| Ranthambhore National Park, one of the two most important National Parks in the state of Rajasthan which is under the Project Tiger. The gateway to Ranthambhore Wildlife Sanctuary is Sawai
Madhopur where Maharajas of Jaipur stayed at their beautiful hunting lodge and from where important guests such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Phillip and the Mountbatten have also been taken on royal
hunts. The modern town lies about 180 km from Jaipur and was originally founded by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I of Jaipur, in 1759. The Amer rulers (the Kachhawahas) had a long standing association with
Sawai Madhopur for many centuries. The Ranthambhore Fort (14 km) was gifted to them by the Mughals, along with vast tracts of surroundings forest-land. The region around Sawai Madhopur is thick with remnants
of its past history. Walls, wells, mosques and hunting lodges adorn the lush rolling hills of the Vindhyas and the Aravalis. One of these lodges has been converted into a hotel run by Rajasthan Tourism and
another, forest lodge hotel, which was a hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Jaipur, is run as a hotel. Every effort has been made to retain the original ambience of the 30s. The Ranthambhore National Park and the
Ranthambhore Fort lie within easy reach of Sawai Madhopur (which is also the nearest railhead). |
