Safari at Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary

If it would have been in my hands, I would have been living in the woods; surrounded by trees and nearby flowing river. I would have got up in the morning with the chirping of the birds, morning walk with bears and dears, farming/ cultivation in the afternoon and in the evening having a cup of Tea beneath the trees. I was enjoying the tea and all of a sudden a loud horn of the automobiles and I was out of my lovely dream. It was the time to accelerate my car. Insane traffic broke my dream but the thought was too adamant to leave my brain. I kept on thinking about the dream for some days, till I got engulfed with my routine schedule.

It was yet another visit to Agra when I spotted the sign board for "Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary", around 25 Km. from Mathura. 

At first I was wondering as I have not heard the name before and to be honest I was totally unaware that such a bird sanctuary exists and that too so near to Agra (12 km. to Agra). How come I have never noticed this park during my earlier drives through Agra? However true to my nature I had started early from Delhi, so I took the liberty of exploring the Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. Start early whenever you are on for a road trip, you might get some surprises the way I got.

There is a very nominal entry fee, but the better part is that you can take your car inside the sanctuary. However it is expected from the visitors to not to disturb the animals and birds, so please refrain from honking. All the roads are yours, whether it is a concrete or  kucha road. Moving slowly on way which was covered and surrounded by trees from both sides, was nothing less than the royal welcome by the nature.

Extravagant nature which was outside the window panes compelled us to stop the car and enjoy the walk. You can park your car as per the convenience and enjoy the Jungle Safari:

It was the first time I got the chance to tread into the forests. Whistling woods had created a magnetic field around us and we were getting sucked inside the forests despite the warnings that tourists should not go too inside the forests. Though there were occasional sounds of snakes hissing and other animals, but those were far too small and weak to dampen our spirits.

Where there is a will there is a way. I am not a wild life expert, but still I was exploring whatever was coming my way:

Once our souls were contended of the astonishing flora, we restarted our pursuit for the unexplored. We were due for an amazing surprise in the form of "Keetham Lake". On a foggy afternoon and laden with clouds, witnessing the lake in its full natural grandeur was simply an out of the world experience. 

Observing the lake from the distance was not my cup of Tea, so I took the plunge downsides to be at the closest point of the lake. The moment was nothing less than being in a wonderland. There were a lot shells were lying on the bed of the lake, we too picked a few as a souvenirs. Suddenly I went back recalling my dream, which had met an abrupt end due to the city traffic. I got the walk in the woods and a nearby lake too, it was the time to thank the Gods for their benevolence.

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As we were about to start back a forest guard told us not to miss the Bears. You guessed it right he was talking about the cute animal.


We took no time in reaching the bears' place. The fenced boundary wall visible in the below picture is the official residence of the "Bears".  

However to meet the resident we had to walk to the nearby watch tower. But it was very difficult for me to resist the temptation, so I tried to see the animal by going atop a tree. My efforts went in vain as I was not able to get any sight of the Bears. Hard luck, I started to walk again.

All is well that ends well. The moment we reached at the top of the watch tower, there was a very huge bear in front of us, Bear did not kept us waiting.

With that we were almost at the limit of our available time. It took us around 2 hours to go around the Sanctuary, but the memories gathered were much more. When ever you plan to drive to this side keep some time for romancing the woods.

From the next time on wards whenever I will be driving to Agra a stop at this Bird Sanctuary will be a necessary part of the schedule. 

So Friends keep on enjoying the world and keep travelling....