Bharatpur National Park (or Keoladeo National Park OR Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) is situated around an hour and half’s drive away from Agra, making it the perfect side order to your stay there. The park is a haven for birds with over 400 species visiting at some point during the year. Some are international migrants, some national migrants and some are highly endangered species. The park is also home to a range of mammals including Hyenas, Jackals and some smaller cat species (Jungle cat and Fishing cat). Therefore it’s a must visit for anyone into their wildlife and nature (like us!).
There are plenty of hotels and lodges within walking distance to the park, or a 20 rupee auto drive away. We chose a lodge called Jungle Lodge which had great reviews. The owners there are wonderful; the lady is a fantastic chef and even made us packed lunches at 5am for us to take into the park! The man is a great down to earth bloke who has travelled many countries and visits the park everyday. This makes him perfect for a little debrief in the evening to figure out exactly what species you did spot! The lodge has a small garden so in the evening you can continue to look out for birds. Even in just the garden we spotted sunbirds, plenty of bats and a pair of Indian Scops owls. Only some of the rooms have AC so pick accordingly!
Opening Times:
6am – 6pm (roughly; sunrise to sunset)
Cost:
- Entry ticket = 500 rupee
- Rickshaw = 150 rupee an hour
- Park guide (naturalist) = 250 rupee an hour
- Pushbike = 50 rupee for 4 hours
- Binoculars = I think it was 100 rupee for a couple of hours…
When you buy your ticket you’ll receive a well rehearsed speech pushing you to use a rickshaw and a naturalist. Obviously you’re welcome to do what you want. HOWEVER, the rickshaw drivers cycle around this park every single day spotting wildlife. Plus they receive extensive 3 month training before they’re allowed to be affiliated with the park. They know their stuff and you really do not need a naturalist as well. Plus it is cheaper to just take a rickshaw driver, if this is what you want to do.
On the other hand you could choose to take neither and either walk or cycle yourself around the park. All have their positives and drawbacks. Walking gives you freedom and is free but makes it harder to cover a large distance. Cycling is a great cheap option, but the bikes are very uncomfortable and you may miss things as you’re not concentrating as much on the wildlife. Rickshaws are comfy, allow you to look for wildlife and point things out you may have otherwise missed. But they only stick to the main road and go very slow, probably on purpose so they rack up the hourly charge they have. Pick the option that suits you best!
Day 1
The first day we visited we went in at around 2:30pm when it was scorching hot (my knees were even sweating??). We decided to take a rickshaw which in the end we had for 4 hours (600 rupee). He of course asked for a tip, which we gave, as he dropped us home afterwards. So in the end we paid him 1000 rupee. Probably a bit much but we were happy with the service. The rickshaw drivers will spout out a lot of information on the history of the park for you, which is pretty interesting. Bharatpur is NOT a natural wetland and was actually originally created to provide a spot for the royals and their guests to shoot ducks! Even today when in the park you can see large solar panels which power the ground pumps to keep the wetlands flooded. Obviously after enough important bird species made this their home it became a protected site.
We only stuck to the main pathway on the first day and were cycled to roughly half way into the park, we were able to spot loads of nest sites; mostly painted stork, cormorants, egrets and anhingas. Probably the largest gathering of birds I have seen, especially ones as large as the stork. Towards the end of the day they come swooping in to the nests with their gangly legs hanging down giving them a funny awkward appearance, great for photos! The park is also full to the brim with bee-eaters (both Indian varieties), with a healthy population of kingfishers (multiple species).
Our driver (and I suspect most) took us for a quick stop at a religious mans temple. From our understanding the man at this temple dedicates his time to caring for orphaned deer in the park and has trained the soft-shelled tortoise to come to the banks at his call. Whilst this is an obvious ploy to get donations, it was a nice thing to see. Who wouldn’t melt at a baby deer licking you and giving you cuddles?
On our way back out of the park the sun started to set, turning orange as it fades into the dusty Indian horizon, turning everything golden. The first kilometre or so of the park is dry land and just as we were saying how great it would be to spot a jackal, what do I spot? A pair of jackals slinking their way through the snoozing cows! They were quite difficult to spot as they’re about the size of a dog, which are also found patrolling the park, but after a double take it was pretty clear. They soon took off though once they had noticed us flailing around on the path.
Day 2
If you know anything about birds it should be that they are more active in the morning than during the day. Hence we got up extremely early the following day to arrive at Bharatpur National Park for 6am, just as the sun was rising. Seeing as we had only stuck to the main pathway the day previous, we decided we wanted to explore more of the side paths. This is 100% the way to do it since most people decide to take rickshaws and they cannot venture off the main path, meaning its silent and gives you a great chance of seeing something fancy! There are a few birds of prey lurking around; we saw Egyptian vultures, Oriental Honey Buzzards and a Shikra (so close we could almost touch it!).
It was a pretty long and uncomfortable day for us, we spent a total of 8 hours in the park and had hired pushbikes to get around on. These bikes must have been the creation of the devil. They are THE most painful bikes to sit on that I have ever experienced. So bad that it got to the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore, the thought of putting myself through that pain was just too much. Now, there was no actual bruising on Brad’s and mine behinds but it did still hurt to sit down at least a few days afterwards!
This unfortunately meant we did not go into the top half of the park, which is all dry land and home to heavier densities of mammals such as deer. But, photographers should definitely head up there! You never know what you’ll spot, plus none of the main tourists go there so it will be dead quiet.
Things to note:
- There is a hotel situated inside the first barrier which has a cafe and toilets, we utilised this for a coffee (and to sponge off of their air-con).
You may come across some signs that say ‘Tourists not allowed beyond this point” and like us you will probably turn around and do as you’re told. Though you may want to carry on as we were informed by our lodge owner that these signs are outdated and no longer applicable! The reason they were put up was that a leopard had been spotted in the park only 4 months ago! As a matter of safety its not wise to be on foot in a densely vegetated park with a hungry leopard. Up to you if you listen to the advice or not, who knows it may still be there. (We are also led to believe the occasional tiger from Ranthambore wanders down for a flying visit!). Probably best to check with the rangers at the park gate first.
Don’t put your toes in the water, the tortoise are not fussy and will have your baby toe before you have a chance to remove it! We witnessed a cormorant being dragged down into the water to become someones dinner. Pretty brutal.
Carry suncream and mosquito repellant for a full day trip. This is prime mosquito territory, as my scarred limbs will account for. I have, at this point, become so covered in mosquito bites people have started asking if there is something wrong with me…
Keep your eyes peeled! If you’re not looking you won’t see. These animals are hiding from you in most cases so don’t just rush through the park like so many others we saw.
Try to go on a day with no rain forecast, and no breeze. Though sunny with no breeze seems like hell to us, it is the perfect conditions for spotting birds. You need to notice the rustle in the leaves to see if anything is actually there a lot of the time. Plus, we had some cloud and rain come over during our second day, in the afternoon, causing the park to seemingly empty of all life.
It was a great couple of days in Bharatpur. It’s easy to see how the locals can keep going back day after day without boring. Each trip into the park provides new sightings and experiences and I am sure if we ever return to India this will be on the list of places to revisit!
Lar
I am really enjoying reading your blog Lara, it is interesting and informative. Also great photos taken by Brad
I look forward to reading about your next destination in India
Thank you Ang! You know the hardships of India so I hope you can relate to some of it!😁 just arrived in Rajasthan this morning…
This bird park looks amazing, so do those spotted deer.
Loads of great animal pictures from both of you!
Unfortunately I can only claim the ones of the tortoise😂 it was awesome though. India is at its best when you can escape the cities!
Nice one lara, really good read🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thank you!😁💛💛
You were very lucky to see the large number of birds and other animals whilst you were there. It sounds like you thoroughly enjoyed being there