MARINE NATIONAL PARK.

Gujarat has the distinction of creating the country’s first Marine National Park spread over an area of nearly 458 sq.kms. in the Gulf of Kutch, 30 km. from Jamnagar.

Here corals create fantasies in stone and are the master builders of the Park. Their limestone fortresses - each one the work of a colony of countless tiny animals - come In an amazing variety of shapes and sizes, from the convoluted brain coral to corals that look like horns. Here you will find plants that look like animals and animals that look like plants. Turtles, shrimp, sponge, eels, sea urchin lurk among the corals and huge schools of fish create a brilliance of colours that are unknown, unseen and unimaginable to us.

There are fishes to be seen which puff-up when threatened octopuses that mimic the colour and texture of the surroundings in the blink of an eyelid so as to vanish without a trace. There are gobies, which clean parasites from other fish, and fishes that burrow so deep only their eyes are seen. You will easily spot fishes that look like stars and spot dolphins herding schools of fish for a hearty meal. Dugong, a marine mammal, which resembles a seal and the rare Boralia species, are found in these protected areas.

At times it seems as if every life form here is familiar with the art of magic as each seem to trick the other for food and shelter. Above the waters, mangrove plants with their tangled roots and densely packed leaves prevent land based predators from penetrating but provide scores of birds with nesting and roosting sites. There is no doubt that life in the coral reef is like witnessing a thousand rainbows in a kaleidoscopic way.

Contact
Conservator of Forests, Marine N.P Jamnagar. Phone: 0288 - 552077.

Accommodation
PWD Rest House and Hotels at Jamnagar (Approx. 30 km)