Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

“Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary” is the other name given to Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a great waterfowl habitat and was created by a Maharaja. The National Park gets its name from God Keoladeo, an aspect of Lord Shiva, a temple dedicated to whom is built within the park. Here Ghana means “dense” and implies towards the thick forest, which coveres the area. Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary expands over an area 29 square meters which isn't much for a national park but has a great variety of flora.

11-sq-kms of the 29 sq kms of the sanctuary is covered by the marshy land and the rest of the area is covered by scrubland and grasslands.

Pythons, Spotted Deer, Sambhars, Blue Bull, Black Buck, Jackals, Otters, Fishing Cats and Monitor Lizards are the various animals found in the city.

Migratory birds come to the sanctuary from all over the world from the beginning of winters. Migratory birds found in the sanctuary are the various species of Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Shanks, Stints, Wagtails, Warblers, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and Pipits. Migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asia spend their winters in Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, before going back to their breeding grounds. The birds starts gathering here from the month of August and returns back to there homeland in February. Visitors include Coot Snipes, Spanish Sparrow, Red Crested Porhard, Rosy Pelican and Flamingo but the main attraction is the arrival of the rare Siberian Crane.

The Keoladeo or Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary covers an area of 29 sq km with well-defined treks, which can easily be covered on foot or on a cycle which is the best way or one can even hire a rickshaw where the rickshaw pullers have been trained by the park management in bird watching and are quite knowledgeable. One can even opt for boats which are easily available on hire and a boat trip early in the morning or late evening is a great experience. One should carry a pair of binoculars for watching the birds.

The nearest airport from Bharatpur is Agra which is 56 km away. The railway station is 6 km from the park and it has rail links to all the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Agra. Bharatpur is linked to all the major cities of the Rajasthan and its neighbouring states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana via a good network of roadways.

There are various places of interest located in the vicinity of Bharatpur National Park. Among these the first is the Government Museum, Bharatpur, which transports the visitor to the bygone era. Close to the museum lies the Bharatpur Palace, which speak volumes about the Mughal and Rajput architecture. Lohagarh Fort, which remained invincible despite several attacks by the British is another important attraction which should not be missed. Just 32 kms from Bharatpur, is the Deeg Palace which is a strong and massive fort with many palaces and gardens and used to be the summer resort of the rulers of Bharatpur.