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INTRODUCTION

The Keoladeo Ghana National Park got its name from an ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva within the sanctuary and the term'Ghana'means dense, thick areas of forest. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park, today is supposed to be one of the famous place for breeding and feed grounds for the native as well as for the migratory birds. This National park situated on the border area of Bharatpur in Rajasthan is sprawled over an area of 29 sq km. Apart from the attraction of reptiles and mammals over here, the other renowned feature of the Keoladeo Ghana National Park is that it is an ideal place for bird watching, being home for more than hundreds of bird species. Today the Keoladeo Ghana National Park is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. It is a marshy area constituting of kadam forests, grasslands and shallow lakes.

HISTORY

The Keoladeo Ghana National Park belongs to the 19th century and was created by the Maharaja of Bharatpur.The discovery of this park has a story behind it where the Maharaja of Bharatpur in 1760 constructed an earthern dam which soon became an irrigation canal. From then it was used as a shooting preserve by the Maharaja of Bharatpur and later in 1956 got the status of a bird sanctuary and in the year in 1982 was upgraded to a national park. Now the Keoladeo Ghana National Park is one among the best water birds preserves in the world.

ORIENTATION

The Keoladeo Ghana National Park is located between Agra and Jaipur in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, at a distance of about 190 km from the national capital of Delhi.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

The ideal time to visit this national park is anywhere between October to February for during the winter season the tourists can witness lot of migratory birds along with the native birds.

PLACES OF INTERESTS

Flora

Scrublands and grasslands constitute a majority of the park.

Lot of afforestation is being happening within the sanctuary.

Apart from marshes in particular area there is also a wide plantation of acacias.

Fauna

The fauna of the Keoladeo Ghana National Park includes Golden Jackal, Striped Hyaena, Fishing Cat, Jungle Cat, Nilgai, Sambar, Blackbuck, Wild Boar, Pythons, Spotted Deer,Sambars,Blue Bull, Black Buck, Jackals, Otters, Fishing Cats, Monitor Lizards, Solitary Lapwing, Indian Courser, Imperial, White Tailed, Greater and Indian Spotted Eagles, Darters, Black Necked, Painted and Asian Openbill Storks, Common, Sarus and Demoiselle Cranes, Dalmatian Pelicans, Black Bittern, Greater Painted Snipe, Large Tailed, Indian and Grey Nightjars, Dusky Eagle, Owls, Marshall's Iora, Siberian Ruby throat and Brook's Leaf Warblers.

Avian Species

At Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary it is a feast for bird watchers for there are more than 300 species of birds nestling in this area. Apart from the migratory birds there are also number of migratory birds visiting from distant places like Siberia and Central Asia and spend their winters. The migratory birds in the list are Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Shanks, Stints, Wagtails, Warblers, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and Pipits, etc along with Indian Pythons.

Bharatpur Government Museum

This is a government museum in the Bharatpur limits talks and exhibits a lot about the history of the the past royal splendour of Bharatpur.

Bharatpur Palace

Bharatpur Palace is a fine example of the architecture of the Mughals and Rajputs.

It is a splendid work.

Lohagarh Fort

The invincible Lohagarh Fort, which remained unconquered despite several attacks by the British regime.

Deeg Palace

The Deeg palace which was once the summer resort of the rulers of Bharatpur is situated at a distance of about 32-kms away from Bharatpur.This is a huge fortress which has a number of smaller palaces and gardens.

Park Trips

A trip to Keoladeo Ghana National Park becomes quite interesting with the number of bicycles and rickshaws for hire and you can explore the bird sanctuary with the help of this.

Shopping

Bharatpur is famous throughout the world mainly as a National Park. There are not many Bharatpur shopping destinations. However, tourists visiting Bharatpur can still find buying small stuff to take back as souvenirs like Jewelry (of precious and semi-precious stones),Antiques,Marble carvings,Brass work and Jaipur textiles.

EAT OUTS 1.The Bagh Old Agra -Achnera Road, Bharatpur - 056 44225415 2.The Gateway Hotel Fatehabad Rd, Tajganj, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 0562 2232400 3.Hotel Bharatpur Ashok Inside Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur –321001, Rajasthan, India 91-05644-222760,91-05644-222722,09314906067 4.Laxmi Vilas Palace Bharatpur, Rajasthan 5.HOTEL SUNBIRD Near Bird Sanctuary Entrance Gate BHARATPUR 6.Hotel Saras Bharatpur, Rajasthan 7.HOTEL PELICAN Bharatpur, Rajasthan 09414247066 ACCOMMODATION 1.Hotel Bharatpur Ashok Inside Keoladeo National Park Bharatpur 05644 222722 2.Sunbird Hotel Near Bird Sanctuary Enterance Gate Bharatpur, Rajasthan 05644 225701 3.Hotel Saras Bharatpur Rajasthan 4.The Bagh Old Agra -Achnera Road Bharatpur Rajasthan 321001 056 44225415 5.HOTEL PELICAN Bharatpur Rajasthan 09414247066 6..Laxmi Vilas Palace Hotel Old Agra road Bharatpur 056 44231199 7Hotel Goverdhan Tourist Complex Sahcoolie Fatehpur Sikri Uttar Pradesh - 09900240391 8.Pratap Palace Rajendra Nagar Bharatpur, Rajasthan 9.Crane Crib Bharatpur, Rajasthan

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HOW TO REACH

By Air

The Delhi airport is about 5-6 hours from the Bharatpur bird sanctuary.

By Trains

Bharatpur is connected with regular train services with all the major cities of India such as Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Mumbai. The Bharatpur railway station is 6 Kms from the bird sanctuary.

By Road

An excellent network of road services connects Bharatpur to all the major cities of Rajasthan and neighboring states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Bharatpur is well connected by road from Agra (55-kms), Delhi (176-kms) and Jaipur (176-kms).