Vansda National Park, also called Bansda National Park, is a protected area that shows the dense forests of the Dangs and southern Gujarat. It is located in the Vansda tehsil of Navsari District in Gujarat, India. The park is along the Ambika River and covers an area of about 24 square kilometers. It is approximately 65 kilometers east of the town of Chikhali on National Highway 48 and about 80 kilometers northeast of the city of Valsad. The town of Vansda, after which the park is named, is an important trading center for nearby areas. Most people living there are adivasis, an indigenous group. The Vansda-Waghai state highway passes through the park, as does a narrow-gauge railway line connecting Waghai to Billimora.
The park was established in 1979 as a National Park. It has deciduous forests with groves of "Katas" bamboo. These forests have remained beautiful because no trees have been cut down since 1952. Located in the Western Ghats, part of the Sahyadri mountain range, the park is home to a unique variety of plants and animals.
In addition to the botanical garden, other attractions include local tribes, "Gira Waterfalls," and a "Conservation Center." To support ecotourism, the Gujarat Government built a campsite at Kilad. There is also a deer breeding center managed by Nature Club Surat in this area.
Fauna
The park is home to many animals, including the Indian leopard, dhole, rhesus macaque, common palm civet, Hanuman langur, small Indian civet, four-horned antelope, wild boar, spotted deer, Indian porcupine, barking deer, striped hyena, jungle cat, flying squirrel, pangolin, and Indian giant squirrel. Venomous snakes like Russell's viper, cobras, and kraits, as well as pythons, also live in the area.
In 1992, a rusty-spotted cat was seen near a mango plantation on a farmhouse in the park. In February 2020, dholes were spotted in the park, and camera traps confirmed that two dholes were present in May 2020. This was the first time in 50 years that dholes were confirmed to live in Gujarat.
Like Purna Wildlife Sanctuary in the Dangs' Forest and Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, the Bengal tiger is said to be extinct in Gujarat. However, because the area near the borders of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh has tigers, the forest may still be a place where tigers could live.
The park is known for having many types of forest birds, which attract visitors interested in ecotourism. About 155 bird species live there, including the common grey hornbill, grey-fronted green pigeon, yellow-backed sunbird, Malabar trogon, jungle babbler, forest spotted owlet, shama, and great Indian black woodpecker. In addition, the area has many insects, centipedes, millipedes, and snails. There are about 121 types of spiders, including the giant wood spider, which is the largest spider species in Gujarat.
Flora
There are 443 species of flowering plants. This includes teak, sadad, khakhro, kadad, humb, timru, kalam, bamboo, dudhkod, mahudo, behada, umaro, kusum, tanach, asan, shimlo, ambla, sisam, chopadi bondaro, and many others. There are many different types of colorful orchids near the Ambika river.