Nearest city Matheran and Karjat Phone 098928 93591 | Area 446 km² | |
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Location Panvel taluka, Raigad District, Maharashtra, India Governing body Maharashtra State Forest Department Address NH 66, Karnala, Maharashtra 410206 Hours Closed now Friday9AM–5:30PMSaturday9AM–5:30PMSunday9AM–5:30PMMonday9AM–5:30PMTuesday9AM–5:30PMWednesday9AM–5:30PMThursday9AM–5:30PM Management Maharashtra State Forest Department Similar Karnala Fort, Mukurthi National Park, Sanjay Gandhi National, Kalsubai, Indira Gandhi Wildlife S | ||
The Karnala Bird Sanctuary is located in Panvel Taluka of Raigad District, outside Mumbai, India near Matheran and Karjat. The sanctuary is quite small with an area of 12.11 square kilometres but along with the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tungareshwar sanctuary is one of the few sanctuaries to be within reach of the city of Mumbai.
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Karnala bird sanctuary karnala fort monsoon trekking
LocationEdit
The sanctuary is centered on the historic Karnala Fort and lies just off the Mumbai-Pune national highway to Goa. It is located 12 km from Panvel. The nearest rail head is Panvel. Regular buses at an interval of 30 minutes are available from Panvel Bus Stand from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm. The sanctuary is open for visitors from sunrise to sunset. There are many hotels and resorts located near the sanctuary. There are two government rest houses inside the sanctuary area.
AboutEdit
The bird sanctuary is a popular destination for bird-watchers and hikers in the Mumbai area. The sanctuary is home to over 222 species birds of which 161 are resident species, 46 are winter migrant species, three are breeding migrants, seven species are passage migrants and five species are vagrant. Following eight species endemic to Western Ghats has been found in Karnala: Grey-fronted Green-pigeon (Treron affinis), Nilgiri Woodpigeon (Columba elphinstonii), Malabar (Blue-winged) Parakeet (Psittacula columboides), Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus), White-cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis), Malabar Lark (Galerida malabarica), Small Sunbird (Leptocoma minima) and Vigor's Sunbird (Aethopyga vigorsii). . Five rare birds, the ashy minivet, three-toed kingfisher, Malabar trogon, Slaty-legged Crake (Rallina eurizonoides), and Rufous-bellied Eagle (Lophotriorchis kienerii) have been sighted here. . The sanctuary is also home to 114 species of butterflies.
The Karnala fort is located on the top of the hill in the sanctuary. It is about 1hr. medium hard trek to Karnala fort.
There was a sighting of a leopard at Karnala.