Wild Life photography

Velavadar National Park

Located in Bhavnagar District of Gujarat state, India

Known for: Savanna type Grassland, Blackbucks, Wolves and Many Migratory Bird species. It is world’s largest Harrier Roosting site.

Blackbuck in Savanna type Grasslands of Velavadar NP

Best Time to visit: November to March

Park Timings: Morning 6.30 am to 1 pm Evening 4 pm to 6 pm

How to reach:

By Rail: Nearest Railway Station is Bhavnagar and it has good connectivity, one can get down at that place and hire a taxi to reach Velavadar NP which is 45 Km away.

By Bus: One can reach Bhavnagar and then Hire a taxi or if coming from Ahmedabad then you can get down at velavadar which is on Bhavnagar -Ahmedabad Route

By Air: Nearest Airport is in Bhavnagar.

By Road: If you are planning to come from Ahmedabad then you have to take S.G. Highway and drive 60 Km on it, after reaching Bhagodara you have to take a left turn and continue on the road past pipli and dholera to reach here.

Places to stay: You can find accommodation at Blackbuck Lodge which is situated near the National Park. Forest Department also provides accommodation inside the park but for that you have to enquire about the availability beforehand and then send a Demand draft to the Range Forest Officer, Bhavnagar to book your accommodation. Another option is to stay in Bhavnagar itself and then come back to NP during your safari time.

Ticket Charges is 100 Rs. per person for Indians and 400 Rs. Per person for foreigners. Then you have to pay for the guide fees also which is 100 Rs. per safari. If you are carrying a camera with you then charge for that is 100 Rs. per camera.

One needs to hire a vehicle to go for safari, jeeps are provided by Blackbuck Lodge at the cost of 1800 Rs. For two hours and if you are bringing your own vehicle then you need to pay 400 Rs. For the whole safari duration.

Our Visit: We started from Ahmedabad early in the morning at 4.30 a.m. and reached Velavadar around 7 am, We entered into park around 7.15 am. Our guide was very helpful and had a good knowledge about the species present there.

Our first sighting was of Short Toed Snake Eagle which was sitting on the top of a tree at a distance of 200 meters, we stayed there for a while and clicked many shots. After that we moved on the trail and saw a big group of blackbucks comprising male, female and the small ones.

Also, there was a flock of rufous skylark and stonechat.

Short toed Snake Eagle perching on a tree

A group of Blackbucks

Common Stonechat (male)

After moving further ahead, our guide pointed us to a waterhole where he saw three wolves few days back, he then mentioned that wolves are the top carnivores of the park and they like to hunt blackbucks, rabbits and small blue bull.

Our next sighting was of Greater Indian Spotted Eagle who was sitting on the safari trail itself, we stopped our vehicle at the safe distance and clicked many images of the bird, we do not have any other option other than to wait as it was sitting on trail, Eagle stayed there for fifteen minutes and gave us some really good shots to capture.

Greater Spotted Indian Eagle Sitting on the trail

Common Babbler

Indian Bushlark

Black Shouldered Kite perching on the tree

Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark on the trails

Eagle and the Blackbucks

Moving on the trail we saw female pallid harrier in the flight, it was our first harrier sighting of the day. Our guide mentioned that this year they observed Early departure of the harriers as they generally stay till march end. This year very few harriers have stayed otherwise harrier sighting is very good both inside as well as outside the national park during this season.

Pallid Harrier in Flight

Rufous-tailed lark

There was a crested lark which was sitting in front of our vehicle on the trail when we were busy clicking its images a group of wild boar crossed the trail and went to the other side, our guide told us that they generally feed on roots and tubers but sometimes can be seen eating small herbivores also. Velavadar has a good population of them.

Wild Boar in Velavadar NP

After moving ahead on the trail we saw a small water body in which there was a pair of ruddy shelduck, some spotbilled ducks , stilts, red wattlled lapwing and a common kingfisher. To our surprise, suddenly a steppe eagle appeared from nowhere and started chasing the shelducks. It caused a commotion among the birds, Shelducks then quikly moved into a safe place and eagle was left with no option other than to move on. We also saw a pair of black eagle in flight over that water body.

Steppe Eagle causing commotion

Crested Lark sitting on the trail

Our safari continued till 11 am and that point it became very hot and we were tired from our long drive and excursion so we decided to call it a day. When we were heading back to the gate our guide shared many interesting stories related to his previous visits with other tourists. We saw a group of common cranes, a big herd of blackbuck and some other small grassland birds.

Common Crane in Velavadar

Blackbuck in Velavadar NP

Common Kestrel Perching in Velavadar

White Eyed Buzzard (Juv.) in Velavadar

After coming out of the park we went to the opposite side which is a water reservoir and also comes under the protected area, our guide said that we can see some wetland birds there but we were disappointed after seeing that place as it does not have more than two three species over there.

At 11.45 am after saying goodbye to our guide we started our journey towards Bhavnagar with our plan of coming back to evening safari. Our Evening safari was also good and we sighted many species in that, overall it was a visit worth remembering.