marble

So, we're visiting India next month and wanted to see some wildlife while we were there. We followed the various guides and booked a couple of jeep safaris in Ranthambore. All ticketed and all valid according to the booking website. However, we tried to book transfers to Ranthambore recently and the agent we spoke with said he was happy to do the transfers but were we sure we wanted to go since the park was closed. I've emailed the 'Forest Management' government email address but have had no response. Their website says:
I have no idea whether this means my booking is still valid and it's just further bookings which are stopped, or whether everything is closed? Searching the web seems to come up blank. I'm just confused as to why the government would shut 3 national parks for 2.5 weeks for a relatively small conference. Or perhaps this is my first lesson on travelling in India?

Keyser

when did you send the email????the government agencies take their own sweet time to respond....

is there a number of the website????if so then i would call them to get more info....

marble

Thanks for the advice, I shall give them a call on Monday and see what I can find out.

Keyser

great....keep us posted on what they say....

marble

So, I've spoken to my hotel and also the Forest Department. I'm not sure I got through to the right person at the Forest Department, so they didn't provide much information. However, my hotel said they had checked with local officials and that advance booking were still valid and the park was open. We have advance booking so we're apparently still fine. There are apparently 1500 or so delegates descending on Jaipur for the 'World Wilderness Congress' and it sounds like the government are trying to hold as many of the remaining places as possible.

Our fingers are crossed that all goes smoothly, but we're also happy to have a few days downtime if things don't materialise.