Amongst India’s premier wildlife sanctuaries is the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur, situated at the border between the states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. It’s a marshy area, stretching over 29 sq km of kadam forests, grasslands and shallow lakes. Created by the Maharaja of Bharatpur in the 19th century by diverting water from an irrigation canal, Keoladeo was founded as a shooting preserve, but given the status of a bird sanctuary in 1956. Upgraded to a national park in 1982, the area today ranks as one of the best waterbirds preserves in the world- and it’s a World Heritage Site. Keoladeo Ghana, Bharatpur harbours some of India’s richest Birdlife, including the gorgeous shocking-pink tinted painted stork, several species of cormorants, egrets, pelicans, ibises, cranes, ducks and geese. One can see over 350 species of birds, both native as well as migratory.In addition to the birds, Keoladeo is home to a wide range of mammal and reptile species, including deer, jackals, black buck, fishing cats, otters and blue bulls.

The Ranthambore National Park is bound by the rivers Chambal, in the south, and Banas, in the north. It was established as a sanctuary in 1959 and included in the very first phase of Project Tiger in 1972. In 1981 Ranthambore was awarded National Park status. Characterized by rocky plains, flat hilltops, gentle slopes and precipitous cliffs, covered by dry deciduous forests. Ranthambore is virtually an island rich in flora and fauna in an ocean of villages, farmland and over grazed arid land.