INDIA 2025: RATHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK DAY 2, RANTHAMBORE FORT

   November 29, 2026

Bob's primary interests on this trip were birds and tigers. That got a little tiresome for me, and I needed a break from it and from bumpy jeep rides. Luckily, Ranthambore National Park has a great fort that four of us decided to explore while Dave and Stan went on yet another safari drive. 

An engraved sign at the fort shares some interesting details:

• It is one of the strongest forts in India.
• It dates to the fifth century A.D. (!)
• It changed hands according to who was in power, which included Sultans and Mughals.
• It has seven gates.
• There are two palaces, a mosque, a Jain temple, and several Hindu temples within the walls.

Another embossed brass plaque notes that the fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument.

We joined a small crowd of people at the fort entrance. It seemed to me that about 95% were Indians.

There were plenty of other locals hanging out at the fort.

Pol means "gate," and Navlakha Pol is the main entrance to the fort as well as the first of seven sequential gates. In the event that one gate was breached by the enemy, the fort defenders would retreat behind the next gate, and so on. Navlakha means "nine-lakhs" and refers to the enormous amount of money (900,000 rupees) the fort cost to build.

One of the great things about the fort is that a major portion of the elevation gain is on long, shallow steps and gently sloping ramps like these.

If that was still too much, there was the option of riding in a chair carried on the shoulders of four men. We tried to get Bonnie to do it, but she would have none of it.

Here is Gate #2: Hathi Pol, or "Elephant Gate." It is on the left behind that big white stone. It was designed to prevent invaders from using elephants to attack the doors. Figures on top look like stone ornaments or like the gargoyles on the Notre Dame Cathedral, but they are actually . . . 

. . . monkeys. They are everywhere.

Up more stairs to Ganesh Pol, Gate #3

Somehow I missed Gate #4, but here is Gate #5, Anheri Pol, and I have no idea what that means.

A close-up of the gate shows its nasty-looking spikes.

This curving tunnel after the gate also helped with defense.

Lookout windows show both how high we were and how thick the fort walls are.

Our guide with a map of the fort, which is the size of a small city.

I'm telling you, the monkeys are everywhere. They are like the feral cats at the Roman Colosseum. See videos of them here and here.

Such beautiful architecture!

Near the top, we started to get expansive views of the valley.

Our guide got fixated on this view, insisting that he could see a tiger through his binoculars. I took the photos below with maximum zoom, and then even when I stretch the photos out as much as I can, and I don't see a tiger.

Once we arrived at the top where there are flat areas, we started to see things like the graveyard below.

. . . and the freshwater lake covered with a thick film of green algae . . .

. . . but with its own little floating palace that at one time must have been quite beautiful.

I believe this is the last of the gates. Ironically, its walls and the structure beyond are gone, but the gate still stands.

The Dargah of Qazi Peer Sadruddin Ki is a Sufi Islamic shrine built between the 13th and 14th centuries to honor a revered Sufi saint. 

There are multiple graves inside and on the terrace.

Isn't this beautiful? It is the Battis Khamba Chhatri ("32-Pillared Pavilion"), built of red sandstone in the 13th century by a king to honor his father who ruled the region for 32 years. To commemorate those years, the roof is held up by 32 pillars. 

I believe this is the Hammir Palace--one of the places the fort was built to protect. Hammir Dev Chauhan ruled the area in the 13th century. Imagine the power a structure like this represents during a time when most people barely had a roof over their heads.

The palace includes its own lake.

We saw several of these small rock structures. At first I thought they were the result of kids seeing how many rocks they could balance, but our guide said that these are built by Hindu visitors as a symbolic offering to Lord Ganesha and as a prayer for the blessing of owning their own home.

These "prayer threads" are sacred Hindu charms tied to an iron fence. They represent wishes and devotion. They remind me of the "locks of love" attached to bridge railings all over Europe.

Close-up from another location:

This relatively modern Hindu shrine, the Annapurna Mandir, was built in the mid-19th century.

At the very top level of Ranthambore Fort there were more monkeys than ever. They must congregate where the tourists are, hoping for snacks. There must be thousands on the property.

When one of our group needed a restroom, this is what was available (all squat toilets). Note the monkey peering into the left stall. We had to guard the person inside from the marauding monkeys. Incredibly gross.

This is the reason that so many locals make the trek to the top of Ranthambore Fort: The idol of Trinetra Ganesh. 

It is the only temple in the world where Lord Ganesha is depicted with three eyes (hence the name "Trinetra"), which symbolizes wisdom. The main idol (the silver face below) is flanked by his two wives (wearing orange garlands), and between him and his wives are his two sons. Can you see them?

A drummer sitting on a platform just inside the door was adding to the atmosphere (and accepting tips). You can hear his migraine-inducing music here.

We all got our own "third eye" blessing inside the temple from one of the priests. It is a reminder to focus inward, seek the divine, and use wisdom rather than just physical sight to make decisions. Receiving it from a priest also makes it a direct blessing from the Divine.

Our guide LOVED taking photos of us. I counted--he took 16 of us at the Trinetra Ganesha Temple. Here is one outside with the temple in the background.

It was time to head back down the steps and to our car so that we could get out of the park before the deadline. This man walked quickly by us with a huge load on his head . . .

. . . which he delivered to this area. I wonder what they use these donkeys for way up here at the top of the fort?

On our way back down all those steps, we stopped again at the lookout from which our guide had thought he could see a tiger four or five miles away when we were on our way up. He scanned the area with his binoculars again as we descended. Suddenly, he started to scream, "A tiger! A tiger!" I looked through his binoculars and couldn't see it. He took these photos with my phone through the binoculars, and I still can't see it.

However, it appears there is something there as vehicles are all congregated at one point.

Eventually we gave up and continued our downward trek. We said good-bye to the monkeys.

We spotted a wild peacock, which is not as good as a wild tiger but better than nothing.

We climbed through the gate that had been wide open when we were going up but now only had a tiny opening to crawl through.

We got back in our vehicle and dodged the sacred cows wandering the streets . . . 

. . . along with the not-so-sacred goats.

And when we met up with Dave and Bob and told them that we had "seen" a tiger four or five miles away, they looked just a little too smug. Then they pulled out their photos: 

WHAT???!!! You drag me to India on a second trip to see a tiger and then you see it WITHOUT ME? What kind of husband is that???  Bob didn't feel bad at all. His dream had been fulfilled.

But my dinner that night had a side-serving of sour grapes.

That was until Dave showed us HIS picture from OUR tiger sighting.  See all those cars facing the water? See what is walking along the shoreline?

So I can claim I saw a tiger TOO, right? I saw it--I just didn't see it. But now I've seen it. Makes sense to me. 

So there, Bob.