Sights
Keoladeo
Ghana National Park
Lohagarh
Keoladeo
Ghana National Park
The
best time to visit the sanctuary is from October to
late February when many migratory birds can be seen,
including the highly endangered Siberian crane. According
to recent reports, of birds have been identified at
the beautiful Keoladeo sanctuary. The sanctuary was
formerly a vast semi-arid region, filling with water
during the monsoon season only to rapidly dry up afterwards.
To prevent this, the maharaja of Bharatpur diverted
water from a nearby irrigation canal and, within a few
years, birds began to sattle in vast numbers. The maharaja
was compelled not by conservationist motives, but by
the desire to have a ready supply of waterfowl, affording
fine shooting (and dining) possibilities. Indeed, Keoladeo
continued to supply the maharajas’ tables until as late.
An inscription on a pilllar near the small temple in
the park bears testimony to the maharajas’ penchant
for hunting. It reveals that on one day alone ducks
were shot!
The
park is open daily. For Indian/foreigners, which entitles
you to enter the park as many times as you wish in one
day. A still camera is free but there’s whopping video
charge. There’s also an entry fee for bicycles and cycle-rickshaws.
A horse- drawn tonga per hour (maximum six people).
Motorised vehicles are prohibited beyond the checkpoint,
so the only way of the getting around is by foot, bicycle
or cycle-rickshaw.
Only
those cycle-rickshaws authorized by the government (recognizable
by the yellow plate bottled onto the front) are allowed
inside the park – beware of anyone who tells you otherwise!
Although you don’t pay entry fee for the drivers of
these cycle rickshaws, if you take one and they’ll expect
a tip on top of that. Some of the drivers actually know
a lot about the birds you will see and can be very helpful.
If you wish to hire and experienced ornithologist guide.
Guides can be hired at the park entrance.
An
excellent way to see the park is to hire a bicycle.
There are bikes for the hire at the bicycle on the park
entrance. Some hotels rent bicycles as well. This allows
you to easily avoid the bottlenecks which inevitably
occur at the nesting sites of the larger birds. It’s
just about the only way you’ll be able to watch the
numerous kingfishers at close quarters – noise or human
activity frightens then away. A bicycle also enables
you to avoid clocking up a large bill with a rickshaw
driver. If you plan to visit the sanctuary at dawn (one
of the best times to see the birds ), you should hire
your bicycle the day before. The southern reaches of
the park are virtually devoid the humanus touristcus,
and so are much better than the northern part for serious
bird-watching. They are a very good way of getting close
to the wildlife.
A
small display of photos, stuffed birds, nests and aquaticspecies
found in the park’s lakes is at the main entrance to
the park, next to the Keoladeo temple.
Lohagarh
Lohagarh,
or Iron fort, was built in the early and took its name
from supposedly impregnable defences. Maharaja Suraj
Mahl, the fort’s constructor and founder of Bharatpur,
built two towers within the ramparts, the Jawahar Burj
and Fateh Burj, to commemorate his victories over the
Mughals and the British.
The
fort occupies the entire small artificial island in
the center of the town, and the three palaces within
its pre precincts are in an advanced state of decay.
One of the palaces houses a museum exhibiting sculptures,
paintings, weapons and dusty animal trophies. The museum
is open daily.
