From My Eyes - Bharatpur and around

This is a part of my larger trip to Bundelkhand region.

The vehicle was waiting for us at Bharatpur station. The first destination was the guest house at Bharatpur. Saw the rooms and chose a Non A/c double room. That was a big mistake. I did not anticipate the weather to be hot in the month of September. After spending around half an hour in the room I felt that I should have chosen an A/c room. After having a bath and a cup of tea, we left for Deeg Palace at around 10:30. When we informed the driver about our visit to Deeg Palace, he mentioned about the recent riots in Bharatpur and asked Mr. Arun Singh if it would be okay to go to Deeg. Mr. Singh informed that the route to Deeg was free of trouble.

The road was Deeg goes through Kumher Gate and that part of the route was bad. After that the road was bad in parts. We reached Deeg just at around 11:20 at the first gate. This gate is normally closed and the

Deeg Palace

visitors have to go to the second gate which is about 2 minutes drive from the 1st gate. You have to take a right from the circle and go straight till you see the 2nd gate. Here is the ticket counter for Deeg Palace. Entry fee is Rs 5/- per person, no camera charges. The palace was/is famous for its fountains. These fountains are rarely used nowadays. As per the guide these fountains are used during a fair which is held in the month of September. There are quite a few Bhawans inside the palace complex. One of them is Gopal Bhawan which has quite a few artifacts. There is also a Diwan-I-Khaas here. We paid the guide Rs 50/- for showing around the palace. Deeg Palace also has a well maintained garden and two lakes which are used by locals for washing their clothes. Photograpny is not allowed in Gopal Bhawan and Diwan-I-Khaas.

After visiting Deeg Palace we again came back to Bharatpur, had our lunch around 2:00 and then went to see Ganga Temple. The temple was closed and I was informed that it would open at 16:00 pm. Next stop  was Lohagarh fort. Entry fee is Rs 5/- per person, no camera charges. Inside the fort complex there are several residences of public now. The actual fort has been converted to a hospital. You can see the Museum here which is a bit far from the hospital. The museum has a hamam and quite a few artifacts on the ground floor. There is also some more artifacts on the first floor and you get a good view of Bharatpur city from the roof of the museum. After spending around 45 minutes we left for the bird sanctuary.

We reached the sanctuary around 4:00 pm. The migratory birds are seen during the winter months of November, December, January and February. We could see only a few local birds. We hired a cycle rickshaw and a guide to show us around the bird sanctuary. During the off season the tour is till the Keoladeo Temple. Apart from the birds we were able to see a few Nilgai’s, a fox and a monitor lizard. I personally

Painted Storks

thought the visit to the sanctuary was a waste of money. The cycle rickshaw charges Rs 70/- per hour and the guide charges Rs 100/- per hour. Our tour inside the sanctuary was for around 2 ½ hours, so we had to shell Rs 400/- apart from the entry fees to the sanctuary which is Rs 50/- per person, no camera charges but charges for video shooting. There are quite a few cycle rickshaw-wallas who double up as guides also. All the guides carry a binocular with them. I saw a few foreigners who were using the best medium of transport inside the sanctuary, bicycles. They are available for about Rs 50/- for the entire day. Good time to visit the sanctuary is early in the morning or later in the evening. The park is open from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. There is an ITDC Ashok inside the park. Private vehicles are not allowed beyond the check post inside the park and for using the vehicle till here you have to pay Rs 100/-. After this there are only 3 modes of transport walking, cycle rickshawas or cycles. There were a couple of battery operated buses which were under repair. These buses can also be used by tourists.