Swagatam Tours Private Limited

North India Holidays

North India Wildlife

» BANDHAVGARH NATIONAL PARK
Bandhavgarh used to be the hunting reserve of the royal family of Rewa, though its history goes back two millennia. In caves you can still see paintings by the ancients. It is a retreat where history and nature meet.

Covering about 450 sq km, about half the park comprises sal forests, while mixed forests are found in the higher reaches of the hills. Stretches of bamboo and grasslands extend to the north. The main viewing area is still in the core of the Park with its 32 picturesque, wooded hills. An ancient fort up on a precipice, 800 metres high, dominates the Park.

This is where the famous white tigers of Rewa were discovered. Also to be seen here are nilgai, chousingha, chital, chinkara, wild boar, foxes, jackals, the jungle cat, ratel, hyena, porcupine, the rhesus macaque and the black-faced langur. About 150 species of birds are also found here and include the migratory birds that arrive in winter like the steppe eagle and various water-birds.

General Information
Best time of visit : November-June (Park closes in July for the monsoons)
Nearest Town : Umaria (30 km)
How to get there : Rail-Umaria (30 km); Air-Khajuraho (210 km)

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» BHARATPUR BIRD SANCTUARY

The World Heritage listed Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary as one of the finest bird sanctuaries in India. It houses more than 415 kinds of birds, out of which 117 birds migrate from places as far away as Siberia and China. This bird sanctuary also known as Keoladeo Ghana even houses sambar, chital, nilgai and boar. The park covers an area of 29 sq. km. out of which 11 sq. km. are marshes and the rest is scrubland and grassland.

Most of the parks of the ancient times were developed from the hunting preserves of the princes. But this park's uniqueness is that it was the only animal house created by a king (Maharaja) for hunting. 'Keoladeo' is an ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva in the centre of this park and 'Ghana' means dense, which are in context to the thick forests which covered this area. This is how Bharatpur National Park gets its name Keoladeo Ghana. An earthern dam called the Ajan Dam was constructed in 1760 to protect Bharatpur from the constant floods during monsoon and the arid lands after monsoon. The Keoladeo lake was born out of the depression created by extraction of soil for the dam. A very fine system of small dams, dykes, sluice gates, etc., was made so as to control the water level in different sections. Until hunting and shooting was banned in 1964, this place of Bharatpur royalty was one of the best duck-shooting wetlands in the world. On 10th March 1982 this area was declared as a National Park and in December 1985 it was accepted as a World Heritage site.

General information
Area 22 sq.km.
Altitude 250 metres
Best Season October- February
Languages Rajasthani, Hindi, English.

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