Bharatpur - The Eastern Gateway to Rajasthan , was founded
by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733 AD, it was once an impregnable
well fortified city, carved out of the region formerly
known as Mewat.
The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and Dholpur has played an
important part in the history of Rajasthan. The legends
say that the place was named as Bharatpur after the
name of Bharat, the brother of Lord Rama, whose other
brother Laxman was worshipped as the family deity of
the Bharatpur rulers, Laxman's name is engraved onthe
state arms and the seals. The city and the fort have
been believed to be founded by Rustam, a Jat of Sogariya
clan.
Maharaja Surajmal took over from Khemkaran, the son
of Rustam and established the empire. He fortified the
city by building a massive wall around the city.
The interesting aspect of the Bharatpur history is the
domination of Jats in the region since 17th century,
leader like Churaman and Badan Singh brought the Jats
together to mould them into a force to reckon with.
Suraj Mal has been the greatest ruler who made them
a formidable force and played a very important role
in the Indian history during 19th century.
Today Bharatpur is better known for the Keoladeo Natinal
Park, a unique bird place, delight of ornithologists.
A paradise for the avian world, and the pilgrimage for
the bird lovers, it was known as the best duck shooting
resort in the British empire. But was declared a reserve
for birds in 1956 and later upgraded to National Park.
UNESCO has listed it as a world heritage site. The geographical
location is ideal as it is on the main North-South avian
route of India.
Although small in size, 29 sq km. Only, it boasts to
house more than 375 species of beautiful birds, and
more than 132 of them breed inside the Keoladeo Ghana
National Park and nearly every year new ones are added
to the list.
The sanctuary not only attracts birds from India but
also from places like Europe, Siberia, China and Tibet
Before monsoons hundreds of these exotic birds roost
and nest building activities start on the babool and
kadam trees of the park. Water coming through the Ajan
Bandh starts filling the various ponds and lakes of
the Park.
India
Tour Packages