Situated in the Alwar District of Rajasthan, “Sariska National Park”, is one of the important national parks in Rajasthan. Stretch over an area of 866 sq. kilometres, the park boasts not of variety of flora and fauna but it is famous for ‘Tiger population’ and ‘Tiger Reserve Project’.
Other than flora and fauna, feature that make Sariska National Park popular among worldwide are the ruins of 11th centuries ‘Garh-Rajor’ temple, 17th-century ‘Kankwari’ fort on the hill which offer a beautiful view of soaring vultures and eagles. Last but not least it’s encircled ‘Siliserh Lake’ and ‘Jai Samand Lake’, which houses varied crocodiles, water snakes and different creatures of land and water is really enticing and treats for many wildlife lovers and photographers.
As greenery can hardly be found in the huge area of desert, "Sariska National Park" is one of the alone forest area in the entire western Aravali hills which is enriched with flora. According to climatic and geographical condition,the flora found in Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary is of dry deciduous type. About 90% of the park covered with ‘Dhok’ tree. Despite this, the park also comprises different kinds of trees named Goria, Surwal, Ber, Tendu, and Khair.
Moreover, the national park has dry and dusty look during the summer season, but with the beginning of monsoon, the look of the park changes greatly and a good bit of greenery can be seen.
Fauna of Sariska National Park
Sariska National Park offers a good opportunity to watch wildlife in their natural habitat. Extent over an area of 800 sq. kilometres, this wonderful park amazed tourists with animals like leopards, sambhar, jungle cats, hyenas, deer, chinkaras, chausinghas, antelopes, wild boars, bison, nilgai, mongoose and porcupine. No doubt tiger population and various reptiles and snakes complete the fauna of the national park.
Except this, if you want to know about the bird species of Sariska National Park, here you will watch over 225 species of birds like grey partridge, sand grouse, crested serpent eagle, woodpecker, horned owl, tree pie, bush quail and many more, that not flapping their wings in the park but around trees and you.
Wildlife Safari in Sariska National Park
Two wonderful safaris are available in Sariska National Park named : Jeep Safari and Canter Safari.
Jeep Safari : An approximate on 3 hours, through “Jeep Safari”, a small group of at least 6 people can explore the national park and its wildlife in their natural habitat. A jeep safari is specially suggested for wildlife photographers so that they can capture the perfect picture of royal tiger and other species of animals.
Canter Safari : Next to jeeps, open vans called ‘Canters’ are also available for safari. If you are traveling in a group more than 6 people then it is best to be together in a canter. It allows 20 people at a time and travels in all zones.
Note : It is advisable to book your ticket earlier as the demand for Safari will be very high, especially during tourism season.
Wildlife Safari Timings
In Sariska National Park, safaris take place in two times, Morning and Evening. The timings of safari for both the slots are given below:
Note: For any unforeseen calamities like fire, earthquake or climatic condition reason, the safari timings may be varied.
Morning Safari : 6 AM to 10 AM
Evening Safari : 2 PM to 6 PM
Climate of Sariska National Park
The Climate in Sariska National Park is not specific. Here below, let’s have a look on brief description of weather of various seasons.
Weather Summary
Summer : In Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary the summer months ranges from ‘March to June’. Here March – June are usually recorded very hot and the temperature reaching at a point of 49°Celsius, so those who can tolerate heat, this time is best to view animals.
Monsoon : Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary experiences monsoon from ‘July to September’. As Monsoon is occasional here, at some point of time it receive very heavy rainfall and sometime no rainfall. So mostly the temperature recorded during this time is hot and falls by only a few degrees.
Winter : In Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary the winter months begins from ‘October to February’, the temperature recorded during this time among 15°C to 25°C.
History of Sariska National Park
The history of “Sariska National Park” goes back to the period of pre independence. On that time, this area was used as a private hunting destination by the kings or regal persons. After independence, scenario had changed, the kings were taken off their royal power and normal people started hunting wild animals to cleared land for residence and agricultural purposes. For continued shooting and government negligence reason, here not only the number of wild animal reduced greatly but in 1973 the selected Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary was not one of the nine reserves under the project Tiger. Finally in 1979 the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary was again integrated under the project Tiger. The active implementation of the policies connected with conservation has extremely helped the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary and make it popular among worldwide.
Though, there are 16 village settlements sheltering 5000 people and 30000 animals within the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary. No doubt the environmental change is a challenge. Efforts are being attempted to accomplish an ecological balance and issues like stealing, traffic and land settlement.
All in all the History of Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary tells us more than ever to done to do to preserve it.
