Area: 232sq.km/2,873 hectares

Established: 1956 as a bird sanctuary, 1981 as a national park

Entrance Fees: Entrance Fees of Keola Dev Park is INR. 200

Amongst India's premier wildlife sanctuaries is the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur, situated at the border between the states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. It's a marshy area, stretching over 29 sq km of kadam forests, grasslands and shallow lakes. Created by the Maharaja of Bharatpur in the 19th century by diverting water from an irrigation canal, Keoladeo was founded as a shooting preserve, but given the status of a bird sanctuary in 1956. Upgraded to a national park in 1982, the area today ranks as one of the best waterbirds preserves in the world- and it's a World Heritage Site.

Keoladeo is famous as one of Asia's finest birding areas, with over 380 resident and migrant species, including the Common, Demoiselle and the rare Siberian Cranes. It is also an excellent place to watch mammals like Golden Jackal, Striped Hyaena, Fishing Cat, Jungle Cat, Nilgai, Sambar, Blackbuck and wild Boar. The park derives its name from the temple of Keoladeo (Shiva) and 'ghana' which locally means dense, implying the nature of the vegetation. During the cool winter months it is also possible to see large Indian Pythons sunning themselves.

Attractions in Keoladeo Ghana National Park
The main attractions for tourists visiting the Keoladeo Ghana Park are the migratory birds, which come from as far away as Siberia and Central Asia to spend their winters in Bharatpur, before returning back to their breeding grounds. Some of the migratory birds that visit Keoladeo /Bharatpur bird sanctuary include several species of Cranes, Hawks, Pelicans, Geese, Shanks, Ducks, Eagles, Warblers, Stints, Wagtails, Buntings, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Larks, Pipits etc. Besides the migratory and resident birds, other tourist attractions in Keoladeo Ghana bird sanctuary include the Bharatpur government Museum, Lohagarh Fort and Deeg Palace.

How to Reach Keoladeo Ghana National Park

By Air
The Delhi airport is about 5-6 hours from the Bharatpur bird sanctuary.

By Train
Bharatpur is connected with regular train services with all the major cities of India such as Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Mumbai. The Bharatpur railway station is 6 Kms from the bird sanctuary.

By Road
An excellent network of road services connects Bharatpur to all the major cities of Rajasthan and neighboring states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Bharatpur is well connected by road from Agra (55-kms), Delhi (176-kms) and Jaipur (176-kms).

Best time to visit Keoladeo Ghana National Park
Keoladeo Ghana Bharatpur is open throughout the year for visitors, although winter is definitely the best time to visit. Summers are too hot and monsoons too wet for comfort, but the months between October and February are very suitable for a trip. Besides the fact that the weather's good at this time, the park's migratory birds arrive during the winter.