Vansda National Park, also known as Bansda National Park, is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

which represents the thick woodlands of the Dangs and southern

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, and is situated in the Vansda tehsil, Navsari District of

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Riding on the banks of

Ambika River Ambika is one of the major rivers in the Indian state of Gujarat. The river has its origins in Saputara Hill ranges in the Nasik district of Maharashtra. Ambika has a drainage area of 2715 km2 and travels 136 km before joining with the ...

and measuring roughly 24 km² in area, the park lies about 65 km east of the town of Chikhali on the National Highway 8, and about 80 km northeast of the city of

Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ (Gujarati: વલસાડ), historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. The city of Valsad ...

Vansda Vansda, also known as Bansda, is a city and a municipality in the Navsari district in the Indian State of Gujarat, covering an area of 557 km2. Vansda is connected with Waghai, Chikhli, Saputara, Nasik, Vapi, Dharampur, Shamlaji by State ...

, the town from which the name of the park is derived, is an important trading place for the surrounding area where the majority of the population is represented by

adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...

- Waghai state highway runs through the park, so does the narrow gauge rail link connecting Ahwa to

Billimora Bilimora is a city situated on the banks of the river Ambika, in Gandevi taluka & Navsari district of Gujarat state, in India. The city comes under the purview of the Surat Metropolitan Region. The city is roughly south of the city of Surat ...

. Established in 1979 as a

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

, the

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

area having groves of "Katas"

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

owes its beauty to no felling of trees since 1952. Nestled in the Western Ghats of Sahyadri range, it has a unique flavour of flora and fauna population. Apart from the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, some of the other attractions include local

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s, "Gira Falls", and the "Conservation center". As a part of developing ecotourism Gujarat Government has developed a campsite at Kilad. There is also a deer breeding center maintained by

Nature Club Surat Nature Club Surat is an NGO working for environmental conservation in South Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1984. One of the founding members Mr Snehal Patel is still active in the club. Activities The Nature Club Surat undertakes projects ...

in this region. The best time to visit is post-monsoon season till winter when the forests are lush green and streams are full.

Fauna

Animals found in the park include the Indian leopard, dhole, rhesus macaque,

common palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad range ...

Hanuman langur Gray langurs, also called Hanuman langurs and Hanuman monkeys, are Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the genus ''Semnopithecus''. Traditionally only one species ''Semnopithecus entellus'' was recognized, but since a ...

, small Indian civet, four-horned antelope,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

, Indian porcupine, barking deer, striped hyena, jungle cat,

flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they ar ...

pangolin Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smut ...

and Indian giant squirrel.

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

s and venomous snakes such as the Russell's viper, cobras and kraits can also be found. In 1992, a

rusty-spotted cat The rusty-spotted cat (''Prionailurus rubiginosus'') is one of the cat family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from India and Sri Lanka. In 2012, it was also recorded in the western Terai of Nepal. Since 2016, the gl ...

was spotted in a farmhouse at a plantation of

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es in this park. In February 2020, dholes were sighted in the park, with camera traps confirming the presence of two individuals in May 2020. This was the first time in 50 years that dholes were confirmed in Gujarat. Like Purna Wildlife Sanctuary in the Dangs' Forest,Significant bird records and local extinctions in Purna and Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuaries, Gujarat, India-PRANAV TRIVEDI and V. C. SONI
/ref> and Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, the

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

is reportedly extinct in the State of Gujarat. However, since the area where the state borders

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

has tigers anyway, the forest is a potential

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of the tiger.Jhala, Y. V., Qureshi, Q., Sinha, P. R. (Eds.) (2011)
''Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010.''
National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. TR 2011/003 pp-302 Here, a high diversity of species of forest birds is the main attraction for

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

. About 155 species of birds are found including common grey hornbill, grey-fronted green pigeon, yellow backed sunbird,

Malabar trogon The Malabar trogon (''Harpactes fasciatus'') is a species of bird in the trogon family. It is found in the forests of Sri Lanka and peninsular India. In India it is mainly found in the Western Ghats, hill forests of central India and in parts of ...

, jungle babbler, forest spotted owlet, shama, great Indian black woodpecker, are found. Apart from this, there is a variety of insects, centipedes, millipedes and

snails A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastrop ...

. There are about 121 species of

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

including the

giant wood spider ''Nephila'' is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. ''Nephila'' consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, gian ...

, the largest species of spider in Gujarat.

Flora

There are 443 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s. This includes

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

sadad The SADAD payment system was established by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to be the national electronic billing, electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) service provider for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The core mandate for ...

, , kadad, humb, timru,

kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...

, dudhkod, mahudo, behada, umaro,

kusum ''Schleichera'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There is only one species, ''Schleichera oleosa'', a tree that occurs in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Species ''Schleichera oleosa'', kusum tre ...

, tanach,

asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown into th ...

, shimlo, ambla, sisam, chopadi bondaro, etc. There is a variety of colourful

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s at

Ambika river Ambika is one of the major rivers in the Indian state of Gujarat. The river has its origins in Saputara Hill ranges in the Nasik district of Maharashtra. Ambika has a drainage area of 2715 km2 and travels 136 km before joining with the ...

Gallery

File:Vansda N Park.jpg, Entrance sign File:Vansda N Park1.jpg, File:Vansda N Park2.jpg, File:Vansda N Park3.jpg, File:Vansda N Park4.jpg, File:Vansda N Park5.jpg, Ticket prices

References

External links

* Gujarat Tourism
Vansda National Park
*Photos, Contact and Booking Information
Vansda National Park, Surat, Gujarat
{{Authority control National parks in Gujarat Protected areas established in 1979 Navsari district 1979 establishments in Gujarat

Fauna

Flora

Gallery

See also

References

External links