Overview

Keoladeo National Park, popularly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is located in the Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and recognised as one of the world’s most important bird breeding and feeding grounds. It is a haven for bird lovers as it’s home to a wide variety of indigenous & migratory water birds. Around 370 species of birds inhabit the park, besides various mammals like deer & nilgai, and reptiles like the basking python.

Keoladeo National Park was once a royal hunting & game reserve for the Maharajas and the British. It was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. It is interesting to note that Keoladeo National Park is the only one of its kind in India which is enclosed by a 2 meters boundary wall to fend off encroachments.

Flora & Fauna in Keoladeo National Park

Keoladeo National Park is spread across 2,873 hectares of woodlands, grasslands, wetlands & woodland swamps. The vegetation here is of a dry deciduous type, with medium sized trees & shrubs found inside its forest. Some of the trees which can be commonly spotted inside the park are kadam, jamun, babul, kandi, ber, kair & piloo.

Keoladeo National Park is home to 370 species of birds. A large number of aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Siberia & China visit the park. In fact, it is the only region in India where the critically endangered Siberian Crane can be spotted during the winters. Some of the birds which you can expect to spot here are cranes, pelicans, eagles, wagtails, spotted bill duck, white breasted kingfisher, moor hen, painted stork, partridge, magpie robin, honey buzzard, rose ringed parakeet & green footed yellow pigeon.