 The beautiful Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, a home to several species of birds, is one of the World Heritage Sites. The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary or the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, in the middle has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva known as Keoladeo, from which the name of the park is derived.
Location
The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary lies between two major tourist cities, Agra and Jaipur.
The sanctuary is 190 kms from Delhi.
Flora and Fauna
The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is a favourite haunt for the ornithologists, naturalists and wildlife lovers. Some 377 species of birds have been spotted here. The species includes: water birds, migratory water birds, land migratory birds and domestic land species.
One-third of the birds at the sanctuary are migratory. Many the birds from the Arctic, Central Asia and Russia spend their winters here. It is common to find here migratory species like ducks, eagles, egrets, darters, herons, stints, kingfishers, wagtails, hawks, shanks, warblers, wheatears, storks, larks, spoonbills, geese, flycatchers, buntings, pipits, cranes, and pelicans. The chief attraction with the ornithologists however, is the Siberian Crane, which can cover a distance of 6500 kms. The cranes come here in December and stay till the month of March. Surprisingly enough, the diet of these cranes change to vegetarian during their stay at India. The best time to visit the Park to watch the migratory birds is from October- February and to watch the breeding of the resident birds is August to November. Apart from birds the sanctuary is home to animals also like sambhar, chital, nilgai and boar. You might just also get lucky to catch a duel between the large rock python and mongoose.
It's a good idea to take a boat around the place. You can also walk around the place on its marked trails. There are cycle-rickshaws also available to move around the place. The management of the Park has trained the pullers of the rickshaw in bird watching and they will tell you about the species you encounter.
Around Bharatpur Sanctuary
For a brush with the royalty of India, visit the Bharatpur Government Museum, which will tell you stories of the past regal splendour. Even the sanctuary used to be the hunting grounds for the Bharatpur Royalty and the Maharaja of Bharatpur was instrumental in the formation of this Sanctuary. Situated close to the Museum is the Bharatpur Palace. The architecture of this palace has motifs from the Mughal and Rajput architecture. Also visit the Deeg Palace, which used to be the resort for the royalty with its splendid palaces and beautiful gardens.
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