Bharatpur, India, city renowned for bird sanctuary

About
After bidding good-bye to Udaipur day of its trip the Palace-on-Wheels arrives at the beautiful Bharatpur. The city of Bharatpur is an Avian paradise and is renowned for the bird sanctuary. So great is the pull of the Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur, that people spare not a thought for the state that gave birth to it. This superb waterfowl habitat, one of the finest in the world, was actually created by a Maharaja.

This National Park takes its name from the God Keoladeo, an aspect of Lord Shiva, enshrined in a small temple within the park. Ghana means dense and refers to the thick forest, which used to cover the area. Stretching over no more than 129 square meters, which isn't much for a National Park, the Keoladeo Ghana National Park is home to an astonishing range of flora at an altitude of 4250 meters above sea level.

Avian Paradise
Bharatpur is the real kingdom of Avian fauna in India with not less than 377 bird species already spotted. If your luck permits it is not too tough to spot 50 to 100 species in a day. If you are coming in winter, ready for a sudden (though most unlikely) encounter with the elusive Siberian Crane wintering here. The fact remains that Bharatpur is one of the only two known wintering haunts of Siberian Crane.
Birds come to this national park in waves. From August through November, it is indigenous water birds. In early October the first migrants arrive from the high plateaux of central Asia, Mongolia and Siberia, the most eagerly awaited of the lot being the gravely threatened Siberian crane. The month of March sees most of these migrants leave the national park. But animals that have made it their home-the nilgai (blue bull), sambar, jungle cat and mongoose-spend the entire summer here.

Raised paths run the length of the national park. Mercifully power driven vehicles are not allowed beyond a point. But cycle rickshaws are freely available and form a very satisfactory mode of transport. They're quiet and they're slow so you don't race past a rare specimen of bird or tree. What is more, the rickshaw pullers are very efficient guides, having been trained for the purpose.