Keoladeo National Park

Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park (formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary), is a world-famous avifauna and wildlife sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. The park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian Subcontinent to escape winter's wrath further north in Eurasia. With at least 400 avian species having been noted or observed within, Keoladeo is a major tourism hub and Indian nature travel destination, both domestically and internationally. The wealth of species lures many amateur and professional birdwatchers and wildlife photographers, as well as scores of ornithologists during the hibernal season, who come to observe the migratory flocks' health, numbers and interactions with the local ecosystems.

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, as the Park was formerly named, was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971 and established as a national park on 10 March 1982. Due to its exceptional avian biodiversity, it has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1985).

Keoladeo Ghana National Park also features a man-made, regulated wetland, providing a needed source of hydration for animals in this drier region of the subcontinent. The reserve also protects Bharatpur settlements from flash floods and provides ample pastures for the locals' cattle and livestock. In the past, the region was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km² (11 sq mi) reserve is locally known as Ghana, a natural mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, swamps and seasonal wetlands located just on the eastern edge of terrain that eventually becomes arid desert (the Thar, to the west).

Given its rather centralised location, where the "desert-meets-the-tropics", Keoladeo Ghana is bursting with biodiversity. Beyond the hundreds of bird species, at least 20 fish, 70 reptile and amphibian, and 50 mammalian species are known to inhabit the area. Interestingly, over 60 unique species of Lepidopterans (butterflies and moths) have been seen here, in addition to the 1,000+ invertebrate species. Nearly 400 botanical species have been documented at the park as well, forming the pillars of all life within.