What to Know Before You Go Okhla Bird Sanctuary
Distance: 35 kms from Meerut, 15 kms from Delhi Timings: 7 am to 5 pm Entry fee: Rs 30 Vehicle fee: Rs 100 Major birds: Northern shoveller, gadwall, pintail and ruddy shelduck Situated in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Okhla Bird Sanctuary is easily reached from Delhi, and is a mere 3 kms from Noida. Covering an area of 4 sq kms, the Sanctuary came into existence with the establishment of the Okhla Barrage over the Yamuna in 1984. Having become a popular spot for bird watching with experts and enthusiasts, the barrage and the surrounding marshland was protected and declared a Sanctuary in 1990. Though not far from the heavily urbanized Noida, a hush descends over the environs as soon as one enters the Sanctuary, the thrum of the wild cancelling out the noise of the city. A motor able road inside the Sanctuary goes on for a little over a kilometer, before turning into a narrow walking trail. A large lake, created by damming the Yamuna, is ...