The Sawai Madhopur station is virtually as the British left it; red brick and mortar, complete with arches and columns, a touch dirtier and more crowded with locals and, of course, the thousands of visitors who make an annual pilgrimage each winter to savour this internationally celebrated tiger destination.

You might see a lone sambar stag or female deer suckling a fawn, or large sambar congregations at dusk and dawn.

Chital herds are found in almost all areas of the park. Nilgai antelope walk about unafraid, close to your vehicle. Wild boar particularly love the lakeshores and can be seen rooting about in search of nutritious tubers that grow underwater.

Troupes of langur monkeys, young ones in tow, will keep you entertained for hours with their antics, but beware... they have been known to urinate on unsuspecting tourists who pause too long under their canopy perches!

There are several roosting colonies of fruit bats in the forest and guides will point these out to you if you ask them. The reptiles of Ranthambhore include marsh crocodiles or muggers (basking in the early hours of day in winter), soft-shelled turtles, monitor lizards and pythons, cobras, rat snakes, whip snakes and water-dwelling chequered keelbacks.

With luck and patience, you could see the tiger, leopard, jungle cat, sloth bear, hyena and jackal. But remember that cats are secretive by nature and like the hyena and jackal, difficult to spot. Always expect the unexpected. Even when the jungle seems still and 'un-happening', excitement lurks. You can be sure for instance that hidden tigers and leopards are watching you from the safety of tall grasses.

Species recorded here (ask for a check list from the office of the Field Director) include the crested serpent eagle, Bonelli's eagle, great Indian horned owl, grey partridge, common sandgrouse, quail, red spur fowl, common pea fowl, tree pie, paradise fly catcher, pheasant tailed jacana, painted stork, white necked stork, spoonbill, green pigeon, whitebacked vulture, king vulture, whitebreasted kingfisher, spotted dove, ring dove, coucal, and the goldenbacked woodpecker.

The three lakes that are so central to the fauna are ideal spots for birdspotting. Snipe, coots, grebes, black-tailed godwits, sandpipers, cotton teal and large egrets can sometimes be seen hitching a ride on the backs of half-submerged sambar deer; picking ticks off their backs.

Grassland and scrub birds like quail and partridge scurry away from vehicles as they traverse muddy forest tracts and shrikes can be seen sitting on tall grass stalks waiting to catch flying insects.

Nests of raptors such as blackwinged kites, Bonelli's eagles and crested serpent eagles can be spotted in tall trees, which also serve as excellent lookout posts from where these 'tigers of the sky' are able to survey their aerial kingdom.

Birds recognise no physical boundaries and visit villages on the fringes of the park, which make for excellent birding spots in the hours between the morning and evening forest rounds (11 am to 2.30 pm).