PCCF : Wildlife : National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries : Vansda National Park

National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries

Vansda National Park

About the Park

The thick foliage of the luxuriant moist deciduous forest, predominantly represented by lofty teak trees and their usual floral associates are the chief attributes of Vansda National Park, which was declared as protected area in April 1979. The sanctuary has abundance of reptiles like python, venomous snakes like Russel’s viper, cobras and kraits. The croaking, chirping, and humming of a variety of insects create a silent symphony of melodious sounds of nature.

Vansda National Park The National Park is a small area of 23.99 sq. km. falling in the Vansda taluka of Valsad district of South Gujarat. The terrain is flat to undulating and is drained by the beautiful river Ambika, which eventually meets the sea near Navsari. As the forest forms continuous tract with the forest of adjoining district of Dangs, the sanctuary is managed by South Dangs Forest Division. The forest belongs to the category of tropical moist deciduous forests and the terrain represents northern and western limits of the Western Ghats.

The Vansda National park consists of a spectacular forest where one can see the birds of moist deciduous forest. It forms a contiguous tract with the forests of Dangs on its eastern side and those of Valsad district on its southern side. A visit to the nearby Waghai botanical garden and the nature education trail from the botanical garden up to the National Park would be a delightful experience for the nature lovers.

Flora

Towering trees and orchids form variety of flora. There are 443 species of flowering plants viz. Teak, sadad, bamboo, dudhkod, kakad, khakhro, timru, humb, kalam, modad, haldu, sisam, chopadi bondaro, kusum, tanach, asan, mahudo, behda, umaro, shimlo, ambla etc.

Fauna

Vansda National Park High species diversity of forest birds is the main attraction for an eco-tourist. Important animals-Leopard, rhesus macaque, wild boar, hanuman langur, common palm civet, small Indian civet, Indian porcupine, four-horned antelope, barking deer, hyena, jungle cat, flying squirrel, python, Russel’s viper, etc. Important birds- 155 species of birds: Indian great black woodpecker, yellow back sunbird, pompodour pigeon, malabar trogon, shama, common grey hornbill, jungle babbler, forest spotted owlet (globally threatened) etc.