Dangs - A Beautiful Tribal District in Gujarat, India

Remarkable, bewildering, irresistible – Dangs offers one an ideal spot to escape from the crowds. Whether it means a hilly village, a luxuriant landscape of bamboos or a place related to Dandakaranya of the Rammayan; the Dangs is simply irresistible.

Gira Falls at Waghai, Dangs, Gujarat

Dangs has so far remained one of Gujarat’s best-kept secrets. Nestled in the rugged mountain chains of Sahyadri, the Dangs is a hilly tribal terrain with lush green forests, fascinating landscapes and abundant oxygen. With one National Park and one Sanctuary, the district epitomizes ideal coexistence of human life and wildlife.

Indian Chameleon

Though the district comprises 0.89% (1764 sq. km.) of the total area of the State of Gujarat, it covers around 30% of the forest area of the State. This signifies the importance of the Forests in Dangs. This apart, the District is one of the richest biodiversity spots in the Werstern Ghats. Purna sanctuary is an ideal place for nature lovers and bird watchers. Monsoon is an occasion for celebration and a reason to rejoice and reverberate oneself.

Spiders in Forests of Dangs

Situated between the parallels of latitude 20⁰ 33’ and 21⁰ 5’ N and the meridians of longitude 73⁰ 27’ and 73⁰ 56’ E, the district comprises an area of 1764 sq. km. spread over 311 villages. The length from north to south of this territory is around 59 km and east to west is around 50 km.

The district is bounded on East and South by Dhulia and Nasik districts of Maharashtra and on North and West by Tapi and Valsad districts of Gujarat. Very sparsely populated, the district with headquarters at Ahwa, is a home to more than 2 lakh people majority of whom are tribals.

Getting There

By Road:

Waghai, Bheskatri and Bardipada are the entrance points from Gujarat and Shingana, Chinchli (Babulghat), Galkund (Kanchanghat), Saputara and Lahanmalunga are the entrance points to the District from Maharashtra.

On the West, NH-8 lies close to the Dangs. Traveling by a private vehicle on NH-8, one can take a turn towards east either from Chikhli cross-roads or Kharel cross-roads or Kadodara cross-roads and arrive at Vansda. Driving further east, one arrives at Waghai (18 km), the entrance point to the District. Alternatively, take a turn towards east from the NH-8 at the Kadodara cross-roads and arrive at Vyara (50 km). Hereon, one has two options: move towards south-east and arrive at Bheskatri (22 km) or move further east, arrive at Songadh (10 km) and from Songadh move towards south-east and arrive at Bardipada. Traveling from Mumbai on NH-8, one can take a right turn from Vapi cross-roads and arrive at Dharampur (45 km), drive towards north-east and arrive at Vansda (35 km).

This apart, there are daily road services from Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) to Ahwa, Waghai and Saputara from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bilimora, Chikhli and Valsad.

By Rail:

Waghai, the only rail terminus in the District, lies on the Bilimora-Waghai narrow gauge section of the Western Railway. The total length of the line is 63 km with two railway stations – Dungarda and Waghai in the District.

The nearest rail stations on the broad gauge sections of the Western Railway are Bilimora, Chikhli, Valsad and Vyara – all at a distance of around 100km.

By Air:

The nearest airport is in Surat, 120 km away. Others are at Mumbai (250 km), Vadodara (309 km) and Ahmedabad (420 km).

Getting Around

The Dangs can best be explored in a private vehicle as bus services to various tourist spots across the district are not so frequent. Hence private shared jeep services to and fro from Ahwa and Waghai are more prevalent here.

When to go

The climate hilly district of Dangs, is characterized by general dryness except during the monsoon months. Much extremes of temperatures are not experienced. Winters run from December to February, summers from March to May, south-west monsoon from June to September and post-monsoon in October and November. With an average rainfall of around 100 inches, the best time to visit the District is from August to February.

Roads

Dangs is now well connected by a network of tar roads with Gujarat and Maharashtra. All weather tar roads connects the District to Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Bilimora, Valsad, Vapi, Navsari, Songadh and Vyara on the Gujarat side and Nasik, Surgana, Malegam, Nandurbar on the Maharashtra side. This apart, the District has a good internal network of tar roads. 

Health Facilities

Government health services in the District include a Civil Hospital at Ahwa, a Community Health Center at Waghai and seven Primary Health Centers (PHCs) at Kalibel, Pimpri, Sakarpatal, Shamgahan, Saputara, Garkhadi and Subir.  This apart private medical hospitals and clinics are located at Ahwa and Waghai.

Local Dialect

The dialect spoken here is known as Dangi. It has no script. It has borrowed largely from Gujarati, Marathi and Khandeshi. The affinity in the dialects of different tribes living in the district is very close.


I worked as Mamlatdar and Sub Divisional Magistrate in Dangs for almost 4 years. During these years, I traveled extensively through the District (visiting all 310 villages at least 4 times) visiting all the places of interest and clicked more than 3000 photographs. In the posts to come I will give the details of history, people, culture and places across Dangs.