The Sariska Tiger Reserve with an area of 866 Sq.KM is a National Park in India located in the Alwar district of Rajasthan state. The park is situated 107 km from Jaipur and 200 km from Delhi. The topography of Sariska consists of scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, rocks and grasses. This area was a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state and it was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. In 1978, it was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India's Project Tiger scheme. The area of Sariska, being a part of the Aravalli Range, is rich in mineral resources, e.g. copper.

The most common wildlife species are found in the Sariska Tiger Reserve include the Bengal tiger, leopard, jungle cat, caracal, striped hyena, golden jackal, chital,  sambhar,  nilgai,  hare, chinkara, four-horned antelope 'chousingha', wild boar,  hanuman langur, Rhesus monkeys, plenty of bird species, reptiles, etc. Birds include Peafowl, Grey Partridge, Bush Quail, Sand Grouse, Tree Pie, Golden backed Wood Pecker, Crested Serpent Eagle and the Great Indian Horned Owl.

Botanically the forest is very rich in varity. The dominant tree in the forests is dhok (Anogeissus pendula). Other trees are e.g. salar (Boswellia serrata), kadaya (Sterculia urens), dhak (Butea monosperma), gol (Lannea  coromandelica),  ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) and khair (Acacia catechu). Bargad (Ficus benghalensis),  arjun (Terminalia arjuna), gugal (Commiphora wightii) or bamboo, etc.  Shrubs are numerous, such as kair (Capparis decidua), adusta (Adhatoda vesica) and jhar ber (Ziziphus nummularia).

Area: 866 km² total (497 km² core, 369 km² buffer); Altitude: Between 300 m and 722 m MSL; Rainfall: Average 650 mm (per year)

History:

The 17th-century Kankwadi fort, originally built by Jai Singh II, is located near the centre of the park. In this fort, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb briefly imprisoned his brother Dara Shikoh in the struggle for succession of the throne. It is believed that the place named Pandupol in the hill was one of the retreats of Pandava. Asesult, the Hanuman temple in Pandupol being a favourite pilgrimage site, poses as the source of problems to wildlife especially due to heavy traffic.

Neelkanth or Rajor Garh was the capital of Bargujars and the temples were built by Bargujars.  Tal Briksh to the north of Nilkanth is important for its hot water spring. Bhartrihari is also a pilgrimage spot for the locals. The ruler of Ujjain, Raja Bhartrihari meditated at this place. The Sariska Palace of the King of Alwar was used as a royal hunting lodge of Maharaja Jai Singh.

Tiger population:
In 2004, there were strong and persistent reports that no tigers were being sighted in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. It was not only that tigers were not being seen but also and more alarmingly, there were no indirect evidence of tiger’s presence (such as pugmarks, scratch marks on trees etc.) being found. The Rajasthan Forest Department took the stand that "the tigers had temporarily migrated outside the reserve and would be back after the rains". The Project Tiger, now National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), backed this assumption. There were some 15 tigers in the last years before. In January 2005, journalist Jay Mazoomdaar broke the news  that there were no tigers left in Sariska. Soon the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Project Tiger Directorate declared an "emergency tiger census" in Sariska and the Central Bureau of Investigation, India's premier intelligence agency, conducted a probe. After a two month exercise they finally declared that Sariska indeed did not have any tigers left. Poaching was blamed to be one of the major reasons for the disappearance of tiger.

In 2005, the Government of Rajasthan in co-operation with the Government of India and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) planned the re-introduction of tiger to Sariska and also the relocation of villages. Some plans to construct by-pass roads were also there. However, it took several years to take a more concrete steps. It was decided to move one male and two female tigers from Ranthambore National Park.The Rajasthan forest officials rushed to fly two tigers from Ranthambhore in June-July 2008 ignoring recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Tiger Task Force. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) along with the Government of Rajasthan started tracking the relocated tigers with the help of ISRO's reconnaissance satellites. The first aerial translocation of the male tiger (Dara) from Ranthambhore to Sariska was done on 28 June 2008 using a Mi-17 helicopter by Wing Commander Vimal Raj and when the relocated male tiger made its first kill in the enclosure there was a hope that the tigers may adapt to the new environment in Sariska Reserve.

Only two of the four villages experts had said needed to be relocated were actually moved, though the second, Kankwari, was shifted long after the tigers were re-introduced. The first relocated village was Bhagani. Also, the diversion of roads crossing the reserve, an issue critical to the survival of its wildlife, continues to be a problem.

One more tigress was shifted to Sariska from Ranthambhore in February 2009. Thus, the reserve had one tiger and two tigresses. On 28 July 2010, another tigress was brought here from Ranthambhore National Park. Altogether five tigers - two males and three females - are dwelling in the reserve.

Unfortunately, it is almost certain that the first three of the five so far relocated tigers came from one father. Moreover, the first two tigresses have the same mother. The breeding of close relatives leads to inbreeding. [Source: wikipedia.org]

Hotels in Sariska

The tourists may contact the hotels directly at the address indicated above, where the contact details have been provided by the hotels in the above table. Alternatively, please contact your travel agent (from the list under "Travel Services" in the main menu) who deals with the concerned hotel or you may contact ArrayTours for booking. For details, please log on to www.arraytours.com or  e-mail your queries to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or  phone +91 33 24416978, +91 9433253111.