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Bharatpur Tourism Guide
Bharatpur Tourism Guide
Bharatpur city is named after Bharat, the brother of Lord Rama. This
city is also called the Eastern Gateway of Rajasthan. The foundation
of this city was laid by Maharaja Suraj Mal, an adopted son of Badan
Singh in 1733 AD. It was once an unconquerable well fortified city,
carved out of the region formerly known as Mewar. The trio of Bharatpur,
Deeg and Dholpur has played an important part in the history of Rajasthan.
The city and the fort have been believed to be founded by Rustam,
a Jat of Sogariya clan. Maharaja Surajmal took over from Khemkaran,
the son of Rustam and established the empire. He fortified the city
by building a massive wall around the city. The fort is popularly
known as "Loha Garh" or " Iron fort". The interesting
aspect of the Bharatpur history is the domination of Jats in the region
since 17th century, leader like Churaman and Badan Singh brought the
Jats together to mould them into a force to reckon with.
Suraj Mal has been the greatest ruler who made them a formidable force
and played a very important role in the Indian history during 19th
century. Today Bharatpur is better known for the Keoladeo Natinal
Park, a unique bird place, delight of ornithologists. A paradise for
the avian world, and the pilgrimage for the bird lovers, it was known
as the best duck shooting resort in the British empire. But was declared
a reserve for birds in 1956 and later upgraded to National Park. UNESCO
has listed it as a world heritage site. The geographical location
is ideal as it is on the main North-South avian route of India. Although
small in size, 29 sq km. Only, it boasts to house more than 375 species
of beautiful birds, and more than 132 of them breed inside the Keoladeo
Ghana National Park and nearly every year new ones are added to the
list.
The sanctuary not only attracts birds from India but also from places
like Europe, Siberia, China and Tibet Before monsoons hundreds of
these exotic birds roost and nest building activities start on the
babool and kadam trees of the park. Water coming through the Ajan
Bandh starts filling the various ponds and lakes of the Park.
Tourist Places in Bharatpur
Lohagarh Fort
The massive iron structure built in the early 18th century. With its
impregnable defences it sustained itself even after a number of British
attacks. The fort was conceived and designed by Maharaja Suraj Mal,
the founder of Bharatpur. The fort has three palaces within its precincts
- Kishori Mahal, Mahal Khas and Kothi Khas.
Government Museum
A rich collection of artifacts, exquisitely carved sculptures and
ancient inscriptions can be admired in the Government Museum located
in the Palaces. All these items speak volumes about the rich heritage,
art and crafts of the region.
Keoladeo National Park
Once the royal hunting preserve of the princes of Bharatpur, it is
one of the finest bird sanctuaries in the world inundated with over
400 species of water birds. Exotic migratory birds from Afghanistan,
central .Asia, Tibet as well as Siberian cranes from the arctic, grey
leg geese from Siberia and bareheaded geese from China , come here
in July/Aug to spend the winters in warmer climate and they breed
till Oct/Nov.
The Palace
This royal edifice is a fusion of the Mughal and Rajput architectural
styles with splendid apartments and intricately designed floor tiles
having interesting patterns. One can marvel at the ancient exhibits
displayed in the museum in the central part of the palace.
How to Reach Bharatpur
Air : Agra 56 km is the nearest airport. Daily flight form
Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi and Lucknow are available to Agra.
Bus : A network of bus services links Bharatpur with several
cities within and outside the State.
Train : Regular rail services connect Bharatpur with several
cities on Delhi-Mumbai trunk route, Jaipur and Agra. Some important
train connections are : Golden Temple Mail (Mumbai-Bharatpur-Jammu-Tawi);
Intercity express ( Hazrat Nizamuddin - Bharatpur ); Paschim Express
( New Delhi - Bharatpur - Mumbai ). |
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