Keoladeo National ParkWorld renowned Keoladeo National Park originated two centuries ago when Maharaja Suraj Mal created a private duck shooting reserve for the Maharajas of Bharatpur. After independence, on March 13, 1956 the site was formally declared a bird sanctuary and was given the name of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. In 1982 it was declared a national park and was rechristened Keoladeo Ghana National Park. UNESCO’s World Heritage Site status came 3 years later.

A resplendent reserve forest, it draws more than one lakh visitors every year. Fifty species of fish, five species of amphibians and seven species of turtles are but a minority in the park, which is Siberian-Crane-keoladeo-national-parkquintessentially known for its avian fauna. As many as 375 species of birds call Keoladeo their home, the most prominent ones being those of cranes, spoonbills, herons, and pelicans.

Besides the resident species, the park plays host to thousands of migratory birds and waterfowl every year many of whom indulge in winter breeding. It is deemed as one of the richest bird areas in the world. Rare Siberian cranes were the regular visitors to this park but since their population is now on decline, very few of them are sighted. A number of renowned ornithologists set up their bases here during the hibernal season.

The park is equally rich in flora. Kalam, shrubs, marsh vegetation and hydrophytes along with 392 other species of angiosperms flourish in the park.  In an area which is otherwise defined by sparse vegetation, the park comes across as a verdant oasis. The principal vegetation types are tropical dry deciduous forests intermixed with dry keoladeo-national-parkgrasslands. During monsoons, flooding takes place. About 10 square kilometres area of the park is a wetland and rest of it remains dry.
People visit the park during the monsoons and the winter season. The park is barely a couple of kilometers away from Bharatpur city. Travellers can take a bus, auto rickshaw or a cycle rickshaw from the main city to reach the park. Park administration sometimes arranges special shows of the movie ‘Indian Birds of the Monsoon’. Electric vans from the park are available on request for the elderly and differently abled.

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