The primary reason for our trip to the city of Bharatpur was the strong urge to visit the world famous Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. The excitement of watching some of the most beautiful species of birds around the world had been slowly mounting all through our tour to Rajasthan and we were now eagerly waiting to witness the amusing antics of these innocent creatures from close quarters during our three-day-long stay in Bharatpur.

The fast developing city of Bharatpur came as a pleasant surprise after a visit to the small rural township of Sawai Madhopur. The city is far more developed than the latter and offers the best of modern comforts to discerning travelers arriving from across the globe to its Keoladeo Ghana National Park (the other name for Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary). We checked into a hotel that was conveniently located in the vicinity of the national park. In fact, owing to the location of the bird sanctuary here, a large number of hotels in Bharatpur are ideally found in close proximity to the park.

On the first day of our stay in Bharatpur, we left for a visit to the national park on a cycle rickshaw. We were told at the hotel that it is the most convenient means of traveling within the bird sanctuary as it allows you to thoroughly experience the beauty of the park and its fascinating residents while enjoying a joyride on the rickshaw. Moreover, the rickshaw pullers in Bharatpur themselves serve as forest guides and are extremely familiar with all the birds in the sanctuary. They can even recognize each of them just by hearing their sound!

We enjoyed every moment of our visit to the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and learned so much en route from our rickshaw puller that we could now actually spot nearly all the birds just by their body shape and color. It was an amazing experience to watch varied species of some of the most intriguing birds like Indian robin, Mac Pie Robin, Doves, Black Drango, Tiger Bird, Saras Cranes, Black Necked and Painted Storks and striking White Ibis at the park. We also a good variety of animals like Spotted and Sambhar Deer, Monkeys, Langoors, Blue Bull, Jackal, Hyena, Monita Lizards and Chameleon.

Tired after a long tour through the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, we preferred to rest in the latter half of the first day. The next morning, we left early to visit some of the prominent temples of Bharatpur city that are an equally famous tourist attraction besides the national park. The most beautiful of all was undoubtedly the Ganga Temple that is a remarkable piece of architecture. The exquisite carvings and designs on the temple pillars and arches are truly commendable.

After admiring the striking beauty of the temple, we left to visit the Laxman Temple that was equally appealing in its architecture. Particularly striking were the designs of 'Shesh Naag' exquisitely carved out on the temple pillars. The last on our list was the Banke Bihari Temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. The most noticeable feature of this temple is the beautiful Brij paintings on the walls of the temple that remarkably portray different stages of the life of Krishna from his infancy to adulthood.

The last and final day in Bharatpur was dedicated to a visit to the two famous forts of the city - Iron Fort and Deeg Fort. The former has been now converted into a government museum and displays some of the intriguing antiques, weaponry and furnishings of the royal period. We decided to visit the Deeg Fort on our way towards Alwar (the last destination on our Rajasthan tour itinerary) as it lies about 35 km from Bharatpur. As we reached the fort, the local officials present at the site advised us to see the magnificent Deeg Palace since the fort nearly lies in ruins and has not much to offer to a visitor. As we went round the royal palace, we were stunned to see the picturesque beauty of the place that is hard to express. Deeg Palace in Bharatpur is surely a must visit.

Our stay in Bharatpur was indeed enjoyable, the memories of which linger on our minds till date and which we have tried to put down in our traveler's diary on Bharatpur. However, the city needs to be experienced for itself to be truly admired.

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