Marine national park narara

Marine national park narara is a unique place in India where you can walk on the sea bed during low tide. During the walk in knee deep water you have an experience of various kind of sea life, like sea anemone , sea cucumber, sea slag, octopus, star fish and much more, another attraction is mangrove forest around. The place is 1hrs 30 mins drive from Jamnagar, nearest hotel is hotel Tulsi residency 40 mints away from the place, we spend night there along with my family and kid for next day morning visit, we had started by 9am and reached there by 9:50, last 5-7 km was mud road both side seawater storage for salt making plant and numbers of migratory bird was found,

 Octopus

 wolf crab

moon star coral

Total entry fee parking fee and camera charges is 320 Rs, (for 2 person one kid). guide charge 300Rs, guide is must for this place as by your own it is difficult to find out sea animals from raw sea bed. The guide we booked was taking us inside the marine national park along with two more families, this is 5 km walk (2 km on the sand bed and rest three km in knee deep water), in side our guide introduced with sabir bhai (guide) who guide us in spotting the creatures, he is very knowledgeable person and explain each and every quarry of us.

 crab plover

 

whimbrel

 

I can say this is a life time experience for us, we have not only see but also taken in hand the majestic octopus, almost 2ft long, puffer fish, boxer crab, wolf crab, we were there 3 hrs find different kind of coral (moon star coral, pineapple coral, border coral, sponge coral), etc

 

Notes:

1.      To use rubber shoes to walk through water

2.      To use hat for sunlight

3.      Don’t collect any sea life for personal use

4.      No food facility available other than potato chips and soft drinks, so carry your food.

5.      One museum was there where all the eco system beautifully explained, so this is a must view place.

 pineapple star coral

sea anemore

 puffer fish

 fielder crab

In addition the place is good for bird lovers too, morning time is always preferable but check the low tide timing before you plan for it, best time to watch is two hours before and two hrs after low tide.

Khijadiya bird sanctuary

We travel from Ahmedabad and selected hotel van vihar tree resort which is nearest to the sanctuary (12 km, 20 mins), entry per person to sanctuary is 40 Rs, camera charge 200 Rs, vehicle charge 400 Rs (for zone 2), in case you pay for vehicle up to 4 person entry will be free,

 blacked necked stork (Juvenile)

Black headed bunting

 

Khizadiya divided in to two zones,

Zone one is the major zone, car entry is not allowed, to watch bird by walking only, two watch tower are there almost 2 and 4km away from entry gate, here sea water mangrove and forest like environment crates a natural habitat for birds, perfect place for bird watching, this a wide zone and difficult to cover in a single day.

 crested serpent eagle 

 

oriental white eye

Zone 2 is 1km far from zone 1, car is allowed, one watch tower at the end of this zone, here birds are a bit far, need binocular to watch them properly, spend two morning with some remarkable catch of crested serpent eagle, greater crested greb, marsh harrier, montagu’s harrier, bunting, sand plover, etc, but the record catch is juvenile black necked stork.

greater crested greb