Velavadar Blackbuck National Park

Top choice in Gujarat & Diu


This beautiful, 34-sq-km park, an hour's drive north of Bhavnagar, encompasses large areas of pale, custard-coloured grassland stretching between two seasonal rivers and is famous for its blackbuck – beautiful, fast antelopes that sport elegant spiralling horns as long as 65cm in mature males. In 2015 an estimated 14,000 blackbuck inhabited the park (a significant decease on the 25,000 of 2001), alongside nilgais (India's largest antelope) and a wide range of bird species.

Pay your fees (convert the dollar rate into rupees) and pick up a mandatory guide (who is unlikely to speak English) at the reception centre about 65km from Bhavnagar, north of Valabhipur. The park has a good road network and is best explored by car. Blackbuck Lodge can arrange safaris for nonguests (₹3000 per four-person Jeep).

A return taxi from Bhavnagar costs ₹3000.


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