Rajaji National Park

Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park that covers the Shivalik range near the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas. Rajaji National Park contains tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf dense and thick forests. Rajaji National Park is situated in Uttarakhand, known as one of the best tourist destinations in India. The Park covers a total area of 820 square kms being located in Dehradun, Haridwar & Pauri Garhwal districts. Haridwar & Rishikesh are the nearest cities covering different ranges of the park. Rajaji National Park offers wonderful chance to nature lovers to witness the beautiful landscape & wildlife of the park.

Rajaji National Park has now become the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. It is the second tiger reserve in the State Uttarakhand after the Corbett National Park situated in Kumaon division of the state. Rajaji Tiger Reserve is one of the best 42 tiger reserves present in the country where you can take the pleasure of jungle safari in Rishikesh.

Chilla and Dhaulkhand ranges of the park are well known for the presence of the tigers, which is spread over 820 sq.km in Haridwar, Dehra Dun and Pauri Garhwal districts. Established in 1983. Rajaji National Park has the highest number of elephants than all other national parks of Uttarakhand. Tiger, leopard, Monkey, Barking deer, Sambar deer, Wild Boar, Antelopes such as the Nilgai & Goral are the wildlife jungle safari in Rishikesh.

If you are a bird lover, Rajaji National Park is the most famous park for bird watching. It has more than 400 species of the birds and invites Siberian birds during winters. This park is the first staging ground for the migratory birds when they cross Himalayas to enter India. The Himalayan Pied Kingfisher, fire tailed sunbird & Great Pied Hornbill are some of the inhabitants of this park.

The holy Ganga river flows through the park from Bairaaj to Chilla crossing Rishikesh, Lakshman Jhulla, Ram Jhulla and ends at Har Ki Paudi. There is another river which flows through Rajaji national park in Dehradun district called Song rivers that comes from Doiwala, Bhaniyawala crossing chidderwala and in the end dissolves into Ganga River near Gohri Rang.

Jungle Safari Zones Details in Rajaji National Park

There are currently 4 Jungle Safari Zones as below:-

Chilla Range Area: Chilla area of park passes through Mandal Mithawali and Khara, where you can have the safari by gypsy while seeing all the flora and fauna of the park. It’s a about 2.5 to 3 hour ride through the dense forest in Rajaji National park. This range gets open every year on 15 November and gets close for tourists on 15 June every year. Through the ride of the park, you can spot Elephant, Leopard, Deer, Boar, Peacock, Python and many birds and their sound. Elephant safari is also possible but you have to book in advance as there are many people who book for Elephant safari and get the advantages of it. Last minute booking might disappoint you.

Motichur Range Area: The gate of Motichoor Range is located on the road near Motichoor village on Haridwa-Rishikesh Road. The park passes through forest and you’ll get almost 24 km ride from Asarori through Charring Cross. This zone is full of Sal forests through a drive of 24 km from the Asarori gate through Charring Cross. It opens on 15 November and closes sometimes around 30 June.

Ranipur Range Area: This is not a very popular range for Jungle Safari and very obsolete area of Rajaji National Park. You can see a variety of trees and plants but probabilities of seeing animals are very less or rare. If you wish to see the flora of the park, this might be the good choice to get a gypsi ride through the Ranipur Range Park area but if you’re a Wildlife animals lover, it cannot be a good choice. It opens on 15 November and Closes on 15 June same as Chilla Range.

Jhilmil Range Area: This area comes under the district of Pauri Garhwal and almost 15 Km far from Chilla Range gate that has spread around a stretch of 383 acres. It is a vast area therefore, various animals wander to this place from other places to the Rajaji National Park in search of having a better shelter here. The total distance of this zone is around 40-45 km which takes almost 3-3.5 hour. Surprisingly, the best thing about this zone is, it sometimes opens until 30th June but due to lack of information tourists do not know much about this area. This area is identified to be home for Swamp Deer and Barasingha.

Timings for Rajaji National Park & Wildlife Safari

(Winter Timings – 15th November to 31st March)
Morning – 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Evening – 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM

(Summer Timings – 1st April to 30th June)
Morning – 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM

Evening – 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Where to stay in Rishikesh

Experiencing jungle safari in Rishikesh is an adventurous activity itself and to experience such an activity one must want to experience nature too around their stay. The Woods Resort is an ideal choice for nature lovers who want to spend their stay in the lap of the nature to enhance their pleasure after jungle safari in Rishikesh. The Woods Resort offers all luxury amenities while serving natural atmosphere of the jungle being an orchard property. If you want to run away from the noise of the city traffics and spend sometime with nature while experiencing sound of birds and natural breeze, this is the place.