Bharatpur is a district of Rajasthan India and located at an altitude of 600 ft. and its pin code is 321001. Nearby airports of Bharatpur are Jaipur Agra and Gwalior. Bharatpur population is 2.5 million according to 2011 Census. Bharatpur has a railway junction from where you can get the trains to Jaipur, Bharatpur to Kota, Bharatput to Delhi etc. You can also travel by bus to Bharatpur or by car from Agra, or Jaipur.
Location of Bharatpur : - Located just 60 kms from the Agra city, the city of Bharatpur lies on the eastern corner of the desert state Rajasthan ,its not very far (180 kms) from the national capital Delhi. Being at proximity to the national capital and cities like Agra and Jaipur makes Bharatpur very accessible. The highway passing through the city is a wide four lane road connecting Agra with Jaipur.
History of Bharatpur : - Bharatpur is the famous fiefdom of the Jat rulers; the royal family of Bharatpur belongs to the Sinsinwar jat family. Maharaja Surajmal founded the city in 1733 AC this was the time when Mughal power was fading, using the situation to their benefit the Bharatpur jats ruled over a large area right from Rohtak in Haryana to Aligarh in UP. The Bharatpur jats even raided the Red fort of Delhi. The Bharatpur rulers were a powerful entity during those times when the Marathas were proving their prowess.
The city has some fine monuments which are in very good condition, the best attraction of Bharatpur is the keoladeo bird sanctuary, the city of Deeg famous for the pleasure haunt of the maharaja of Bharatpur is also a known tourist attraction.
Lohagarh Fort : - One of the major tourist attractions of Bharatpur is The Lohagarh Fort. This huge fort has a wide moat parallel to the outer high wall, there are two gates for accessing the interiors of the lohagarh fort. This fort is famous for its impregnable architecture. The British in 1805 laid a siege for over a month but could not win over the defense of the lohagarh fort. There are some very interesting and beautiful palaces built by the Jat rulers of Bharatpur inside the Lohagarh fort, Kishori Mahal, Moti Mahal, Khas Mahal, Kothi Khas are the names of the palaces you can visit on your tour of the Lohagarh fort besides palaces the fort has a Government museum where exhibits related to the royalty are on display, period arms and weaponry is main stay of the exhibits.
How to Reach Keoladeo National Park : - If you are a nature lover and have a deep interest in the birds then this bird sanctuary is heaven for you, the bird sanctuary is located on the Agra Jaipur national highway. The motor vehicles are not allowed inside the sanctuary. On your Golden triangle tour you can easily access and tour the famous Bharatpur bird sanctuary which lies just few meters from the National highway connecting Agra with Jaipur, a few hours with a trained naturalist will give you a vivid detail about the avian kingdom.
How to Get Inside the Park?
You can ride a bicycle inside the park or can hire a cycle rickshaw for accessing the interior areas of the park. The cycle can also be hired very near from the ticket window; there is a very nominal rent for the cycles. Around 3 kms from the ticket window on the road is the barrier indicating that you are going to enter the interior and most important part of the bird sanctuary. There are more than 370 bird species which make Bharatpur bird sanctuary this famous. Eminent ornithologist Mr. Salim Ali strived hard to make Bharatpur an important destination on the bird lovers itinerary. This sanctuary was famous haunt of the Siberian cranes which came to Bharatpur every year from Siberia until all the birds probably were shot over Afghanistan in 1990s.The bird sanctuary is fed by a canal originating from the Chambal river.This area was earlier the famous hunting spot of the royals. The Maharajas, the British officers even the Viceroy came to Bharatpur to enjoy hunting a favourite pastime of the royals. Apart from birds Keoladeo bird sanctuary has many species of Pythons, Deer, Nilgai etc.
Bharatpur nearby tourist attraction – Deeg
The palaces of Deeg are located in the Bharatpur district just 32 kms from Bharatpur. The palaces of Bharatpur and Deeg are not as famous as Agra or Jaipur but a day tour to this not very well acknowledged destination will amaze with its splendid architecture. The city of Deeg situated in the desert state has series of Palaces constructed by the Jat rulers of Bharatpur. The essence of architecture at Deeg is certainly inspired by the Mughal and the Rajput style of architecture. Constructed mainly from the locally available red sand stone. The huge water tank with palaces on one side is the first sight after passing through the entrance gate. The palace still has period furniture mostly from the British times at display another palace very similar to the Mughal palaces at Agra has been constructed from the white marble, striking resemblance with the marble edifices at Agra makes it special. Keshav Bhawan a palace made to re create the sight of the monsoon with hundreds of fountains working with the force of gravitation. There was a mechanical device to create the sound of thunder thus recreating the complete ambience of the monsoons in the desert state. One of the tower at Deeg has the cannons installed which were once used for the defense.
