Nalsarovar - Paradise of Birds

123 Sq.Km Natural shallow lake which is largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat, one of the largest in India. It is declared a Ramsar site in September 2012, it is only lake which selected for the Ramsar site after 2005. 

The Nal region is a low-lying area between the plains of the Central Gujarat and Eastern Saurashtra. Owing to its low lying topography, it is believed to represent a filled up sea link, that previously existed between the Little Rann in the north and the Gulf of Khambat in the south.

Birds : 225 types of birds are recorded in Nal Sarovar area. Most visible birds are Ducks, Geese, Pelicans, Flamingos, Storks, Brahminy Ducks, Seagulls, Herons, Kingfishers, Egrets, Darters and Many more....

Best Timings to visit :
November to February, Early Morning is the best time to see birds. Open at 6 AM and close at 6PM. My personal opinion is to go there before the sunrise or during the evening time (3-4 PM). To enjoy the sunrise or sunset. December and holidays/saturday/sunday remain crowded and birds are going away. During this time, you can see sea gulls, flamingoes (Low quantity) and other ducks. If you prefer working days, you can see 5 to 10 groups of several hundreds flamingoes.

Activities :

• Boating - The lake is 9 feet in depth maximum and full with the grass in the water. Boats have to pass through the tall grass so diesel/padal boats can't work here so enjoy the bamboo boats. The local people are used to serve the boating. Which you can hire based on the selection.
• Photography - Blue sky, Full sunlight, Blue water, lush green grass on island, colorful birds, colorful culture of local people and your friends and family. Nothing better then this for the photography
• Can see flora and fauna of habitat 
• Culture is different - Migrating Bharwad shepherds populates the islands of the lake and on the banks are the Padhars, who are excellent folk dancers, artisans and boatmen. Sama sindhi, devipujak, muslims are other casts which are located here. 
• Enjoying the food - 
• Bird Watching
• Horse Ridings/Camel cart
• Garden 
• Interpretation Center - The interpretation center named as ‘Abhiruchi Kendra’ has been developed. 70 types of birds are migratory. Out of these 70, only 25 to 30 are easily observed by the visitors and tourists. The interpretation center focuses on these 30 species. Migratory bird’s travel distance, place of origin, cross section prototype of Nal Sarovar’s under water life etc. are exhibited in the center. A reverse osmosis plant is also set up to offer pure drinking water to visitors. (IPC Souce : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

5 Tips

1. One can hire country boats, on the lake for bird viewing, and picnic at shacks the on the islands. Govt has declared fix fare(Hour basis) of the boats so hire those boats only and they
2. have enough knowledge of the flora and fauna of the lake
3. On the one the island you can get the rotla, chatnis and dahi (Kathiyawadi foods) and snacks from local people. Visitors may take this as lunch or breakfast.
4. Keep good binoculars and book of birds
5. Keep sunglass, cap and camera.
6. Sea gull follow you while boating, to keep them around you, you can take popcorn (Non Fried) / biscuit from the stall near ticket counter.

Please do not give fried items to birds because In 2006, nearly 50 sea gulls were found dead at Lakhota lake in Jamnagar.

MORE PHOTOS AT http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bhaumikgadani/NalSarovar26Jan2009#

Location : Which is 64 Km west from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The sanctuary is best visited as a day excursion by taxi, as buses are infrequent and there is no convenient accommodation.

By Road : The Nearest bus station are at Ahmedabad (64kms), Viramgam and Sanand (42 kms).

By Rail : The Nearest Railway station are Viramgam - 40 kms, Ahmedabad - 64 Kms