If you have a spare half-day in Agra and you have seen enough marble, head north-west along the Delhi road. A little over twenty kilometres from the city you reach a lake full of birds, and beside it one of the most important animal rescue centres in India.
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Sur Sarovar (Keetham Lake)
Sur Sarovar, also called Keetham Lake, is a protected bird sanctuary off the Delhi-Agra highway. The lake and its wooded edges draw resident water birds all year and a much larger crowd of migratory birds in winter — ducks, storks, cormorants and waders among them. The name links it to the poet-saint Surdas, who is associated with this stretch of the Braj country.
It is a gentle, flat place for a walk with binoculars, and a calmer alternative if you cannot fit in the longer trip to Keoladeo at Bharatpur.
The Agra Bear Rescue Facility
For centuries, sloth bears were captured as cubs, had their muzzles pierced and were made to “dance” for coins on the roads of north India, including the road to the Taj. The charity Wildlife SOS, working with the forest department, set up a sanctuary here at Sur Sarovar to take the rescued bears in. The practice of dancing bears in India was brought to an end in 2009.
The bears that live here now cannot return to the wild, but they live in large forested enclosures and are cared for for the rest of their lives. Visits are guided, and you will hear the story of individual bears.
Planning a Visit
The rescue facility is not a zoo, and visits work differently: check with Wildlife SOS in advance for current visiting times, booking and any charges, as these are set by them and can change. Allow a couple of hours for the bears and the lake together, plus the drive.
Winter mornings are best for birds; in summer go early, before the heat.
Who It Suits
This is one of the best things to do in Agra with children, and a good counterweight to a day of monuments — our guide to Agra with kids has more ideas. It is on the same road as Sikandra, so you can combine the two.
Back in the city, Tajnuma on Fatehabad Road opens at 12:00 pm for a pure vegetarian Mughlai lunch or dinner.
