Barda Hills (Barda Dungar) Wildlife Sanctuary

Rising abruptly from the flat Saurashtra plain a short drive inland from Porbandar, the Barda Hills — known locally as Barda Dungar — form one of Gujarat's quietest and most rewarding wildlife refuges.

• Notified as a sanctuary in 1979 and covering roughly 192 square kilometres, the reserve straddles the boundary of Devbhumi Dwarka and Porbandar districts, its rolling ridges climbing to around 600 metres and cloaking a mix of dry deciduous and thorn forest, teak, and seasonal grasslands fed by small streams and hillside springs.
• For decades Barda was celebrated mainly for its birdlife and its herds of nilgai, chinkara, wild boar, chausingha (four-horned antelope), and the occasional leopard.
• In recent years, however, it has drawn national attention as the designated "second home" for the Asiatic lion, the species long confined to nearby Gir.
• Conservationists have prepared the hills for lions dispersing westward, and sightings here — after well over a century's absence — mark one of the more hopeful chapters in the animal's slow recovery.
• The forest is also home to Maldhari pastoralists, whose scattered nesses (cattle settlements) and grazing traditions are woven into the landscape. Barda rewards the unhurried traveller.
• Trails and forest tracks lead past reservoirs, medicinal-plant groves, and — for those with time — the atmospheric ruins of Ghumli, with its Navlakha and Vikia stepwell heritage nearby.
• Visits are managed by the Gujarat Forest Department: it is best to arrange guidance and permission in advance, carry water, and treat the reserve as a place for slow observation rather than a tick-list safari.
• Winter mornings, cool and clear, are ideal for both birding and photography.
• For meals, plan to eat in Porbandar, about half an hour away, where pure-vegetarian Gujarati thali restaurants near the town centre and Sudama Chowk serve unlimited Kathiyawadi thalis — bajra rotla, ringan-bateta shaak, kadhi, dal-bhaat, and jaggery-laced sweets.
• Simple pure-veg cafes near the bus stand offer Gujarati snacks such as fafda, dhokla, and khaman, and you can pack a vegetarian tiffin for the day in the hills.