India
Keoladeo National Park
Keoladeo National Park comprises a wetland that is important for migratory waterfowl.
Located in the middle of the Central Asian migratory flyway, it is an important wintering place for birds from colder regions in the North, such as Siberia and China. 375 bird species have been recorded here; among them the rare Siberian crane, which is now considered extinct in the property. The wet areas in the park rely on water supply from a reservoir.
Community Perspective: birders love(d) it, but the more skeptical Nan notes that “the wetland that forms the national park is an artificial creation by the English to attract birds for... hunting”. Keoloadeo is accessible by bus from Agra. The park is best visited during the monsoon when the birds start nesting.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Keoladeo National Park (ID: 340)
- Country
- India
- Status
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Inscribed 1985
Site history
History of Keoladeo National Park
- 1985: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- WHS Type
- Natural
- Criteria
- x
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- tourism.rajasthan.gov.in — Rajasthan tourism Keoladeo Ghana National Park
News Article
- Oct. 7, 2014 economictimes.indiatimes.com — Keoladeo National Park faces survival threat
- Sept. 13, 2012 deccanherald.com — Birds head back to Keoladeo Park
- Dec. 17, 2009 timesofindia.indiatimes.com — The Keoladeo National Park is in the danger of losing its Unesco World Heritage Site status if the state government fails to build a drain to bring water into the reserve.
- Jan. 23, 2008 timesofindia.indiatimes.com — After a threat by Unesco to drop the Bharatpur bird sanctuary from its world heritage list, . Rajasthan government is scrambling to bring 300 million cubic feet of water from Goverdhan drain to Keoladeo National Park.
- Feb. 26, 2007 today.reuters.com — Drought-ridden Indian bird park loses its birds: Years of poor monsoon rains have left most of this World Heritage site near Bharatpur in the desert state of Rajasthan dry and cracked, while local farmers insist on getting most of what little rain water is dammed to irrigate their fields.This has forced most of the thousands of migratory birds that would once spectacularly descend on Keoladeo every year for the winter to make alternative arrangements elsewhere.
Community Information
- Community Category
- Wildlife habitat: Fauna
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
1985 -
Pelicans
"Due to its strategic location in the m… -
Over 300 bird species
"Some 375 bird species have been record…
Connections of Keoladeo National Park
- Trivia
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Total Solar Eclipse since Inscription
24 October, 1995
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- History
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Located in a Former Capital
Located in Baratpur, capital of Maharajah of Baratpur (1670-1947)
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- Ecology
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Bird Migrations
OUV: wetland of international importance for migratory waterfowl, where birds migrating down the Central Asian flyway congregate before dispersing to other regions -
Turtles and tortoises
7 species -
Pelicans
"Due to its strategic location in the middle of Central Asian migratory flyway and presence of water, large congregations of ducks, geese, coots, pelicans and waders arrive in the winter." (Official description) -
Swamps and Marshes
"mosaic of grasslands, woodlands, woodland swamps and wetlands" (OUV) -
Over 300 bird species
"Some 375 bird species have been recorded from the property" (crit X) -
Critically endangered fauna species
Siberian Crane - rapidly declining due to Three Gorges Dam in China; they used to winter in Keoladeo but may be extinct there; plus White-rumped vulture, Indian vulture -
Eagles
Greater Spotted Eagle and Imperial Eagle (Official description) -
Otters
smooth-coated otter
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- World Heritage Process
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Perfect Inscriptions
1985 -
Inscribed on a single criterion only
x. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.
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- Human Activity
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Hunting or harvesting of Birds
Duck Shooting. The Wetland area was maintained primarily as a duck shooting preserve of the Maharajahs of Baratpur. -
Irrigation and drainage
Ajan Bund -
Royal Hunting Grounds
The park was a hunting ground for the Maharajas of Bharatpur, a tradition dating back to 1850, and duck shoots were organised yearly in honor of the British viceroys. In one shoot alone in 1938, over 4,273 birds ....were killed
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- WHS on Other Lists
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Ramsar Wetlands
Keoladeo National Park, 1981
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- Timeline
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Holocene
The unique habitat is the result of the Ajan Bund built in the 18th Century.
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- WHS Hotspots
News
- economictimes.indiatimes.com 10/07/2014
- Keoladeo National Park faces survi…
- deccanherald.com 09/13/2012
- Birds head back to Keoladeo Park
- timesofindia.indiatimes.com 12/17/2009
- The Keoladeo National Park is in …
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Keoladeo National Park
- Afshin Iranpour
- Alberto Rodriguez Gutierrez
- Alexander Lehmann
- A. Mehmet Haksever
- AmyAbroad
- Artur Anuszewski
- Atila Ege
- Bamse
- Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero
- Bin
- Boj
- Brendan Carroll
- Carlo Sarion
- Chen Taotao
- Cheryl
- Christer Sundberg
- Christravelblog
- Clem C
- Clyde
- Craig Harder
- Daniel Gabi
- David Marton
- Dimitar Krastev
- Dorejd
- Dutchbirder
- Elis
- Elisabeth Fransisca Situmorang
- Els Slots
- Fan Yibo
- Fede1203
- Francky D'Hoop
- Frederik Dawson
- George Evangelou
- Gianmarco
- Hanming
- Iain Jackson
- Jacob Otten
- Jakubmarin
- Janos
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- Jeffrey Chai Ran
- Jezza
- Joel on the Road
- John Smaranda
- Johnson Zhao
- _johsch_
- Jon Opol
- Jonoprout
- Joyce van Soest
- Juropa
- Kelly Henry
- Kevin McFarland
- Knut
- Kurt Lauer
- La Concy
- Lado Joel
- Lara Adler
- lichia
- Little Lauren Travels
- liu tuo
- Loic Pedras
- Lucio Gorla
- Ludvan
- Lukasz Palczewski
- Luke LOU
- marcel staron
- Matthewsharris
- MaYumin
- Mikko
- Miloš Tašković
- MMM
- Morodhi
- nan
- Nihal Ege
- PabloNorte
- Pang Liang Fong
- Patrik
- Patrik_globe
- Petteri
- Philipp Leu
- Philipp Peterer
- phillipmeng
- Pink Bunny
- Ralf Regele
- Randi Thomsen
- Richard Stone
- Roland
- Roman Bruehwiler
- rswood
- Sergio Arjona
- Shandos Cleaver
- Simonf
- skalec
- Solivagant
- Stanislaw Warwas
- Stephen S. Kamin
- Svein Elias
- Szucs Tamas
- Tamara Ratz
- Tarquinio_Superbo
- TheTravelingRanger
- Thomas van der Walt
- Tony H.
- Travelure
- Twobaconsandaboston
- Vincent Cheung
- Waxwing
- Wojciech Fedoruk
- YAO WEI
- Zoë Sheng
- Zos M
Community Reviews
Show full reviews
When you hunt for WHS there are sites you pick up along the road, but that you didn't really plan for. Keoladeo and nearby Fatipur Sikri to a lesser extent were such sites for me.
The principal town of the area, Agra, featured high on my travel bucked list for India: As every other tourist to India, I wanted to see the Taj Mahal. With this fix point set it followed that I should also visit the sites of the area, including a national park renown for birds.
Now, I am not much of a birder, rather the opposite. And India tends to be highly settled with very little original nature left. In this case even more so, as the wetland that forms the national park is an artificial creation by the English to attract birds for... hunting. So what to make of this national park?
The hunting is over, but the birds still stop here during their migration to and from the Himalayas. And plenty of birds there were. All trees were lined with them. Add to this that the national park was covered in fog, so my visit had a mystic quality to it. Personally, I enjoyed Keoladeo more than the Taj. But dont' listen to me.
As a final, sad note, I have to state that the park is in danger. The water feeding the wetland is scarce and it may dry up. In addition, on my walk I found several protected areas …
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I visited this WHS in January 2012. This sanctuary is a birdwatcher's paradise. I spotted several birds such as rollers, kingfishers, herons, treepies, owls, barbets, babblers, crested serpent eagles, painted stork, etc. I was also lucky to see hyaenas, marsh deer, nilgai, grass snakes, etc. A real nature haven!
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A wonderful relaxing place to visit on the Agra / Fattpur Sikri road. Stop off, bring your binoculars, and see the wonderful variety of birdlife in the quiet enviorns of the park. The park is a manageable size, and any but the most avid birder (they prefer that name rather than twitcher) will have seen their fill in a few hours. The wetalnds and the tree lined paths can make this a cooler respite from the heat of travellign around Rajastan.
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Well the visit to the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary was the most exciting event that had happened to my life in the recent past. the spottings were numerous and i even saw a live python at an arms lenght.This park has got so many fragile ecosystems which are at peril b'cos of the lack of water in the wetlands. Hope at least this monsoons would be kind to this bird paradise.
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