About Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary

Take a Tour to Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary

Hear the wild symphony!
Home of the majestic Tiger, Sariska is one of the many protected sanctuaries in India where Project Tiger met with success. Set amidst the scrubby Aravali Hills, the Sanctuary sprawls across dry thorny deciduous forests, covered almost ninety per cent by the Dhok tree. Sariska was declared a Sanctuary in 1955 and became a Tiger Reserve under in 1979.

» The residence of the royal cat : Its most popular resident, the Tiger along with other wildlife including the Leopard, Jungle Cat, Jackal, Hyena, and Wild dog, inhabit the Sanctuary. In an endeavor to make Sariska more animal-friendly, the authorities have plans to create artificial waterholes, divert the roads that disrupt the serenity of the Reserve and find ways to curtail the biggest threat, poachers

» Flora & Fauna : The forest type is dry deciduous, represented by dhok (Anogeissus pendula), khair (Acacia catechu), tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) and ber (Zizyphus maudrentiana). It remains lush green during the monsoon period and dry in summer.

Today the tiger population in Sariska is around 25 (as per government census of 1995). That's not much, but it's also not bad considering the fact that tiger population is shrinking everywhere. The best time to spot tigers is in summer, when they move to waterholes and there's not much foliage to camouflage their stripes.

The other cats living here are jungle cat, caracals (a reddish-brown wildcat with black tipped ears) and the rusty spotted cat. Nilgai (large Indian antelope; blue bull), cheetal (spotted deer), sambar (large Asiatic deer), jackal, chowsingha (four-horned antelopes),and ratel (honey badgers) are easily spotted.

» Jeep Safari! : Within Sariska, jeeps can be hired from the Forest Reception Office to tour the park. The other option for avid wildlife-watchers is to hire a machan or `hide' near one of the waterholes.

Location, Access & Geographical Details

The town closest to Sariska is Alwar, and the park itself lies off the Delhi-Alwar-Jaipur highway, just over 100 km from Jaipur, and about 200 km from Delhi. Alwar, a mere 21 km from Sariska, is the nearest railhead, and has frequent trains from Deeg, Bharatpur, Jaipur and other towns. In addition, the high-speed Shatabdi Express comes daily from Delhi, except on Sundays. The train stops only for two minutes at Alwar, so you'll have to be quick on your feet, getting on or off.

The nearest airport is Jaipur, which, by virtue of its being the state capital, and an important tourist destination, is well connected to the rest of the country.

Regular buses connect Alwar to Delhi and to other towns and cities within Rajasthan as well. From Alwar, there are buses to Sariska, and rented vehicles or taxis can be taken to get to the park.
» Temperature : 36.0°C - 46.0°C (Summers) 5.0°C - 32.9°C (Winters)
» Altitude : 260 mts
» Rainfall : 70 cms

Best time to visit

Open year round, the best period being November-April, especially March-April.