History of Sariska National Park
Sariska is known for its avid tourism in Rajasthan, as one of the oldest tiger reserves in the country. Although, before I visited Sariska National Park I had only heard of the history in fragments. Therefore, I decided to take a proper history tour of Sariska National Park.
The day started fine but soon caught up in a scorching heatwave, so I had to escalate my plan for a village expedition inside Sariska and instead decided to rest. I have no shame admitting that I got lucky when I pre-booked the "Tiger and Trees Lodge at Akbarpur, Alwar, hardly any distance from Sariska. This place is an amalgamation of luxury and biotic elements, which makes it an exceptional hospitality residence in tourism. I had booked a luxury tent, that was enough to occupy my camera and rucksack. I was a little bit exhausted and wanted to tire out completely, and to my surprise, there was this amazing hot-shot pool on the premises that I couldn't resist but jump, Everywhere I went, the chauffeur assisted me with a handful of towels, bath essentials, a beer, and a quick bite. After the satisfying swim in the pool, I decided to have dinner as I needed to sleep early to go for an early morning history expedition. This lodge is ahead of its time because, amid the far-stretched canopies of the jungle and dense forest, it gives you a touch of luxury treatment.
I had known very little since the start, so curiosity had built inside of me to explore Sariska. The history of Sariska is not just centuries old, it's ages old that go back to the times of Mahabharata. It is said that when Pandavas were in exile, they passed through the forest of Sariska to reach Viratnagar which is 66 km ahead, and thus, took shelter. It is not even difficult to prove that they were present here because we find many ancient relics here such as Pandupol, a place most commonly known to tourists.
Other than this, there is a small tale of when Lord Hanuman came to Bhim in the disguise of a monkey and challenged Bhima to lift its tail, but he couldn't even move a hair. Hence, Bhima accepted his defeat and there is a Lord Bajrangbali temple dedicated to the monkey species.
Sariska Tiger Reserve was a hunting ground for the royal parties of kings and troops in early Rajasthan before it was transformed into a National Park in 1955. The geographical constitution of Sariska is distributed into high Aravali peaks and thick forests. Apart from religious gatherings, Sariska has its museum which illustrates the years of struggle that went into conserving the National Park. There is a Kankwar Fort which was a major attraction in the past and attached is the Shiva temple of the 12th century, and a 10th-century Neelkanth (Shiva) temple is also part of the rich heritage.
After the day of exploring the historical ruins of Sariska National Park all day a smile came forth on my face, I guess I was overwhelmed to learn such ambiguous history and culture. This had me ponder over the fact that there are endless mysteries around us to discover and be part of it.