Keoladeo National Park
Keoladeo National Park comprises a wetland that is important for migratory waterfowl.
Located in the middle of the Central Asian migratory flyway, it is an important wintering place for birds from colder regions in the North, such as Siberia and China. 375 bird species have been recorded here; among them the rare Siberian crane, which is now considered extinct in the property. The wet areas in the park rely on water supply from a reservoir.
Community Perspective: birders love(d) it, but the more skeptical Nan notes that “the wetland that forms the national park is an artificial creation by the English to attract birds for... hunting”. Keoloadeo is accessible by bus from Agra. The park is best visited during the monsoon when the birds start nesting.
Map of Keoladeo National Park
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Nan
When you hunt for WHS there are sites you pick up along the road, but that you didn't really plan for. Keoladeo and nearby Fatipur Sikri to a lesser extent were such sites for me.
The principal town of the area, Agra, featured high on my travel bucked list for India: As every other tourist to India, I wanted to see the Taj Mahal. With this fix point set it followed that I should also visit the sites of the area, including a national park renown for birds.
Now, I am not much of a birder, rather the opposite. And India tends to be highly settled with very little original nature left. In this case even more so, as the wetland that forms the national park is an artificial creation by the English to attract birds for... hunting. So what to make of this national park?
The hunting is over, but the birds still stop here during their migration to and from the Himalayas. And plenty of birds there were. All trees were lined with them. Add to this that the national park was covered in fog, so my visit had a mystic quality to it. Personally, I enjoyed Keoladeo more than the Taj. But dont' listen to me.
As a final, sad note, I have to state that the park is in danger. The water feeding the wetland is scarce and it may dry up. In addition, on my walk I found several protected areas that were subject to logging activities.
Getting There
I stayed in Agra and visited both Keoladeo and Fatipur Sikri as a day trip. In the morning I took a bus to Bharatpur for Keoladeo. In Keoladeo I managed everything on foot. Alternative would have been to take a rikscha, but I think visiting on foot was nice.
After my visit, I caught another bus back to Agra. I got off at the junction for Fatepur Sikri and walked to the site.
While You Are There
While Agra is a miserable place, the area has four WHS, the most popular being the Taj Mahal. From Agra you can travel to Jaipur or Delhi by train.
Clyde
I visited this WHS in January 2012. This sanctuary is a birdwatcher's paradise. I spotted several birds such as rollers, kingfishers, herons, treepies, owls, barbets, babblers, crested serpent eagles, painted stork, etc. I was also lucky to see hyaenas, marsh deer, nilgai, grass snakes, etc. A real nature haven!
Malcolm Lewis
A wonderful relaxing place to visit on the Agra / Fattpur Sikri road. Stop off, bring your binoculars, and see the wonderful variety of birdlife in the quiet enviorns of the park. The park is a manageable size, and any but the most avid birder (they prefer that name rather than twitcher) will have seen their fill in a few hours. The wetalnds and the tree lined paths can make this a cooler respite from the heat of travellign around Rajastan.
sandeep
Well the visit to the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary was the most exciting event that had happened to my life in the recent past. the spottings were numerous and i even saw a live python at an arms lenght.This park has got so many fragile ecosystems which are at peril b'cos of the lack of water in the wetlands. Hope at least this monsoons would be kind to this bird paradise.
Community Rating
- : Fede1203 Ludvan
- : Travelure Stanislaw Warwas
- : Lukasz Palczewski John Smaranda Randi Thomsen David Marton _johsch_ Daniel Gabi Wojciech Fedoruk Francky D'Hoop
- : PabloNorte Craig Harder Svein Elias Zoë Sheng Philipp Peterer YAO WEI Shandos Cleaver Alexander Lehmann
- : Hanming Kevin McFarland Jezza Elisabeth Fransisca Situmorang Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero
- : Richard Stone Clyde Juropa Ralf Regele Tony H. Jon Opol Mikko Luke LOU Nan Frederik Dawson Els Slots
- : Philipp Leu Solivagant Lichia Joyce van Soest Dorejd Carlo Sarion
- : Lucio Gorla Afshin Iranpour
Site Info
Site History
1985 Inscribed
Site Links
Unesco Website
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In the News
Drought-ridden Indian bird park loses its birds: Years of poor monsoon rains have left most of this World Heritage site near Bharatpur in the desert state of Rajasthan dry and cracked, while local farmers insist on getting most of what little rain water is dammed to irrigate their fields.This has forced most of the thousands of migratory birds that would once spectacularly descend on Keoladeo every year for the winter to make alternative arrangements elsewhere. (2007.02.26)
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