The densely wooded Darrah Sanctuary is spread all over the hilly terrain near Kota. A large variety of wild life is found in this region. This mysterious sanctuary has many species like cheetah, wolf, deer, nigali, wild boar etc. The rich population of wildlife in Darrah Sanctuary consists of wolves, leopards, chinkaras, sloth bears etc. There are several species of reptiles and birds found in the sanctuary. It is an ideal destination for those who want to freak out for adventurous activities and have a passion for wildlife. At Darrah Sanctuary one can enjoy trekking along with jungle safari. The green foliage spread all over the place gives a lushgreen cover to the safari. Many medicinal herbs are found exclusively in this region.

A rest House is run by the Forest department at the Darrah Sanctaury. It provides very basic amenities. The charges for entering the Darrah Sanctuary are Rs 20 for Indian visitors and Rs 100 for the foreigners. The sanctuary is open for the visitors from 10 am to 5 pm every day. Tourists have to take a signed permission from the local forest ranger in order to visit the sanctuary. The District Forest Office and the Kota Tourist reception Center also provides such a sanction. The contact numbers are:

District Forest Office 0744-2321263

Kota Tourist Reception Center 0744-2327695

General Information

History

The Darrah National Park was established in the year 2004. It consists of three wildlife sanctuaries in the state of Rajasthan. These are Chambal WLS, Darrah WLS and Jaswant Sagar WLS. Spread over an area of 250 square kilometers, Darrah sanctuary was the royalhunting ground of the Maharaja of Kota. This place is located at a distance of 50 kilometers from Kota. Later the region was handed over to the Indian Government and officially it wasdeclared as a protected area in the year 1955. There had been a political controversy regarding the name of the park. The decision of naming the park as Rajiv Gandhi National Park was revoked by the Bhartiya Janta Party. The sanctuary is located to the southeastern border of the town Kota. The forest of the sanctuary is very thick and dense.

Best Time To Visit

The reserve is closed when incessant rains occur. The monsoons month lasts from July to September. The best season to visit the sanctuary is during the months between February to May. The visitors can explore the wild side of Rajasthan during this time enjoying the comfortable weather.

Distance From - National Park

The park is located at a distance of fifty kilometres from Kota in Rajasthan.

How To Get There

Kota By Air 

The nearest airport to Kota is at Udaipur. A small aerodrome is located in Kota but it is currently not operational. The Udaipur airport is well connected to cities like Delhi, Mumbai etc.

Kota By Road

The distance of Darrah Wildlife sanctuary from Kota is around 50 kilometers. The nearest bus station to Darrah is the bus station in Kota at the Bundi road close to the eastern shore of the Chambal River. This station provides good services to all the major cities of Rajasthan like Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Jaipur, Udaipur, etc. The journey to these cities can be completed in six hours. The journey to Jodhpur and Bikaner from kota via raod is around eleven hours and twelve hours respectively. The national highway 12, connecting Jaipur and Jabalpur passes through Kota.

Kota By Train

Kota railway station is the railhead closest to the Darrah Wildlife sanctuary. It is on Delhi Mumbai rail route. Several trains run from here daily for Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra etc. The railway station of Kota is located to the extreme north of the town. Many trains pass this station and stop over here. From Kota it takes five hours to reach Jaipur by rail and the trip to Delhi from Kota by rail is for ten hours. The railway line of Kota is around 148.83 kilometres long.

Things To Do In - National Park

 One can visit Jhalwar along with Darrah sanctuary, which is located nearby the sanctuary. A marvellous fort is located here. The jenana khas is the main attraction located near the fort. Jhairapatan is well known for the remains of the Sun Temple. It was built long ago in the tenth century. Some very ancient temples which were built during seventh and eighth centuries are located at the banks of River Chndrabhaga.

Darrah sanctuary is an ideal destination for those who want to freak out for adventurous activities and have a passion for wildlife. At Darrah Sanctuary one can enjoy trekking along with jungle safari. The green foliage spread all over the place gives a lush green cover to the safari.

Accommodation

There are no hotels located at Darrah. One can consider the nearby hotels.

A rest House is run by the Forest department at the Darrah Sanctaury. It provides very basic amenities. The charges for entering the Darrah Sanctuary are Rs 20 for Indian visitors and Rs 100 for the foreigners. The sanctuary is open for the visitors from 10 am to 5 pm every day. Tourists have to take a signed permission from the local forest ranger in order to visit the sanctuary. The District Forest Office and the Kota Tourist reception Center also provides such a sanction. The contact numbers are:

District Forest Office 0744-2321263

Kota Tourist Reception Center 0744-2327695

Weather

The summer season lasts from the month of April to June. The weather is very hot during this season. The winters are cool and last from October to February. The monsoon occurs from June to August and the rainfall is scanty.

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