RANTHAMBORE Zone 3: Padam Talao and Rajbagh
Zone 3 is the Ranthambore of the photographs: Padam Talao, the park’s largest lake, with the old Jogi Mahal lodge on its edge, Rajbagh Talao and its ruins, and the fort above. The most requested zone and the hardest to get.
Ranthambore Tiger books safari permits in your name — we are not the Rajasthan Forest Department and not the official park booking website.
Check availability for your date
Check my date on WhatsApp →Reply in 2 min · 7am–10pm · pay only after we confirm
Prefer to pay online now? Book & pay online →
Phone optional here · we reply by email, usually within the hour (7am–10pm)
In one line: Zone 3 is the Ranthambore of the photographs: Padam Talao, the park’s largest lake, with the old Jogi Mahal lodge on its edge, Rajbagh Talao and its ruins, and the fort above. The most requested zone and the hardest to get.
Zone 3 is one of the core zones 1 to 5. Zones 2, 3 and 4 can be named on your permit at the “zone of your choice” price; all other zones are allotted by the Forest Department portal within their group, and we request yours where seats are open. Zones 1 to 5 do not run on Wednesdays, zones 6 to 10 on Tuesdays. Content checked 4 November 2026.
Where zone 3 is
Zone 3 holds the lake country directly below Ranthambore Fort. The route runs along Padam Talao, past Jogi Mahal and the great banyan, to Rajbagh Talao and its lakeside ruins.
Boundaries on our maps are drawn from public map data and our drivers’ knowledge of the routes; they are illustrative, not the Forest Department’s survey lines.
Landscape and water
Three things make it: open water, grassy banks and the fort walls on the skyline. Padam Talao is the largest of the park’s lakes; Rajbagh is smaller, reedier and ringed by ruins. Mugger crocodiles bask on the banks and sambar wade out to feed on the weed.
Got a date in mind? Send it on WhatsApp. We check live seats and reply in minutes, 7am–10pm.
Check my date on WhatsAppLandmarks on the route
- Padam Talao
- Jogi Mahal and the banyan tree
- Rajbagh Talao and the Rajbagh ruins
- Ranthambore Fort above the lake
Wildlife our guides see in zone 3
Sambar in the water, mugger crocodiles, painted storks, spoonbills, ibis and other wading birds most days; chital on the banks, langur in the trees, and tigers that come down to the lakes to drink and to hunt the sambar.
Tigers and zone 3
The lakes were the territory of Machli (T-16) for most of her life, then of her daughter Krishna (T-19), Krishna’s daughter Arrowhead (T-84, died June 2025) and Arrowhead’s daughter Riddhi (T-124) in recent seasons. That line is history, not a promise: which tiger is using the lakes on your date is something we tell you when you book, from what our drivers have seen that week.
Sold out online? Ask us. We book from the daily current and tatkal quotas, and you pay only after we confirm availability, with a full refund if the permit can’t be issued.
Check my date on WhatsAppGetting zone 3: permits, closures and our prices
| Safari | Indian nationals | Foreign nationals | Quota and release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canter seat (20-seat open bus) | ₹3,000 | ₹5,500 | Current quota: released 10:00 am the day before |
| Gypsy seat (6-seat open jeep) | ₹7,500 | ₹12,000 | Premium quota: released 3 days before |
| Whole gypsy (tatkal, up to 6) | ₹45,000 | ₹65,000 | Tatkal: 11:00 am, 7 days before; non-refundable once issued |
All-in per seat or per vehicle: Forest Department permit, vehicle, guide and pickup. Festive weeks (Diwali, Christmas to New Year) run higher; advance-quota dates (after 31 January 2027) are priced lower and allotted by the portal. Full refund if the permit is not issued. Zone 3 does not run on Wednesdays.
Photography in zone 3
The classic frames: a tiger walking the lake edge with the fort behind, sambar in the mist at first light, crocodiles on the bank. Morning drives get mist on Padam Talao in winter; afternoons give warm side-light on the ruins. Bring the longest lens you have and a wide one for the fort.
Zone 3 questions
Why is zone 3 the hardest to get?
Because everyone asks for it. The Forest Department sells only so many permits per zone per shift; zone 3 goes first on every date. Booking early, or naming zone 3 at the choice price, is the way; on sold-out dates we can usually find another core zone.
Can I name zone 3 on my permit?
Yes: zones 2, 3 and 4 can be named at the “zone of your choice” price. Tell us what to do if it is full: another core zone with any difference refunded, or a full refund.
Is zone 3 better in the morning or afternoon?
Morning for mist, birds and cooler air; afternoon for tigers coming to water in the hot months. In winter either shift works; from March the afternoon drive is the one for water-edge sightings.
Does zone 3 close on any day?
Zones 1 to 5 do not run on Wednesdays.
The other zones
Zone 1: Singh Dwar and Sultanpur · Zone 2: Phuta Kot and the waterholes · Zone 4: Malik Talao and Lakarda · Zone 5: Kachida valley and Bakaula · Zone 6: Kundal · Zone 7: Chidikho · Zone 8: Balas · Zone 9: Kuwalji · Zone 10: Aantri
All ten zones compared → · Timings and zones → · Famous tigers →
Dated sightings archive
Verified entries for this zone from our sightings archive: dated, zone-level, sourced. Not a live position.
Loading the archive…
Sources and how we know
Zone descriptions, landmarks and route notes come from our own drivers and guides, who drive these zones every week; closures, quotas and fees are as published on the official portal and are re-checked when the Forest Department changes them (see the “Updated” date).
- Official Rajasthan Forest Department safari booking portal (FMDSS / Aaranyak): seat release, quotas, official permit fees
- Official Rajasthan Forest Department
- Official National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Government of India
- Research Status of Tigers in India 2022: summary report (NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India)
- Background Ranthambore National Park: Wikipedia (background reading, not our source for prices or rules)
- Press “Most photographed tigress Machli dies at Ranthambore”, PTI via Business Standard, 18 Aug 2016
- Press “Famous Ranthambhore tigress Arrowhead dies of brain tumour”, PTI via The Week, 19 Jun 2025
Spotted an error? Tell us and we correct it: see our editorial and corrections policy.