Last updated: October 2026 · Method: built from published site information and recurring traveller reports; figures approximate — verify on site.
Keoladeo was once the Siberian crane’s only Indian wintering ground — the white birds that made the park world-famous, and whose documented disappearance after 2002 remains conservation’s cautionary tale (the honesty frame: the reintroduction story).
The record, plainly
- The congregation: the western population wintered here for decades ; documented in park registers since the 1960s.
- The decline: habitat degradation on the migration route ; documented, not speculated; the last sightings were the early 2000s.
- The lesson: a park cannot save a bird whose flyway is broken ; the godawan parallel.
Planning notes
Bharatpur runs on the migration calendar and the rickshaw clock together: the birds own the dawn, the town owns the evening, and the water decides how far the marsh stretches. Build each stop around one unhurried hour rather than a quick photo.
Costs and access
- Timing: daylight hours suit most visits; confirm the day’s opening window locally.
- Costs: any entry sits in the nominal range — small notes at the counter settle it.
- Getting there: the park is walkable and rickshaw-friendly from every gate-side hotel.
Keep in mind: specifics shift faster than guides update — treat this page as the frame and recent reviews as the fine print.