KEOLADEO GHANA NATIONAL PARK

Even if you are not a birdwatcher, you will enjoy the beautiful walk in this 29 km² reserve. A main axis intersected by dirt roads runs along a series of ponds and groves. It is best to come early in the morning or late in the afternoon, which is better for photography. Only bicycles rented at the park entrance are allowed, but they are poorly maintained.

Maharaja Suraj Mal had these ponds built in the 18th century as a hunting reserve. Ducks and other migratory birds already flocked to these lands. The annals of Bharatpur still mention the sad carnage. In 1921, the Duke of Windsor killed 1,560 ducks in three hours. In 1938, Viceroy Linlithgow broke all records: 4,273 corpses in one day!

It was only in 1982 that the reserve was transformed into a national park. Nowadays, hunting is of course forbidden. Some migratory species are endangered, such as the Siberian crane. The park is full of life all year round, but it is in winter that it has the most residents: storks, peacocks, cranes, pelicans, cormorants, herons, ibises, ducks, wild geese... There are no less than 375 different species in Keoladeo. Some of them, such as storks and cormorants, choose the park to reproduce. They occupy the same nests every year for 3 years, which they patiently repair before laying eggs and brood after each monsoon. You have to see the trees collapsing under the weight of the birds and hear the deafening din of the chicks and their mothers after the hatching. The birds come from cold regions such as Siberia, Tibet, Ladakh or Mongolia. There are about 200 species of local migratory birds in the park and about 100 from abroad. About 78 different species live in the park year round. Each species curiously finds its own neighborhood from one year to the next. The reserve also counts deer (fallow deer, sambar), antelopes, jackals or varans.

After several years of drought, which unfortunately caused some birds not to land in the park, heavy work has been undertaken. The park is now connected to a canal which allows to maintain a sufficient level of water throughout the year. These works have allowed the safeguarding of 11 km² of marshlands constituting a unique ecosystem in India.