Spanning over 59.86 sq km, Van vihar is a famous sanctuary divided into two parts Van Vihar and Ramsagar. As a matter of fact, these are actually two separate wildlife sanctuaries - Van Vihar and Ram Sagar.

Van vihar is situated on Vindhyan plateau and is inhabited by animals like Sambhar, Chital, blue bull , wild bear hyena and leopard. The sanctuary is surrounded by Dhok and Khair trees.

Our guide on the tour told us that Maharajah Udaibhan Singh of Dholpur had a great liking for the wild animals of Van Vihar. He used to hand feed not only the deer and antelopes in the reserve but also animals like foxes, jackals and birds.

He later on added that it was initially built by the rulers of Dholpur. Our guide also offered us an old forest rest house in Van Vihar to stay back amongst the wild. But I declined since we already had a room booked in the city resort.

Then from Van Vihar, we headed towards the Ramsagar part of the sanctuary endorsing Ramsagar Lake. The lake is very picturesque and supports rich aquatic life including fresh water crocodiles and a number of species of fishes and snakes.

As a part of sightseeing we explored Talab Shahi and Muchchhakund . Talab shahi was built in 1617, Talab Shahi is a picturesque lake that lies 40 km from Dholpur. A palace was also built along lake. The lake attracts a large number of winter migratory fowls like pintail, Shoverller, Red crested Pochard, wigeon and Gadwall. and Muchchhkkund is an ancient sacred place about 8 kms from the Dholpur. The Palace is named after Raja Muchchhkund and it offers a picturesque view.