November 30, 2015 – We woke early to meet our safari group at 7:00. Our guide was RK and we had one  other guy in our jeep. He was an American who currently lives in Singapore but was Indian. He was very nice and a great person to share our first safari. It was chilly when the day started and the hotel provided blankets and a snack. We took off in the jeep down the dusty village road towards the park. Along the way, we saw the farmers working and the ladies filling up their water jugs at the water pumps. 

Ranthambore is a park that was once the hunting grounds of the Indian royal family. Today it is a national park and animal reserve that has worked hard for the protection of the animals, in particular the tiger. Tigers   have been overhunted and are still subject to poaching, so there are only about 55 tigers in the whole park. We were told that most people do not see tigers, so not to get our hopes up and to enjoy the other wonderful parts of the park. The park is divided into 7 zones and the safari jeeps are regulated by the government. Only a certain number of jeeps can go into each zone and it is only open twice a day for about 3 hours at a time. All jeeps have to be out by the close time or the guides and drivers will be fined. The zones are distributed at random by a computer. Some zones have a greater chance for a tiger sighting, but it is lottery style for the zone you are assigned. 

Our jeep was assigned into zone 4 and we were told that was lucky because the previous day there had been tiger sightings and even sightings of tigers eating from a carcass. As soon as we entered the park, our driver drove like a bat out of hell to get to the area of yesterday’s sightings. We were flying down the dusty jeep trails, holding on tight and passing other animals in a flash. I didn’t even have time to take a picture. I was worried that this is what the Indians mean by safari and my romantic ideals of a leisurely ride with tons of photo moments was being replaced. We finally arrived at an area and other jeeps were already there. Two tigers were sitting in a wooded ravine. They were so regal and amazing. It was a mother and son. The son was almost full grown. We began to take tons of pictures as RK told us all about the park and the tigers. He was so knowledgeable and had a true passion for the tigers and the park. He was raised in Ranthambore and he loves the park and the beautiful surroundings. He was also taking pictures of the tigers. We then drove over to the carcass which had been dragged and we saw another tiger sleeping near it. Then back to the 2 tigers when they began to walk. There were about 10 other jeeps there full of people all taking tons of pictures when the tiger leisurely walks in front of the jeeps and moves towards a waterng hole. She was not fazed by the people and everyone was respectful of her. We were probably about 10 feet away. It was amazing!! The son followed his mother until they both disappeared. We were all so excited and RK said that we  were so lucky.  He then drove us to a high  spot where we  could see out over the park and we had chai. After that the ride was leisurely and we took pictures of the other animals like the Sambar deer, the crocodiles, the monkeys, the many birds, the blue bull antelopes, wild boar and peacocks. 

It was a great ride and we returned to the hotel around 11. We were covered in dust from the ride but had a nice late breakfast and rested until 2:15 for our second safari of the day. For that safari, we were still with RK and the other passengers were a fun couple from Wales and a young man from Seattle who is Indian and traveling around the country. We took off for zone 5. The area was my favorite and full of animals. The driver was much calmer too and RK really took time to tell us more about the animals and the reserve. We learned so much. Along the way, we spotted a Sloth bear. RK got so excited as they are very rare to see. We began to follow it and even went off road to track it down. It climbed up a tree and we got as close as we could. She was hissing at us and it was all very exciting! RK was so excited and his face was lit up! After we lost the bear, we drove around it was truly a magical place! I learned so much and it was so restorative to be in the woods. 

We arrived back to the hotel around 6 and had a nice long shower. The amount of dirt that came off our bodies was crazy. We were covered head to toe in clay dust. We both were coughing and felt as if we had breathed in so much of it. 

The hotel had a campfire for the guests and we went to mingle and show off some of our pictures. There are only about 30 guests in the hotel so we got to know them. We met nice people from all over. The hotel has a naturalist on site too who was great and she told us so much about the area and the wildlife. The hotel was started by the son of a famous naturalist in the area who worked hard to save the tiger. Khem Villas serves as a model in the conservation area. All the food is farmed on their land and the water is recycled and solar energy is used. They have worked hard to plant native plants back in the area and teach  local farmers techniques that are friendly to the environment. It serves only vegetarian food and it was the best food we have had in India. Everything was so fresh. Yogurt is made fresh and even the bread is homemade with wheat that they grow. 

Khem Villas is a magical place and one that we would love to return to. My favorite part – teh turn down service includes a hot water bottle but into your bed. It is wrapped in a beautiful handmade fabric pouch and the bottle warms the whole bed!! It felt luxurious in a down to earth manner!