City - Ranthambhore State - RAJASTHAN Country - India
About
Ranthambore is a national park and tiger reserve in Rajasthan state of western India. It is located in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 130 km from Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, 11 km away.
The park lies at the edge of a plateau, and is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named for the historic Ranthambore fortress, which lies within the national park. The park covers an area of 392 km², and is famous for its tiger population, and is one of India's Project Tiger reserves. Other major wild animals include the leopard, dhole, wild pig, sambar, chital and the gaur.
Major wild animals found in the national park include the tiger, leopard, nilgai, dhole, wild pig, sambar, chital and the gaur. It is also home to wide variety of trees, plants, birds and reptiles.
General info
* National Park area: 275 km² core area. 392 km² including buffer zone. * Tiger Reserve area: 1334 km² * Altitude: 215 to 505 meters above sea level * Terrain: Dense tropical dry forest, open bushland and rocky terrain interspread with lakes and streams * Ecoregion: Kathiarbar-Gir dry deciduous forests * Best Season: between October and March * Closed: 30 June to 30 September
History
The fortress of Ranthambore was founded in 944 by the Chauhan Rajputs. The fortress commanded a strategic location, 700 feet above the surrounding plain. After the defeat of the Chauhan king Prithviraj III by Muhammad of Ghor in 1192, Ranthambore, led by Govinda Raja, grandson of Pritviraj, became the center of Chauhan resistance to the expanding Sultanate of Delhi. Govinda Raja was succeeded by his son Balhana.
The Delhi Sultan Iltutmish captured Ranthambore in 1226, but the Chauhans recapture it after his death in 1236. The armies of Sultan Nasir ud din Mahmud, led by the future Sultan Balban, unsuccessfully besieged the fortress in 1248 and 1253, but captured from Jaitrasingh Chauhan in 1259. Hamir Dev succeeded Jaitrasingh in 1283, and recaptured Ranthambore and enlarged the kingdom. Sultan Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji briefly besieged the fort in 1290-91. In 1299, Hamir Dev sheltered Muhammad Shah, a rebel general of Sultan Ala ud din Khilji, and refused to turn him over to the Sultan. The sultan unsuccessfully besieged the fortress in 1299, but returned in 1301 to personally oversee a long siege, and succeeded in capturing the fort.
The fortress was captured by the kingdom of Mewar under Rana Hamir Singh (1326-1364) and Rana Kumbha (1433-1468). After the reign of Rana Kumbha's successor Rana Udai Singh I (1468-1473) the fortress passed to the Hada Rajputs of Bundi. Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat captured the fortress from 1532 to 1535. The Mughal Emperor Akbar captured the fortress in 1559.
The fortress passed to the Kachwaha Maharajas of Jaipur in the 17th century, and it remained part of Jaipur state until Indian Independence. The area surrounding the fortress became a hunting ground for the Maharajas of Jaipur. Jaipur state acceded to India in 1949, becoming part of the state of Rajasthan in 1950.
Ranthambore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Indian Government, and was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambore became a national park in 1980. In 1984 the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries, a total area 1334 km².
Inside Ranthambore fort there are three Hindu temples dedicated to Ganesh,Shiva and Ramlalaji constructed in 12th and 13th centuries from red Karauli stone. Source:Wikipedia
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{K:65007} 8/11/2006