Polo Forest Wildlife

Polo forest is a beautiful forest and a scenic tourist destination located at just 150 kilometers from the mega city of Ahmadabad and 70 kilometers from Himatnagar. The forest is near the Abhapur village of Vijay nagar taluka in Gujarat and is bounded by mountains where you can sight shining rivers, dams, ancient temples and several other places.

Polo forest is a lush green forest area that spreads over an area of about 400 square kilometers. This forest is extensively famous as a weekend destination near Ahmadabad where one can also plan one a day picnic from the city, Ahmadabad and explore the lush greenery of the forest.

The Gujarat government celebrates Polo festival each year by organizing well designed travel events which include adventure activities like cycling, camping and a lot more things. 

There is also a polo camp site that is setup in the polo forest where one can stay and enjoy the polo utsav. This Polo campsite is setup in Vijayanagar taluka of Sabarkantha districts and is near to Vanaj Forest area, Harnav River and the Dam site. At present, the Polo campsite organizes nature education camps, Wild Life training and various seminars.

Those who enjoy adventurous and thrilling activities like trekking and hiking must definitely visit this place as it will give you that raw feel that a trekker would always want. The charges of staying at this place are also not very high and will certainly drag you to visit the Polo Utsav which is a major celebration.

There are not many food options available so one will have to rely on Dhabas only although Polo campsite has its own kitchen but it is limited to their guests and serving basic food. If you have plans of day picnics then it is suggested that you carry enough food and water for yourselves from your home.

The area is immensely rich in terms of flora and fauna, thick forests and river sides that provide an outstanding opportunity to explore the nature at its best.The entire area of the Polo forest is bounded by archeological retreats like the Shiv Temple at Sarneshwar, Sadevant Savlings Deras, Surya Mandir, Lakhena Temple, Jain derasar and the ancient Polo Jain Nagri which are all very significant. 

A river named Harnav which is a small perennial stream surrounded by rocks & diversified flora and fauna and dense multistoried forests has served to be a popular attraction to the visitors, research personnel, students as well as natural enthusiasts.Polo forest is bordered by striking hills from where the Harnav River can be seen crossing. One can also visit the Harnav dam and some renowned ancient temples as well as other heritage sites that can be found in the neighboring areas.

If you are fond of trekking, you can book yourselves a guide to do trekking in the mountains of the Polo forest. To your surprise, there are several trekking routes which a true trekker can explore.There exists about more than 450 species of medicinal plants, 275 magnificent species of birds, 30 species of mammals and around 32 species of reptiles. 

You will get the opportunity to witness a wide range of wild species which include the bears, panthers, leopards, hyenas, passerines and flying squirrels, all of which live under one canopy of diverse plants and trees. All the migratory birds occupy the forest during the winter season and during the rainy season; the place gets occupied by the wetland birds.