Make A Quick Retreat For Bird Watching Just Four Hours From Delhi

The information in this post might be outdated

What Makes It Awesome

The Keoladeo National Park, aka The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, was constructed by the Maharajas of Bharatpur for duck-hunting, & today harbours about 400 species on Indian & migrating birds like the Painted Storks, Flamingos, Green Pigeons and a variety of Owls every year. Apart from the flocks flying in seasonally, it is also home to a number of other rare species of reptiles & marine animals like the Mountain Lizard, which you'll find chilling in the sun along the sides of the route towards the end of the tour. You could either rent a bicycle for INR 40 or hire a rickshaw for INR 150 per hour. Do not forget to rent out a good pair of Binoculars to ensure you miss out on no little birdie whatsoever! The rikshawallas are generally very well trained and have excellent intel on the all the rare species you would spot on your 6 km tour within the park, and they also are pretty aware of the spots where you could find a teeny-tiny birdie which is well capable of camouflaging with its surroundings.

What Could Be Better?

There is absolutely nothing you will find to eat at the end of the tour {to maintain cleanliness in the park}, so it's advisable to carry ample amount of food & water along. But ensure you leave no trash in the area since it actually has been maintained very well, and is home to birds that more than often swallow gum/plastic etc {and you know what that leads to}.

What's My Pro Tip?

If you take a rickshaw, there is a good chance the rikshawalla gets you to see the same birds/animals over & over to buy time. Keep the pace going and don't get too carried away.

Anything Else?

The park is beautiful, and also really well maintained, so feel free to take detours from the main route to spend some time watching & listening to those exotic chirping birds, but do not disturb the animals {I did spot some people throwing stones at mountain lizards, and that is just not cool}.