Keechen is a small village situated 4 km east of Phalodi, along the main road, in Jodhpur District,
Rajasthan. This quaint hamlet is famous as the visiting ground for demoiselle cranes, which flocks in each winter from their breeding grounds on the central Asian steppes in large numbers.
The birds, which are known locally as ‘kurja’, who feed them with specially donated grain twice a day – a practice that has been continued for 150 years. At feeding times (06:30 hrs and 15:30 – 16:00 hrs), the birds descend en masse on a fenced-off area just out side the village. One could watch and photograph them from close quarters during this period.
Keechen can be reached from Phalodi by taxi or rickshaw. Nearest airport is at the desert town of Jaisalmer.
Phalodi Railway Station, on the broad gauge railway line, connects Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.
