The technology has become so intuitive today. How many times has it happened that you have just looked at a travel destination out of curiosity and almost instantaneously you get followed by various brands enticing you to make a decision ? So one fine lazy day when I was doing the scroll ups on my Insagram a very inviting advertisement from Luxury Escapes India hit my feed. It was a carousel of beautiful images from a heritage resort called The Bagh situated in Bharatpur. And it was an offer we could not refuse.
Gurgaon to Bharatpur Road Trip
The drive from Gurgaon to Bharatpur is fairly straightforward one. The ongoing construction on Sohna road is a bit of a dampener but once you navigate that chaos you are almost through the trials and tribulations which any road trip in India can present to you. Soon you are on KMPL (Kundali – Manesar – Palwal ) Expressway and cruising. At Palwal we get off this expressway and get on NH-2, the old Delhi -Mathura road and drive till Mathura on the same. From Mathura a smaller state highway takes you to Bharatpur and its the manner in which road immediately looses its smoothness is what demarcates the transition from one state to other. However, that stretch of the road was not too long and treacherous and we had reached our resort in just over three hours.
The Bagh – A resort in a Garden
The Bagh at the first sight was what we had seen in the promos which had hit my feed. A property developed amidst the erstwhile gardens of the royalty of Bharaput, The Bagh was beautiful and serene. The sounds from a busy neighborhood echoed which lent this charming resort a unique rustic feel. The rooms were large and well decorated with a sense of this place’s link with its royal heritage. Sprawling verandahs and courtyard with cozy sofas were apt to wind down with the greenery around. They served lovely food in their aesthetic restaurant and in evening they served high tea outdoors. Their pool and spa unlike a lot of other places were operational. It proved to be one very good spontaneous call to come and stay here over the weekend.
( PS: Service is slightly casual but the staff is very nice and friendly)
KeolaDeo National Park – Bharatpur’s Bird Sanctuary
The main attraction of Bharatpur, apart from the lovely resort we were staying in, was the bird sanctuary this place is famous for and it was only two kilometers away. So one of the evenings we made the visit to one of the largest sanctuaries in Asia where birds from across the continent fly in during winter. The entry for an Indian national is priced at Rs 111/- per head and no entry fees is charged for children of age 5 years and below. There are authorized guides available who would take you on a tour of this huge sanctuary spread over 7000 acres. If you don’t want to be walking on foot then there are two options; either you take a bicycle (They are not the likes of Firefox, in case your imagination has started already) or you can hire a rickshaw at Rs 150/- per hour. We took the rickshaws and spent around an hour and a half trying to explore rich fauna to be found in the park at this time of the year. Of the 370+ recorded species of birds here we were able to spot a few like the Parakeets, Snake Bird, Eagle etc. With more time to spare and a visit in the morning there are chances that you could spot many more.