Location
The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is situated in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

Area
The sanctuary covers an area of 29-sq-kms.

Best time to visit
The best time to visit the sanctuary is from August to November for seeing the resident breeding birds and October to February for the migrant birds.

About the Park
Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary is also known as Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary and this great waterfowl habitat is one of the finest in the world and was created by a maharaja.

The national park derives its name from God Keoladeo, an aspect of Lord Shiva, enshrined in a small temple within the park. Ghana stands for dense and implies towards the thick forest, which used to cover the area. Expanding over around 29 square meters, which isn't much for a national park, the Keoladeo Ghana National Park is a great variety of flora.

Wildlife Attractions at Bharatpur
Flora : The sanctuary covers around 29-sq-kms of which 11-sq-kms are marshes and the rest is scrubland and grasslands.

Fauna : The other animals found in the park are Pythons, Spotted Deer, Sambhars, Blue Bull, Black Buck, Jackals, Otters, Fishing Cats and Monitor Lizards.

Birds : Migratory birds come to the sanctuary from all over world from the beginning of winters. The birds come here by the month of August and leave in February. Visitors include Coot Snipes, Spanish Sparrow, Red Crested Porhard, Rosy Pelican and Flamingo but the main attraction is the arrival of the rare Siberian Crane. Migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asia spend their winters in Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, before going back to their breeding grounds. Migratory birds found in the sanctuary are the various species of Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Shanks, Stints, Wagtails, Warblers, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and Pipits.

Park trip
The Keoladeo or Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary covers an area of around 30 sq km with well-defined treks, which can easily be covered on foot or on a cycle which is the best way or one can even hire a rickshaw where the rickshaw pullers have been trained by the park management in bird watching and are quite knowledgeable. Besides these, boats are also available on hire and a boat trip early in the morning or late evening is great experience. One should carry a pair of binoculars for watching the birds.

Getting There
Air : The nearest airport is situated in Agra which is 56-kms from Bharatpur.

Rail : The Bharatpur railway station is 6-kms from the park and regular rail services connect Bharatpur with all the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Agra.

Road : Bharatpur is linked to all the major cities of the Rajasthan and its neighbouring states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana via a good network of roadways. Bharatpur is also linked by road to Agra (56-kms, 5 hours), Delhi (176-kms, 5 hours) and Jaipur (176-kms, 6 hours) where all of them have airport facilities.

Accommodation
The various options of accommodation are rest houses, lodges, dormitories and hotels. Rajasthan Tourism offers great accommodation at its hotel, 'Saras'. ITDC maintains the Bharatpur Forest Lodge inside the park. The other choices available are Shanti Kuteer, Circuit House and Dak Bungalow which provide a comfortable stay. Park Palace, Govind Niwas and the Tourist complex are the other choices. There are houses around the park which lend out one or two rooms to visitors which is a cheap and comfortable accommodation available.