Bharatpur – The Ornithologist Paradise

On the last excursion day, the Palace on Wheels train takes the tourists to Bharatpur in the morning. The tourists are taken to Bharapur’s Keoladeo Ghana National Park for birdwatching. Even if you are not interested in birdwatching, the natural attraction of the place would leave you mesmerized.

This city is located in between Jaipur and Agra. This city is very famous for the world’s largest heronries. This park is also called as Bharatpur bird sanctuary. The king of Bharatpur created this national park in 19th century for hunting purposes. A few decades later, government of India ruled against shooting birds for sport. Thus, this park is used for conservation. It became a national park in the end of 20th century. Today, it is a world heritage site.

This sanctuary has numerous bird species along with migration birds. There are at least 380 species of birds. The park has shallow marsh of fresh water and this attracts over 1000s of migration birds every year.Top birds that you can find during migration season are cormorant, egrets, grey herons storks and many others. Numerous nature lovers, photographers, ornithologists and others visit this place every year. You can also find many mammals like mongoose, fishing cat, otter, chital, blackbuck, sambhar, nilgai and many others.

The best attraction of this park is the migration bird, Siberian crane. This bird is known to travel more than 6500 km to reach this park. This bird is also at the verge of extinction. Other important birds to spot are Dalmatian pelicans, Siberian leaf warbler, eagles, stints, wagtails, flycatchers, bunting, spoonbill, pipits, kingfishers and others.

You can also spot large rock python here. The best way to span the park is through bicycle. You can also hire cycle rickshaws. During winter and rainy season, boats are also available. If you want to enjoy birds from very close distance, boating is the best option.