Keoladeo National Park Bharatpur

Keoladeo National Park (27°7’6”N – 27°6’2”N and 77°29’5’E – 77°33’9”E) is about 170km South of New Delhi on the Agra-Jaipur highway in the state of Rajasthan. The Park is located near Bharatpur on the western edge of the Gangetic plains at the confluence of two tributaries -the Gambir and Bangane. The Keoladeo National Park (KNP) is known as “Ghana” (meaning –dense forest) among the local people and Bharatpur bird sanctuary to many outside people. The name “Keoladeo” is after Lord Shiva. There is a famous temple inside the Park.

The Keoladeo National Park is part of the Bharatpur district which has a population of 1.6 million, and extends over 5,084 square kilometers (175 times of KNP). The district town, Bharatpur, is about 2km from the Park with population of 150,000. About 15,000 people leave in 21 villages surrounding the Park.

The Keoladeo National Park is part of that Indo Gangetic plain with elevations ranging from 173-176 meters above sea level. The area is semi arid with an average rainfall of 500-700 mm, though rainfall can vary greatly from year to year.

The Keoladeo National Park has exceptionally high biodiversity. The Park contains 100 species of plants, about 50 species of fish, seven species of turtles, five lizard species, and thirteen snake species. The Keoladeo National Park is also rightly known as a “bird paradise” with over 354 species. Birds from Siberia and Europe come here in the winter. The Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus) commonly known as “snow wreath” or “lily of birds”, visits this Park. In fact, this is the only reported wintering ground of the Siberian crane in the Subcontinent. However, their numbers in the Keoladeo National Park recently declined from 2300 to almost none during the last two decades. In February 1996, four Siberian cranes re-appeared after two years of absence, much to the relief of the conservation community. During the winter of 1999 two Siberian cranes visited the park.

Best Time to Visit Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary is open throughout the year, still the ideal visiting months are from August-November for resident breeding birds and October- February for migrant birds.

How to Get there
Air : The nearest airport is situated at Agra, which is 56-kms from Bharatpur.
Rail : Regular rail services connect Bharatpur with all the major cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Agra. The Bharatpur railway station is 6-kms from the park
Road : An excellent network of roadway services connects Bharatpur to all the major cities of the Rajasthan and its neighbouring states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana. Bharatpur is well connected by road from Agra (56-kms, 5 hours), Delhi (175-kms, 5 hours) and Jaipur (176-kms, 6 hours), all of which have airport facilities too.

Important Note : To make your visit memorable & interesting - it is good to carry the binoculars for watching the birds closely.