Vansda National Park, Dangs, Gujarat

Spread over an area of 24 sq. km. and located on the Vansda-Waghai State Highway, the Vansda National Park is one of the four National Parks in the State of Gujarat. Though it is just 3 km away from Waghai, it falls in Vansda Taluka of Navsari District. It forms a contiguous tract with the forests of Dangs on its eastern side and forests of Valsad district on its southern side. The hilly terrain with altitude ranging from 110-360 m is interspersed by many streams forming furrows in criss-cross pattern. The hills in the Park are extensions of Sahyadri Range. Vansda National Park and Purna Wildlife Sanctuary together form 4.2% of the total geographical area of the forests in the Western Ghat zone represented in Gujarat.

The major portion of the Park forms a part of Ambika catchment. The area was under the rule of erstwhile State of Vansda before 1952. The ex-ruler of Vansda enjoyed certain rights over the Park till 1975. However, the area was declared as National Park in 1986 and came under the administration of the State Forest Department. There are three villages in the Park namely Kelipada, Sadaddevi and Kilad. 

The forests in the Park are in their pristine glory because there was no cutting of tree after 1952. Height of top canopy of forest exceeds 30 m at foothills and plains due to adequate soil depth and moisture condition. The Park supports more than 50% of the herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) of the State. A total of 29 species of snakes including 6 species of venomous snakes have been recorded here. Moreover, 11 species of frogs and toads are found here. An amphibian Ichthyophis bombayensis found here is endemic to this region. The Park offers one of the best spider-habitats in Gujarat, as 121 species of spiders have been recorded in the Park. The largest of the spiders of Guart - the Giant wood spider is common here. In fact, recently 8 new species of spiders were reported from the Park.This apart, it contains 62 species of butterflies. The Park is also a home to leopard, hyena, chital, macaque, rhesus macaque, barking deer and the endangered great Indian Squirrel.

Vegetation of the Park is tropical moist deciduous type. It contains 440 species of plants, which include 110 species of trees, 43 species of shrubs, 63 species of climbers, 199 species of herbs and 25 species of grass. Rare trees such as ‘kumbhi’, ‘karmal’, ‘charoli’, ‘bhilamo’, ‘dantrango’, ‘kadayo’, ‘aritha’ can be seen in the Park. Two main species of bamboos, kaatas bamboos (hollow, taller, denser and possess thorns) in moist deciduous parts of the forest and manvel bamboos (solid, shorter, thinner and without prominent thorns) in dry deciduous parts of the forest, adds to the diversity of the park habitat.

Of the 115 species of birds recorded in the Park, Indian Great Black Woodpecker, Heartspotted Woodpecker, Larger Goldenbacked Woodpecker, Yellow-backed Sunbird, Pompadour Pigeon, Malabar Trogen and Shama are typical of the Western Ghats. Grey Hornbill, Forest Wagtail, a variety of owls, Pompadour Pigeon and Malabar Trogen that are rare for the State can be seen in this area. Because of the ideal habitat conditions, globally threatened species like Forest spotted owlet do survive here. 

The Park boasts a good diversity of mammals such as the Leopard, Hyena, Jungle Cat, Civets, Mongooses, Macaques, Barking Deer, Four-horned antelopes and the only herd of Spotted Deer in this part of the State.

Visiting Hours
The Park remains open all days a week from 8 AM to 5 PM. However, during monsoon, the Park remains closed from 15th June to 15th October. 

Location Information:
The Park has two entrances on the Vansda-Waghai State Highway: one, at village Navtad (5 kms from Waghai) and the other towards Waghai (3 kms from Waghai). The nearby town Vansda lies close to National Highway-8. The Park is 12 kms from Vansda. 

Places to stay:
Kilad camp-site, Waghai Forest Rest House, Pravasi Gruh at Waghai, Hotels at Vansda and Saputara.

Best time to visit:
Winter and early summer.

Schedule of Fees:

Details	Indian National (Rs.)	Foreign National ($)
Entrance Fee (per person)	20	5
Vehicle Entrance Fee (per vehicle) (A). Car/Jeep/Matador (up to 6 persons)                                      (up to 15 persons) (B). Bus/Mini-bus and Heavy Vehicles
	200	20
	500	50
	1750	175
Guide Fees (per vehicle) First Four Hours                                   Every Additional Hour	50
	20
Photography and Videography (per Day) Steel Photography Amateur and Professional Videograhy Professional Feature Film
	100	10
	5000	500
	25,000	1,000

Contact Details:
Range Forest Office, Vansda National Park, Vansda
(02630) 230057
Deputy Conservator of Forests, South Dangs Division, Ahwa.
(02631) 220246