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The Smithsonian's National Zoo is famous for its Pandas. The zoo is worth a day's visit to enjoy a walk around a beautiful wooded park. People of all ages will find something of interest.
Fees- there is no charge to enter the zoo. There is a fee for some attractions
Food service- there are several places to purchase food and drink. It is expensive compared to nearby restaurants. You can bring in food and drink.
Photography is permitted but the lighting and glass enclosures make some shots difficult.
Parking- limited but available at the park for a fee
Metro- we got off at the Woodley Park metro stop and walked the short distance to the zoo.
Website- you will find helpful information on the web nationalzoo.si.edu
There's no doubt that the thrill of seeing a tiger in its natural habitat drives people into the tiger preserve at Ranthambore (see tiger photos and video below). But there's more to the park than tigers.
Visitors enter the gates in approved vehicles, which are open air jeeps or trucks. One of 10 routes are assigned to the drivers and guides.
The landscape affords a variety of beautiful views with hills and valleys, ponds and meadows and a great variety of trees and plants.
A zoom lens is a must - it was difficult to see the Mugger (or Indian) Crocodile, Black-headed Ibis, and Indian Darter (or snakebird) with the naked eye.
Deer are ubiquitous. The park is home to both Spotted Deer
and Sambar deer.
Black-faced monkeys are prevalent.
Rufous Treepies are everywhere.
And of course we saw a tiger who wandered about for nearly half and hour on route 5 in the afternoon. Here's a collage and I will insert a video from my YouTube channel.
Tiger Collage. All photos by Geoff Sutton 2017
This tiger video is a bit shakey because I was atop a truck seat (sometimes moving) and using nearly a max zoom.
Tips
Jeeps are better than the large trucks, which can throw you out of the seat when sitting at the back.
Mornings can be cold in January- wear gloves, hats, warm clothes.
Binoculars may be needed to see some animals and zoom lenses for photos and videos.
Duck to avoid getting hit by branches on some routes.
Allergy/coughing alert - dust is everywhere, especially when stirred up by vehicles.
Afternoons are rumoured to be best for seeing tigers.
Bring toilet tissue and wipes. We stopped once for toileting behind bushes.
