Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur)

Agra - Fatehpur Sikri - Bharatpur - Mathura - Vrindavan

• The best time to visit is from October to March. However from August migratory birds keep flocking the sanctuary.
• Stay overnight in one of the nearby hotels. In summers start as early as 5.30AM for best experience. By 7 it gets hot and little less pleasent.
• Bicycles are available on first come first serve from the reception. It the best medium of transport. Battery driven vans are also available but they are so boring.

We reached Bharatpur, the host city to Keoladeo National Park (KNP), late in the evening. We had covered two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, and had just brushed the third, Fatehpur Sikri, before settling at the edge of our fourth that day.

Inside KNP, Bharatpur

 It took some effort to arrange food for dinner as we wanted to have it in hotel room. Bharatpur is a small town wishing for more tourism than it hosts. Next morning we had an early light breakfast. The best time to visit KNP is 6-9 AM.

Outside KNP, Bharatpur

KNP entrance was 300 metres from our hotel and so we walked. Bicycles are available at @ 25 and we took three of them. It was getting warmer. Our first halt was Salim Ali Centre which demonstrates the various aspects of park and birds in general. There is a second check post where our tickets were checked.

Salim Ali Centre, KNP

Further inside the place becomes more and more beautiful. First comes tortoise and owls and marshes reflecting natural greenery upside down. Then the view starts opening up on the straight road into KNP. The whole way you will hear chirping of birds and a general twittering that's music to ears. All the time to the left a shallow lake accompanies you.

Green Refections, KNP

We started finding birds in bunches top on the trees all sitting together and warming in the August sun. We took a lot of photographs. One guy pointed to us a snake lizard sticking to a tree trunk less than couple metres away and I skipped a heartbeat. There were monkeys and a herd and of deers nearby.

Snake Lizards, KNP

At last we reached the Keoladeo temple which gives the park it's name. There is a watchtower next to it that allows a breathtaking view of KNP for some miles.  Close to it we settled at a bench and rested in shade of a tree watching the lake spread in front of us.

Birds, KNP

We started back as it had been a couple hours inside and the heat was on us. It took us half hour to reach back at the gates. Back at hotel we rested for a while before checking out and starting back for Delhi.