Vansda National Park

You crane your neck to see the tops of the towering trees, the teak perhaps flowering, the bamboo brakes aplenty. The canopy is so thick you find parts of the forest in darkness, and are amazed to remember you are still in Gujarat, so lush and dense is the world around you. You see wild mango groves, perhaps even a wild relative of the banana plant, and weaving in between are gigantic creepers. You check abashedly behind you for dinosaurs. You stop short so as to not scare away the beautiful butterfly that has landed in front of you, and as it flies away, you are distracted and crouch, like a child, to watch a colorful centipede scurry its fuzzy way along. You begin to notice not only the giant trees but also the tiny creatures that fit between the cracks in the bark. Soon even the ferns and mushrooms on a rotting log seem like ornate decoration. You are surprised by an expanse of the Bharadi grasslands tucked away east of the center of the park. And at the Ambika river, you are enchanted by the varieties of orchids, delicate and colorful.

And since you've fallen in love with Vansda, you decide to spend a night deep in the forest and learn more about it from the Kilad Nature Education Campsite. After an evening campfire and a morning guided tour, you now walk around with even bigger eyes and ears, noticing not only the creatures that you do see, but the tracks and droppings and song that tell you about the creatures that you don't.