Tal Chhapar Sanctuary

Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is situated in the Churu district of Northwestern Rajasthan in the Shekhawati area. It is 205 km from Jaipur and is located on road from Ratangarh to Sujangarh. The Tal Chappar sanctuary lies in the Sujangarh Tehsil of Churu District. It lies on Nokha- Sujangarh state Highway and is located at a distance of about 82 km from Churu & about 130 km from Bikaner. Tal Chappar sanctuary, situated on the fringes of the Thar desert, is known as home to about 2,000 black bucks.

The nearest Railway station is Chappar which lies on Degana - Churu - Rewari metre gauge line of North Western Railways. The nearest Airport is Sanganer (Jaipur) which is at a distance of 215 km from Chappar. The flourishing grassland ecosystem of Tal Chappar contains a tale of its own. Since 1940s, it was a hunting ground and horse pasture belonging to Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. The area come to known as a wildlife sanctuary in 1966. The Geology of the zone is obscured by the wind blown over-burden. Few small hillocks and exposed rocks of slate and quartzite are found in the western side of the sanctuary. Area between hillocks and the sanctuary includes the watershed area of the sanctuary. The Sanctuary is generally flooded by water during the heavy rains but with salt mining going on in the watershed. Hardly any rain water falling on the hills reach the Sanctuary. Nothing much grew in these parts except the Prosopis juliflora, an invasive plant species that had pushed out native plants.

Tal Chappar sanctuary would be developed as a major tourist destination
Tal Chappar sanctuary would be maintained as a main tourist destination to play a role of a catalyst for the development of the area, said chief minister, Ashok Gehlot. He added that the government would provide all help to develop Tal Chappar as a major tourist destination. The sanctuary is home to blackbucks. With the inflow of domestic and foreign tourists to the sanctuary, this would also open up the doors of employment opportunities for the locals. He said development plan of this area would be made with the total involvement of the locals and officials who works at grass root level.

Location of Tal Chhapar Sanctuary
The Tal Chhapar sanctuary is situated on the fringe of the Great Indian Desert. Tal Chhapar nestles a unique refuge of the most elegant Antelope encountered in India, "the Black buck". Tal Chhaper sanctuary, with almost flat tract and interspersed shallow low lying areas, has open grassland with scattered Acacia and Prosopis trees which give it an appearance of a typical Savanna. The word "Tal" means plane land. The rain water flows through shallow low lying areas and collect in the small seasonal water ponds. Situated at a distance of 220 km from Jaipur and 80 km from Mandawa, the Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary is a very small but rich wildlife sanctuary in Churu district of Rajasthan. A flat saline depression, Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is widely known for its enchanting natural beauty and unique and fragile ecosystem. Positioned in on the way of the migratory passage of exotic birds, the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is Well known for its rich population of Black Bucks and thousands of beautiful migratory birds, especially the harriers, who pass over the sanctuary during the month of September.

Major Attractions of the Sanctuary
Truly a bird lover's paradise, the Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary comes alive with the beautiful color of thousands of migratory birds, especially the harriers, including Montagur's Harriers, Marsh Harriers, Pale Harriers and Hen Harriers. Other birds commonly seen in the sanctuary include Imperial Eagles, Tawny Eagles, Short-toed Eagle, Sparrow Hawks, Skylarks, Crested Larks, Brown Doves, Green Bee-eaters, Black Ibis and Demoiselle Cranes, which will be here till March. Blue-checked Bee-eaters and Green Bee-eaters are commonly found in Tal Chappar, for this is their breeding place.