Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a large nature park inside Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It covers about 87 square kilometers (34 square miles) and was established in 1996. It is named after Sanjay Gandhi and is managed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The park attracts around 2 million visitors each year.
Within the park are the Kanheri Caves, a 2,400-year-old complex carved from basalt rock by Buddhist monks. The caves were important Buddhist learning centers and pilgrimage sites dating from roughly the 9th century BCE to the 1st century CE.
In 1996, forests from the Thane district were added, expanding the park to about 103.84 square kilometers (40.1 square miles). The park lies mostly in the northern suburbs of Mumbai, bordered by Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali, and Dahisar to the west; Bhandup and Mulund to the east; and Aarey Milk Colony and IIT Bombay to the south. It is the only large protected forest inside a city.
Biodiversity is high: over 1,000 plant species, 251 bird species, 5,000 insect species, 150 butterfly species, 40 mammal species, 38 reptile species, and 9 amphibian species call the park home. Reptiles include crocodiles in Tulsi Lake, pythons, cobras, and various snakes.
Bengal tigers were reported in the park in 2003, but they have not been seen for many years; the last tiger in the region was killed about 80 years ago. Leopards remain a concern in surrounding areas, with multiple attacks reported in Thane district between 2012 and 2015.
The park also hosts many birds, including jungle owlets, golden orioles, racket-tailed drongos, minivets, magpies, robins, hornbills, bulbuls, sunbirds, and peacocks, along with migratory species such as paradise flycatchers, kingfishers, mynas, drongos, swifts, gulls, egrets, and herons.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:09 (CET).