Barda Hills Wildlife Sanctuary

Rising abruptly from the flat Saurashtra plain a short drive inland from the Arabian Sea, the Barda Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is one of Gujarat's quietly rewarding wild corners — a compact but rugged massif of dry deciduous and scrub forest that most Dwarka-circuit pilgrims speed past without realising it is there.

• Notified as a sanctuary in 1979, the protected area covers roughly 192 square kilometres of hills, wooded valleys and seasonal streams straddling the Devbhumi Dwarka and Porbandar districts, with the nearest gateway town, Porbandar, lying only about 15 kilometres to the southwest.
• The terrain is genuinely hilly by coastal-Gujarat standards, its ridges climbing to a little over 600 metres, folded around small reservoirs such as the Khambhala and Fodhar dams that draw wildlife in the dry months.
• Barda is celebrated as much for its flora as its fauna.
• Botanists prize the range for an unusually rich concentration of medicinal and aromatic plants, and the hills have long supplied herbs to traditional healers across Saurashtra.
• The forest shelters leopard, striped hyena, jungle cat, wild boar, chinkara (Indian gazelle) and nilgai, along with jackal and the occasional pangolin, while the birdlife — peafowl, raptors, bee-eaters and wintering migrants around the reservoirs — makes it a satisfying half-day for anyone with binoculars.
• The sanctuary is also studied as a potential second home for Asiatic lions dispersing from the Gir landscape, part of Gujarat's long conservation conversation about the species.
• Around the hills live the pastoral Maher and Rabari communities, and a scattering of old shrines such as the Bileshwar Mahadev temple lends the interior a lived-in, cultural texture.
• Access is best arranged through the state Forest Department at Porbandar, and a sturdy vehicle plus a local guide are advisable, as roads are rough and signage sparse.
• For meals, plan to eat in Porbandar rather than inside the forest, where there are no reliable dining options.
• The town has dependable pure-vegetarian Gujarati and Kathiyawadi thali houses near the bus stand and Chowpatty seafront, serving unlimited rotli, shaak, dal, kadhi, bajra rotla with garlic chutney, and the sweet-savoury flavours Saurashtra is known for.
• Simple pure-veg farsan shops and South Indian eateries in the town centre are handy for a lighter breakfast of dhokla, khaman, fafda-jalebi or dosa before an early start to the hills, and roadside chai-and-nashto stalls on the Porbandar–Ranavav road make a fine coffee halt on the way in.