The world famous Wildlife Sanctuaries of Rajasthan are one of the most precious natural resources - a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts, botanists, zoologists, ornithologists, ichthyologists and mammalogists.

Rajasthan has a varied topography and climate that supports a wide variety of animals, birds and vegetation. There are some world famous natural reserves and sanctuaries to conserve them in Rajasthan, India.

Rajasthan is dotted with National parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The varied topography has resulted in great variations of temperature and vegetation in the state of Rajasthan, India.

Today, Rajasthan has two world famous national parks - the Ranthambore National Park near Sawai Madhopur and the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary and one of the finest bird sanctuaries in the world at Bharatpur in the Keoladeo Ghana National Park. These reserves have been set up with a view of maintaining the delicate ecosystems necessary to ensure the survival of wildlife. As elsewhere in India, Rajasthan's wildlife is its most wonderful natural heritage. An unrivaled diversity of forest wildlife is found here. The parks and sanctuaries of Rajasthan are of marvelous natural beauty, with a fairly healthy population of wild animals and some of the rarest species of birds and mammals. You can enjoy wildlife watching in Rajasthan, which combines adventure with fun on your journey across Rajasthan, India.

Situated at the junction of the Aravali and Vindhyas hills, Ranthambore National Park is 10 km west of the rail junction and market town of Sawai Madhopur. The blend between nature and history is self-evident at Ranthambore and the 13th century fort is the focal point of the park. The landscape is so stunning that even without the wildlife, Sawai Madhopur would have qualified as a place worth a visit.

Ranthambore is replete with lakes, haunted by crocodiles and dotted with delicate pavilions and decaying, creeper-covered Rajput palaces. The Ranthambore Fort is a must visit attraction. You can have a panoramic view of the park from its ramparts. From the fort, one can have a glimpse of open bush land and fairly dense forest, replete with ruined pavilions/ chatris and hideouts.

One of the finest examples of Project Tiger's conservation efforts in India, Ranthambore National Park occupies an area of over 400 sq km. Replete with many steep crags the park is dotted with lakes and rivers. Adding to the beauty and grandeur of the Park is the 10th century Fort parched on one of the hills. The topography around Sawai Madhopur is a blend of impenetrable forests and open bush land. The forest is the typically dry deciduous type with dhok being the most well known tree.

At sunset or in the mists of early morning, the forests around Sawai Madhopur can be ethereal, while the ruined tenth-century Chauhan fort, towering above the forest canopy from atop a dramatic crag, is straight out of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.

Once a former hunting ground of the ruler of Alwar, Sariska National Park was brought under the ambit of Project Tiger in 1979. The closest town of this beautiful park is Alwar. Like its more famous counterpart Ranthambore, the park is the dotted with ruins and a fort reminiscent of the past glory of the region. Within the precincts of the park is a Hanuman Temple (only open to the public two days per week). Sariska National Park is replete with abundant woodland. Its wildlife here includes nilgai, sambar, chital, mongooses, wild boar, peacocks, monkeys, parrots and other birds, but it is regrettable that there has been a decimation of population of tigers due to poaching. As a result sightings of the tigers are less frequent than at Ranthambore. The poaching problem assumes alarming proportion when the number of tigers plummeted from 45 to 16 in a single year.

The best prospect of seeing a tiger is around the artificial water holes placed along the main road through the park to attract animals in the dry season. Access to the park (closed July & Aug, when the animals retreat to higher ground) is limited to daylight hours (dawn to dusk), to protect tigers from night poaching.

Best Season: October to April

Fauna: Tiger, Wild-Boar, Neelgai, Sambhar, Jackal, Hyena, Chital, Four horned antelope, Langoor, Jungle cat, and around 300 species of birds.

How to get there: 200 km from Delhi and 110 km from Jaipur. Its jumping-off point Alwar is well connected by regular rail and bus services with Delhi and Jaipur. There are also regular buses from Alwar to Sariska.

Places to see around and excursions: Alwar - fort, museum and cenotaph.

Distances: Road - 200 km from Delhi and 107 km from Jaipur; Rail - Alwar 37 km.

Places to Stay: Forest Rest House, Tiger Den Sariska, Hotel Sariska Palace. One can also stay at Alwar which is about an hour away and where budget accommodations are not hard to find.

Formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Keoladeo Ghana National Park once served as a royal hunting reserve. It became a sanctuary in 1956, and was recognized as a national park in 1981.

Considered to be one of the finest waterfowl reserves in the world, Keoladeo Ghana National Park is just an hour's drive from Agra. Situated on an area of 29 square kilometers the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is home to more than 350 species of birds, including egrets, herons, a mind-blowing two thousand painted storks and the splendid Saras crane (including the rare Siberian crane, during the winter months). Keoladeo Ghana National Park is one of the most important breeding and migratory areas in the world for birds.

Apart from the 200 species of Indian birds that inhabit the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary around the year, there are some further 130 species, which migrate from far and wide including the Central Asia and Russian steppes. The finest and rarest of these migratory birds are the five pairs of Siberian cranes, pure white with black primaries, crimson bills and facial patches, who nest in the south of Keoladeo Ghana National Park each winter. However it has been some years since the Siberian Cranes have visited Bharatpur.

An estimated 125 such cranes are said to survive in the entire world. This group flies over five thousand miles from its summer breeding grounds around the Ob River in Siberia, crossing the Himalayas en route.

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is at its most exotic at dawn and dusk, and fullest between October and March. The park can be toured by foot, bike buggy or bicycle. It will be a good idea to take along a local guide for the day. Best time to visit Keoladeo Ghana National Park is October-January, as migratory birds triple the number of species.