Location: 16 km from Domestic Airport and 2 km from Borivli Railway Station on the Western Express Highway.
Famous for: Animal Sanctuary
Serves as: picnic spot, weekend destination
Timings for the sanctuary: 9:00 am to 5:30 pm
Technically speaking Sanjay Gandhi National Park is the only vast space that would be reserved as it is in this urban land where most of the green pastures are been dug up and concretized. So there is nothing more to expect other than just relish on whatever has been maintained and preserved not just for us but also for the environment to play its part. The dense Yeoor Hills which are slowly and steady also being part of the urbanization one can actually look out for the inner parts which are still maintained as an area for nurturing the varied flora and fauna who find it as their home. Nevertheless many animals are being complained of being trespassing, but surely we don't care about the trespass we do. Sadly that is a fact and animals can't complain like humans, and that's what advantage we take of. So it is important that our children who harldy get open areas where they play like we used to should get an opportunity to visit such parks which would make them believe that yes Mumbai too has something that is different and better than the shopping malls which have nowadays become the only place ideally thought as a place for recreation.
About Sanjay Gandhi National Park:
Also commonly referred as the Borivli National Park by locals, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a popular sanctuary for Mumbaikars. It is more among favorites for people when they wish to visit animals, other than opting for the zoo as this national park allows one to see animals in their best possible natural habitats. Then one also gets to see the King of the Jungle as well as tigers within the national park. The main attraction is though the safari which is been carried out by the park within certain time limit specified. There are two jungle safaris one the lion safari and other the tiger safari. The forest is vast with dense population of teak, bamboo, khair and kusum other than sal. Moreover lots of arrangements have been done to keep the animals comfortable and within the resemblance of natural habitat with thick tall grass and various lakes and ponds being everywhere. There are two watch towers which are provided for the tourist's safety while carrying on a safari. You get lucky enough to spot a white tiger or even a lion along with leopards and other wild animals. The charges for safari are minimal not more than Rs. 30/- to Rs. 40/-.
Fauna:
One can easily spot animals like barking deer, spotted deer, mouse deer, bounet macaque, Indian flying fox, sambhar, leopards, crocodiles, pythons, cobras and many other animals in this park.
Flora:
Being densely populated, the forest shows rich bio-diversity with a mixture of mangrove shrub, subtropical hill forest, deciduous forest as well as southern moist mixed deciduous forest. One can see plants like teak, shisham, acacia, ziziphus, euphorbia, karanj, red silk cotton and lots of flowering plants.
Things to do in Sanjay Gandhi National park:
Explore the dense greens
Visit animals in their natural habitat
Take the lion safari and tiger safari
Travel with Vanrani, especially for children a 20 minutes ride through deer park
Visit the Gandhi Smarak
Explore the waterfalls within the parkSafari Details of Sanjay Gandhi National park:
Charges for Safari:
Adult: Rs. 30/- for any of the safari
Child: RS. 15/-
child below 5 years: Free
Morning safari timings: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Evening safari timings: 2:20 pm to 5:20 pm
Please note: Safari Timings are same for lion as well as tiger safaris. Safaris are closed on Monday.
Read How to reach Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Where to stay in Sanjay Gandhi National Park:
Mumbai provides ample options for stay varying from budgetary accommodations to star facilities. So accommodation is not a problem, as there are many hotels nearby. But the forest department too has arranged for some camping facilities and cottages for nature lovers who wish to spend night within the park. These cottages are eco-friendly cottages made up of bamboo and can hold at least 100 people within.
Contact details of Sanjay Gandhi National Park:
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Western Express Highway
Borivli East
Mumbai
Mail: admin@anjaygandhinationalpark.net
My recent trip to Sanjay Gandhi National Park was not really appealing. I could not see much animals, just saw a couple of tigers and one lion but that too in captivity..the train ride was fun though...hopefully the park will make some progress in nearer future..
ReplyDeleteAnd if you do plan to visit this park then don't forget to carry some food. Believe me there's not even a single canteen facility within the park. Shocking though..