National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of Goa

Wildlife Sanctuaries in Goa

Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary

It is one of the beautiful and prominent popular wildlife sanctuaries in Goa. Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary is the smallest of the Goan Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over an area of 8 km.

The hills in the Western Ghats are situated at an altitude of 3000 feet. It is an ideal place for nature lovers and picnic. You can enjoy seeing a variety of fauna. This Sanctuary is located about 46 km from Goa’s capital Panaji. Tourists visiting Goa can enjoy visiting the Sanctuary with their family and friends.

Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife

It is located in the north direction of Panaji on the road between Panaji the capital of Goa and Belgaum.

Sanctuary is a protected natural place spread over an area of 40 square miles. The Green Zone of the sanctuary consists of the west coast, moist deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests and tropical evergreen forests. These forests are home to birds and animals living here. The famous Dudhsagar waterfall of Goa is also situated inside the wildlife sanctuary. This sanctuary is the dwelling place of the Dhangar community and also has an attractive temple built by the Kadamba dynasty.   

Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary

Cotigao wildlife sanctuary 10 km southeast of Chaudi in the Canacona subdivision is the state’s second largest. Here tree lovers can find a lot of leafy trees with the moist deciduous vegetation and today it is the only extensive area of lowland monsoon forests remaining in Goa. The forest has a lot of wild animals that remain hidden. Galibag and Talpona are the two main rivers of the Cancona subdivision that originate here.

In the jungle there are a lot of roads that connect the Cotigao wildlife sanctuary to villages and also allow the sanctuary to be explored in cars. There are many waterholes in the jungle out of which three have overlooking watchtowers. The cabin of the most famous Treetop, perched 16mt high up on a giant tree is 7km from the sanctuary reception can be reached by climbing over a vertical iron ladder.

One can park the vehicle deep inside the forest and go for walks to enjoy jungle sounds. Also, there is a small Bela Lake where you can check out a waterhole nearby for wild animals. One can also peek into the pre-modern way of life as within the jungle small settlements of forest dwelling tribes like Velip and Kunbi are found who are thought to be descended from Goa’s ancient aboriginal people. A popular folk dance of Goa called Kunbi originated here.

Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary

Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is located on the fodder lamp on the banks of the Mandovi River in the Indian state of Goa. The Sanctuary is 5km from Goa’s capital Panaji and 10km from Mapusa city. The Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary named after Dr Salim Ali Moizuddin Abdul, a renowned ornithologist. This Sanctuary spread very special for tourists interested in birds. Here you will find colorful birds of different speciesto see. Salim Bird Sanctuary spread over about 440 acres on the land of Goa. The Sanctuary was established by Goa Forest Department in 1988 with the objective of protecting birds.