keoladeo bharatpur national park - rajasthan

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General information
Total Area	:	28.73 sq kms
Best time to visit	:	Throughout the year. Breeding season : Aug-Oct Migrants : Oct-Feb.
Accommodation	:	Hotels & Restaurants
Nearest Town	:	Bharatpur
How to get there	:	Rail-Bharatpur (2 km) Air-Agra (50 km), Air-jaipur(176 kms) Air-Delhi (176 kms)
Species found	:	Siberian crane, cormorant, stork, spoon bill, quail, coot, heron, teal, tern, sambar, chital,blackbuck, wild boar,civet etc.
More information	:	Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatput,Rajasthan.

Just 176 kms from Delhi is a very special wilderness - the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, one of the finest water-bird sanctuaries in the world. The lake and wetland was artificially created by the Maharaja of Bharatpur in the 19th century. By building small dykes and dams and diverting water from an irrigation canal, he converted this low lying area into a fine wild fowl shooting preserve. In a few years, the new wetland surrounded by marginal forests was able to support thousands of water birds.

Kadam Kunj, Keoladeo	Commonly referred to as Bharatpur, the Park is a delight for bird watchers. Over 375 species of birds are found here and raised paths, camouflaged by babul trees and undergrowth make viewing easy. A quiet ride by boat in the early hours of the morning is also un unforgettable experience. There fare mixed heronries on the half submerged babul trees and the cacaphony is unbelievable as painted storks, open bills, spoon bills, egrets, comorants, white ibis and multitudes of others, tend their young. Jacanas with their iridescent colours and elegant tail feathers and purple moorhen can be seen delicately treading over the floating vegetation.

Every year Bharatpur waits with bated breath for the arrival of the Siberian cranes. There are only two wintering places for this rare species one in Iran and the other Bharatpur and these beautiful birks with their distinctive red beaks and facial patches, fly over 6400 kms from their summer retreats in Siberian cranes with a young one made an appearance in Bharatpur after a lapse of three years.

Siberian Crane

Common Kingfisher

Colourful kingfishers, graceful pelicans rare Siberian cranes and trans- continental fliers- the migratory water - fowl are amongst the 375 species of birds found in the Keoladeo National Park. The most spectacular nesting is that of the egrets, storks, herons and cormorants which make over 10,000 nests every year. This makes outstanding bird havens of the world. The park covers an area of 28.73km.

The story of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is incomplete without an account of the migratory waterfowl. The most prominent water fowl coming to this park are bareheaded and greylag geese. Ducks also create a lot of fluttering in the lakes. The ducks usually found here are pintail, widgeon, common shelduck, shoveler, garganey, teal, mallard pochard etc.

White breasted kingfisher


Spoonbill in flight	Attracted by the influx of the water fowl the predatory birds-tawny eagles, spotted eagles short-toed eagles imperial eagles and fishing eagle also arrive. They all forms the apex of the biological pyramid of the sanctuary and complete the avian food chain of the ecosystem. There are large herds of the nilgai, chital, wild boar and fear cows in addition to a few herds of sambar.

Keoladeo National Park is open to visitors throughout the year , but it is more rewarding to visit it between August to end of March.The best way to see the park is on foot. Other options available are to see it on cycle or a cycle rickshaw. Both are available on hire. Cycle rickshaw pullers have been trained by the forest department in bird watching and are knowledgeable. Boats are also availble for a trip of the lake area. A boat trip early in the morning or in the evening is quite a rewarding experience.