Sariska National Park

Sariska National Park is about an hour's drive from Alwar and spreads over 800 square kms. It is a very diverse park ranging from scrubland to craggy mountains, to rock formations that are remininscent of slate and lava. It has waterfalls and dry river beds, fertile valleys and wooded areas so there is no shortage of vistas to admire.We visited in the dry season.

For the first time EVER I saw animals that were showing signs of not having fed well. A lot of deer looked quite emaciated and tired. There were cheetal and jackals, antelope and sambar as well as an abundance of peacocks and pea hens.

They were everywhere, on the branches, by the watering holes, lying down in the shade ( had never seen peacocks doing that before ) and displaying magnificently.

The park does have tigers but we saw none other than the ones that were stuffed or hung from walls in Sariska Palace.We saw partridges and teepees and some of them were so habituated that they ate out of our hands

For me the most rewarding part was watching the monkeys. There are so many of them but their anthropomorphic behaviour and mannerisms always fascinate and engage me. The careful grooming of this loving couple.

The gentleness of this mother with her suckling baby .

And the way that this troupe made this tree their very own with monkeys peeping out of the holes and drapped over the branches. Just delightful.

 

More on Sariska Palace soon.