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Rajasthan
( Bharatpur )
INTRODUCTION
A visit to Alwar
is not complete without a trip to Bharatpur.
The history of Bharatpur traces the rise and
fall of Jat power in eastern Rajasthan. This
was the region where important Jat rulers like
Churaman, badan Singh and Suraj Mal dominated
the history of this entire belt. They fought
the invading Marathas. Mughals and the
interfering British and were a power to reckon
with and strong enough to lay down their own
terms and conditions.
The fort of
Bharatpur is the focal point of the town. It
took sixty years to build and was known as
Lohagarh or the Iron Fort. Don't forget to look
out for the moat and solid mud walls that once
surrounded this fort. Today, the stark and
rugged fort is partly used by the government to
run its offices and a large part houses the
Government museum.
Bharatpur is a
small city but what makes it special is the Keoladeo
National Park. Once the hunting preserve of
the princes of Bharatpur, today, it is ranked
among the world's best bird sanctuaries. Every
year, this park is visited by over 400 species
of water birds which include exotic migratory
birds from Afghanistan, Central Asia,
Siberia and Tibet. The greylag and
barheaded geese are among the important
visitors but the star of this sanctuary is the
rare Siberian crane. If you're a bird lover,
then this is your paradise, but even if you
just have a passing interest in birds you
cannot fall to be impressed by the
mind-boggling variety of birds that arrive in
this park.
The stone of Dholpur is famous through,
out the country and has been used for the
construction of many a fort and palace not only
in Rajasthan but in Agra, Delhi and other
states as well. You can pick up small mementos
from the markets. Dholpur in itself does not
seem to have too many tourist attractions but
the areas surrounding Dholpur are important for
their historicity.
Jhor was the site of the oldest Mughal garden
built by Babur in1527 and rediscovered in the
1970s, there is the famous Machkund where a
religious fair every year see a gathering of
devotees seeking a cure for their skin aliments
after a dip in the holy kund. Other important
areas include bari and Damoh and the Van Vihar
and Ram Sagar Sanctuary
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