This weekend(21 July 2011) we drove to the Borivali national park in the hope of giving the children an experience of Indian flora and fauna. Sad to say, that the park does not afford much brush with animals in their natural habitat.
A forest department mini bus drove us past exactly 1 white tiger, a mom and cub yellow tiger- ALL CAGED, and a malnourished sleeping lion for Rs.50/- per adult(Rs.20 for children) in half an tour. My friend who had taken the tour a decade back reminisced spotting more animals freely roaming in the park. The tour guide offered no explanation other than pointing to the cages where the animals rested. Overall, an uninspiring and mostly disappointing tour that was very artifical. Not worth the time, if not the money!
The bus leaves only when there are 15 passengers to go and the ticket counter is closed for lunch between 12.15pm and 2pm. If you are taking a post lunch tour, its good to queue up by 1.45 for the tickets. I would not recommend this trip.
The only consolation was a herd of deer that were spotted roaming freely in the park and they did pose for our cameras until a careless driver chose to honk past! We were shocked to find motorists honking all through the otherwise quite park.
The tribal families were clearly cornered to certain pockets, far and few in between. There were plenty of workers in the park, some apparently from the tribes. For the amount of publicity and investment in human and other resources in the park, one could not help thinking why the Government would not plan out visits the park a more natural experience.
The park has trees galore, but nothing marked out. We spotted a handful of birds. But there was no brochure available at the reception to identify them by name.
The Park indicated some hiking trails and affords some good picnic spots, access to some rivulets and ultimately the Canheri caves. Those are for another day!
The park has no restaurant or eating places. Some fruit sellers are seen around the place. There are a handful of toilets and water taps maintained to Indian standards, which one may use in emergencies.
In short, if you are intending to see animals in their natural surroundings, Borivali National Park is not the place to go. If you are looking for a hiking or picnic spot, the Park offers some options at least during the Monsoon.