Keoladeo National Park

Keoladeo National Park
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Keoladeo National Park is famous for its (water)birds. 375 species can be found here, among them the rare Siberian crane.

The park is an important wintering place for birds from colder countries in the North, like Siberia and China.

During colonial times, the area was used as a duck hunting ground. Since 1981 it is a national park.

Keoladeo Park is situated in the town of Bharatpur, 55 kilometers from Agra. It is best visited during the monsoon, when the park comes alive and the birds start courting and nesting.

Blog 1 Locations 4 Reviews 24 Ratings 14 Connections 97 Visitors

Map of Keoladeo National Park

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Els

Visit July 1993

We took a cycle-rikshaw to cross the park. The driver was meant to be our birdwatchingguide too, but he was more interested in our lives and travels. And to be honest: I was more interested in talking to him than looking out for birds. Sorry.

July 1993

 

 

Community Reviews

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Clyde

Malta - 07-Sep-12 -

Keoladeo National Park by Clyde

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!

John Walker

UK - 09-Oct-06 -

Keoladeo is amazing. My wife and I had a wonderful time there. The wildlife, particularly birds, was astounding. Our visit was made all the better by a superb wildlife guide called Randhir Singh. Look out for him if you visit the park.

Malcolm Lewis

UK - 18-Jul-05 -

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.

sandeep

india -

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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Site Info

Full Name
Keoladeo National Park
Unesco ID
340
Country
India
Inscribed
1985
Type
Natural
Criteria
10
Categories
Wildlife habitat - Fauna
Link
By ID

Site History

1985 Inscribed

Site Links

Unesco Website
Keoladeo National Park
Official Website

Rajasthan tourism Keoladeo Ghana National Park

In the News

Keoladeo National Park faces survival threat (07.10.14)

Birds head back to Keoladeo Park (13.09.12)

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. (17.12.09)

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. (23.01.08)

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. (26.02.07)

Locations

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Keoladeo National Park

Connections

The site has

Damaged
'Threatened' by Drought or Desertification
Ecology
Bird Migrations: OUV: wetland of international importance for migratory waterfowl, where birds migrating down the Central Asian flyway congregate before dispersing to other regions
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
Otters: smooth-coated otter
Turtles and tortoises: 7 species
Human Activity
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
Irrigation and drainage: Ajan Bund
Hunting or harvesting of Birds: Duck Shooting. The Wetland area was maintained primarily as a duck shooting preserve of the Maharajahs of Baratpur.
Timeline
Holocene: The unique habitat is the result of the Ajan Bund built in the 18th Century.
Trivia
Located in a Former Capital: Located in Baratpur, capital of Maharajah of Baratpur (1670-1947)
Total Solar Eclipse since Inscription: 24 October, 1995
WHS Hotspots
Agra and Delhi hotspot
WHS on Other Lists
Ramsar Wetlands: Keoladeo National Park, 1981
World Heritage Process
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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