Barda Wild Life Sanctuary
Click spot to view map Hardly 15 km. from the coast of Porbandar town of Porbandar district, the hilly forest of Barda is standing against the salinity ingress in the region. This area was declared as sanctuary in February' 1979.
The sanctuary having a forest area of 192.31 sq. km. is relatively small in extent. However, it is characteristically abundant in floral diversity, which consists of a good number of medicinal plants. In fact, very high percentage of rare and endangered plants occurring in the area is an important component of the sanctuary. The area falls into two erstwhile princely states of the history i.e. Rana Barda, where Ranas of Porbandar ruled once upon a time and Jam Barda, where the rule of Jamsaheb of Jamnagar prevailed. The ethnic races such as Maldharis, Bharvads, Rabaris and Gadhvis live in this region of Saurashtra.
Location Sanctuary area
Porbandar district 192.31 sq. Km.
Flora
The area has maximum floral diversity in the state (650 plant species). Gorad, Babul, Dhav, Rayan, Ber, Jamun, Amli, Dhudhlo, Bamboo etc.
Fauna
Important animals: Leopard, hyena, wild boar, wolf, jackal, bluebull etc.
Important birds: Rare and endangered spotted eagle and crested hawk eagle alongwith other numerous bird species.
Sambar, chital and chinkara were present in the Sanctuary in recent past and therefore they can be re-introduced, as the habitat is quite suitable for these wild ungulates. This would create a good prey-base for a big carnivore like leopard. The soil and moisture conservation works can improve the water regime in the area and will have positive effect on the vegetation and the habitat and therefore more such works should be prescribed. Barda should also be considered for introduction of the Asiatic lion as it is considered as second home of this big carnivore. It is necessary to prepare a comprehensive management plan for Barda Sanctuary. To develop Barda as second home for Asiatic lion the State Government implemented 'Gir-Barda Project' from 1979.
Forest Types in Sanctuary
The forest sub-types found in the Sanctuary are: Type: 5A-Southern tropical forests (5A/C3-Southern dry mixed deciduous forests; 5D/S3-Euphorbia scrub; 5/DS1 -Dry deciduous scrub; 5/E3-A. nilotica; 5/E9-Dry bamboo brakes in small areas; 5/E1-Anogeissu scrub) and Type 6B-Northern tropical thorn forest (6B/DS1-Zizyphus scrub; 6/E2-Acacia Senegal).
Having canopy density ranging between 0.1 and 0.4, with dense forest in scattered patches near Kileshwar (Jambarda), the area is largely degraded. As per the remote sensing study carried out by the GEER Foundation, 16.3% of the area was under dense forest, 29.9% under open forest and the rest was under degraded forest. Although the forest cover has increased from 24.6% in 1986 to 46.2% in 1997, a large area is still under degraded category.
Among all areas studied by individuals and institutions in Gujarat State, floral diversity of Barda is the highest. This is the only ecological unit in the State, where more than 650 flowering plants have been recorded. Previously, Thaker (1910) recorded 684 flowering plants in Barda. Recent study (1996-98) conducted by P. S. Nagar has documented over 700 species of flowering plants in Barda hills. He also mentioned that 15.5% plant species are rare in the area. High species diversity was recorded in Venu, Babri and the surrounding area of the Barda.
Reach by air
The Nearest airport is Porbandar (20 kms).
Ahmedabad (415 kms. approximately)
Reach by bus
The Nearest bus station is Ranavav (8 kms).
Reach by train
The Nearest Railway station are:
Porbandar - 15 kms.
Jamnagar - 100 Kms
Best time to visit
From early winter to Summer.
Nearest places to visit
Bileshwar Mahadev temple
Kileshwar temple
Gir National Park & Sanctuary
Somnath temple
Porbandar Bird Sanctuary
Kirti Mandir at Porbandar- Birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi
Bharat Mandir at Porbandar
Planetarium at Porbandar
Harsiddh Mata Temple near Porbandar
Accomodation
Good hotels at Porbandar