Keoladeo National Park

Keoladeo National Park was earlier called Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Located at Bharatpur, in the Uttar Pradesh-Rajasthan border, this bird sanctuary is known to host more then 230 species of birds during the peak season.


In earlier times, Bharatpur town used to be flooded frequently by rains during the monsoon. Hence an earthen dam was constructed to prevent the water from flooding the surroundings. This created the Bharatpur Lake which is now home to a variety of birds from all over the world!


Wide variety of birds can be found at this National Park. I am not very good at naming the birds, but Keoladeo National Park is home to lot of owls, parakeets, eagles, kingfishers, herons, egrets, kites, bulbuls among many others. A huge number of migratory birds also inhabit here during the winter time (November to February).


Apart from the birds, Keoladeo National Park also is home to many animals. Sighting of Nilgais, the largest antelope in Asia, is very common. Apart from Nilgais, you can also find wild dogs, fox, spotted deers, monkeys and a lot of other animals. The guide also mentioned that one of the tigers from Ranthambore had stayed in to Bharatpur few years back, which was then shifted to Sariska National Park!


Keoladeo National Park has a long straight narrow mud road that visitors can walk through and spot birds and animals on either side. The path goes on up to 3 – 4 kilometers, and the deeper you go inside the park, greater is the variety of birds you can find.


Initial part of the path has a lot of trees on both the sides, but as you go little deeper inside the park, you can find a huge water body on one side which is part of water stored by the dam. The other side has several walking paths that go perpendicular and you can explore other regions of the national park.


If you think a walk through the national park is too long, you also have an option of hiring a cycle rickshaw. Usually the person who pulls the rickshaw has enough knowledge about the birds residing in the area and he can act as a good guide too. However, if you want to walk and explore the park but you are one of those who is not good at identifying and naming the birds (like me 🙂 ), then you can also hire a professional guide at the ticket counter.


You can find several islands all through the sanctuary. The islands are a favorite for many birds. You can see the birds taking a dip in the water, then coming out to the islands, flapping their wings to dry themselves.


At the end of the road, you can see the huge lake with a large number of birds all around. You can also take a boat ride starting from this place, and you can get a closer look of the winged beauties.

The whole tour of Bharatpur can take you anywhere between 3 hours to one full day (depending on your pace and time available). If you are a bird lover, you can spend entire day at Bharatpur itself. In fact, the sanctuary itself has a forest guest house, and if you are lucky, you may get permission to stay that guest house!

Location

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

Where to stay?

  • Jaipur
  • Agra (UP)

Distance Chart

From Distance (in km)
Agra (UP) 55
Gwalior (MP) 160
Jaipur 190
Delhi 220
Ranthambore 230