JAIPUR NEARBY EXCURSIONS
Keoladeo National Park
Keoladeo National Park or Keoladeo Ghana National Park formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan is a famous avifauna sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season. Over 350 species of birds are known to be resident. It is also a major tourist centre with scores of ornithologists arriving here in the hibernal season. It was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. It is also a World Heritage Site.
Ranthambore National Park
Located about 13.5 kilometers from the city of Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. Located at the junction of the Aravali and Vindhya hill ranges, this is one of the finest places to view wild animals, especially as they are used to being stared at here. The park covers an area of approximately 400 sq km, and if combined with the area of Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary area, is around 500 sq km.
Ranthambore National Park is dotted with structures that remind you of bygone eras. There are numerous water bodies scattered all across the park, which provide perfect relief to the wild animals during the scorching hot days in summers. A huge fort, after which the park is named, towers over the park atop a hill. There are many ruins of bygone eras scattered all over the jungle, which give it a unique, wonderful and mixed flavour of nature, history and wildlife. Tigers at Ranthambore National park have been known to even hunt in full view of human visitors.
Sariska Tiger Reserve
Sariska Tiger Reserve situated in the Alwar District of Rajasthan is 107 Km. from Jaipur and only 200 km from Delhi. It covers an area of 800 sq km in total, with a core area of approximately 500 sq km. The Northern Aravali Hills dominate the skyline with their mixture of sharp cliffs and long narrow valleys. The area was declared a sanctuary in 1955 and became a National Park in 1979.
The Sariska Tiger reserve holds a good diversity of wild animals besides Tiger being the principal predator, other animals in the Reserve include, leopard, Hyena, Caracal, Jungle cat, Ratel, Nilgai, Sambar deer, Spotted deer, langur, Rhesus macaque, Four-horned antelope, Wild pig, Indian civet, Rufous tailed hare, Common Mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, Palm Civet, Pangolin, Porcupine, etc.
A total of 211 bird species have been recorded in the Reserve.
Ajmer-Pushkar
Ajmer Pushkar is famous for Pushkar Lake and the town has hundreds of temples, including 14th-century Jagatpita Brahma Mandir, dedicated to the god of creation, which has a distinctive red spire and walls inlaid with pilgrims’ silver coins. Ajmer, surrounded by Aravalli Hills is a famous tourist destination. Ana Sagar Lake and Ajmer Sharif Dargah are incredibly popular among the tourists.