Velavadar Blackbuck National Park

Velavadar protects around thirty-four square kilometres of flat savanna grassland in the Bhal region, and it is one of the few Indian parks where the landscape is genuinely open, so animals are seen at distance across grass rather than glimpsed through forest. Blackbuck, the spiral-horned antelope, number in the thousands, with males running in high leaps that carry them well above the grass. Indian wolves hunt them, striped hyena and jackal live here, and in winter the park holds one of the largest known communal roosts of harriers in the world, with thousands of birds coming to ground at dusk.

What you actually see

• The blackbuck herds - thousands of antelope on open grassland.
• The harrier roost - thousands of raptors coming to ground at dusk in winter.
• The Indian wolves - a small population hunting the blackbuck.
• The open savanna - flat grass with long sightlines, unusual in Indian parks.

When to go

October to March; the harrier roost is a winter phenomenon and best from December to February. The park closes in the monsoon. Dawn and dusk are the active hours.

Honest expectations

The park is small and a visit is short. Wolves are rarely seen. Accommodation nearby is limited, and the grassland offers no shade in the middle of the day.

Nearby

Bhavnagar lies southeast; Palitana is south.