Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

Bharatpur is famous for its wonderful UNESCO–listed Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a wetland and significant bird sanctuary. Apart from the park, Bharatpur also has a few historic vestiges, though it wouldn’t be worth making the journey for these alone. The town is dusty, noisy and not particularly visitor-friendly. Bharatpur hosts the lively and colourful Brij Festival just prior to Holi celebrations.

The entrance to Keoladeo Ghana National Park lies 2km to the south of Bharatpur’s centre.

The  Park is popularly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. It has been often referred to as 'Ornithologist's Paradise', as it attract thousands of indigenous as well as migratory birds annually which also includes the world-renowned Siberian cranes, given its favourable environmental conditions and easy availability of nutritious food. Spread over an area of 29 sq km, out of which 10 sq km comprises of fresh shallow lakes, water marshes and bogs, it plays host to the most amazing and unbelievable variety of feathered emissaries across the globe. It is one of the finest bird sanctuaries in the country, located in the northwestern region of Rajasthan.

This premier wildlife sanctuary is declared as World Heritage Site in 1985. This enormous assemblage of birds was created at the behest of Prince Bhamji of Morvi (Gujarat) in the early years of 20th century. Although, its wilderness and rich vegetation and wildlife had existed as early as 250 years ago, when the sanctuary used to be the hunting ground for the maharajas of Bharatpur. Post-Independence, it was established as a national park on 10 March 1982. The place was established as a national park on 10 March 1982, after having been designated as a bird sanctuary on 13 March 1976 and a Ramsar site under the Wetland Convention in October 1981.

The park has rich vegetation and a variety of rare flora with tropical dry deciduous forest, intermixed with dry grassland. The north-east part of the park is covered with deep woods, consisting mainly of kalam or kadam, jamun and babul. The scrublands consist of ber and kair, while the open woodland is mostly babul with a small amount of kandi and ber.

Migratory birds are the main draw to the park in the months of the winter season. Several birds from as far away as Siberia and Central Asia flock together at the beautiful park and spend the season in here. Migratory birds here include several species of hawks, ducks, eagles, cranes, pelicans, wagtails, shanks, geese, warblers, buntings, flycatchers, stints, wheatears, larks and pipits. To maximiz your bird watching experience, opt for the routes near the swamps. During winters, the sheer variety of birds will surprise you with the birds ranging from waders from the godwit family to with over-sized bills and tiny stints abound in shallow muddy areas of the park.

Other than the birds, there is a wide variety of mammals, like feral cattle, Blue Bull and Spotted Deer are common, while sambar is just to name a few.

The best time to visit is November to March.

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