was, but it was so funny looking! They reminded me of exotic Rudolph’s.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but how people get around here is a bit crazy. They just cram as many people as they can in every space available.

We quickly dropped our things off at a nearby hotel, joined a bunch of other safari goers in a special safari truck and headed for the park.

Right away we saw a deer and various birds, including some colorful peacocks. I’ve only ever seen these guys in zoos and parks, but they look exactly the same in the wild. Go figure.

The land the park is located on used to be the hunting grounds of the maharajas of Jaipur. As we drove around I kept thinking how glad I was my dad wasn’t there or he’d definitely want to go hunting himself. Good thing it’s no longer allowed!

I believe this guy is called a chital (cheetal), recognizable for its spots. No, it’s not Bambi.

We saw many different kinds of birds, a sort of mongoose I think (possibly a Small Indian Mongoose), wild boars and some serious looking spiderwebs.

We didn’t see the spiders that go along with those webs, but I think I’m really ok with that!

Unfortunately we never saw any tigers. We were there in the afternoon, which is supposed to be a good time to see them, away from the heat of the day, but they stayed in hiding that day. I was kind of bummed, but to make up for it, we got to see something almost as cool – crocodiles! Good thing we had a strong metal car around us. These guys looked fierce.

As we meandered our way back through the park to the gate, we saw a nilgai, a type of antelope and the largest in Asia, and a massive eagle.

If it had been up to me, I would have waited around until well past sunset to try to see a tiger, but I suppose that might not have been the safest idea. As I always say, I guess it’s a good excuse to go back!