Marine National Park, Jamnagar in Gulf of Kutch - Gujarat

Gujarat is a melting pot of attractions with its versatile culture, amazing food, famous dance form (Garba), Rann of Kutch, mesmerizing beaches, Gir forest and hand crafted clothing. Amongst all these attractions this beautiful state offers a treasure house of ecological conservation and marine life i.e. that is the ‘Marine sanctuary’. Here one gets to encounter marine life in their natural habitat. Marine sanctuary is located on the southern part of Gulf of Kutch in the Devbhumi Dwarka district of Gujarat. It was established in 1972 and as of now there are 42 islands which come under marine national park. In 1980, from Okha to Jodiya the big large stretch was announced as Marine sanctuary in the Dwarka district of Gujarat state. Now when you make plans for a Gujarat tour, do keep the Marine sanctuary in your itinerary.

This sanctuary is a favourite amongst tourists, naturalists and photographers and has been covered multiple times by channels such as national geographic.

Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch

Unique Major Features

Marine sanctuary is India’s first underwater sanctuary and extends over an area of 458 square kilometres from the southern coast of Gulf of Kutch to northern coast of Jamnagar. This beautiful place gives a unique experience to encounter marine life without snorkelling or scuba diving and that allows non swimmers and divers to witness the grandeur of marine life here. Because of a robust and good ecosystem one can see various species of aquatic life in low tides as well. This place not only gives you an opportunity to watch marine species in their natural habitat but you can also do bird watching.

While walking through the islands in the sanctuary…one can get the experience of being in an open aquarium where unique marine life can be seen from outside nestling in different geographical strata like Swamps, mangroves, mudflats, sea grasslands, coral reefs, creeks etc.

Coral reefs are one of the most attractive features here and this is one of India’s largest ecosystems of reefs .You can see various species of fishes, prawns, crabs, algae, and molluscs etc. inhabiting the area around the reefs. In some of the islands of this region you can see sting rays and exotic fish too. The sanctuary lies in between two zones. One is the low tide zone and the other is the high tide zone ...the demarcation gives all visitors a chance to get a good view of almost all the aquatic species.

Islands of Marine Sanctuary

Amongst all the islands of the sanctuary Pirotan, Ajan, Positara and Narala are some of the most visited islands to watch marine life. Pirotan and Narala Islands are Arabian Sea islands in the Marine sanctuary where you can find a huge crowd of tourists from India and abroad. These islands provide an experience to witness one of the finest coral reefs and mangroves in the world. Pirotan Island is around 7 miles from Romi port. You can glimpse some of most amazing marine life forms like jelly fish, octopus, star fish, sea snakes, hermit crabs ,sea horse, sea slugs, green sea turtles ,lichen, sea urchins etc. and sometimes if you are lucky enough, sightings of dolphins can happen.

The holy shrine of the Saint Khwaja Keizer Rahmatullahi Alaih is also situated here in Pirotan Island. This unusual Island will surprise your soul with beautiful birds such as pelicans, herring gull, sea gull, black headed gull, painted stork, darter, black -necked ibis etc. Amongst all the marine species there is one called sea cucumber which has a quality to distract predators by camouflaging itself. There is the puffer fish also called as Fugu fish, which swells up for self-protection when any predator tries to catch it. You can enjoy seeing these unique species in these Islands of Marine sanctuary. You can observe six species of mangroves too which as Avicennia marina, Avicennia Alba, Avicennia officinalis, Rhizophora mucronata, Ceriops Tagal, Aegiceras corniculatum. The islands are fascinating for tourists, naturalists, botanists, zoologists, marine scientists and photographers….this explains their popularity.

Travel Tips for Tourists

Though you can explore this magnificent place on your own if you have good knowledge about marine life... before visiting you can actually look up information on the Internet about it. Any Marine sanctuary visitor has to follow some strict official guidelines as per the directives of Forest protection Act. This includes the permission from the forest department, customs department and the ports department. All the permits need to be taken before hand. For foreign tourists an additional permission is required from the police department too.

There is a local guide service available for the tourists...they come along with visitors to show the Islands and provide brief explanation of aquatic species on actual sea shores and different locations. It is advisable to check the low tide timings beforehand for having a hassle free experience in marine sanctuary. When high tide hits the shore you might have to wait for about 9 to 10 hours so, do carry some packed food items and drinking water along with you as the sanctuary area doesn’t have any notable good restaurants. For your comfort you can carry few clothes and a pairs of footwear. Carrying a first aid kit is also recommended.

How to Reach

Jamnagar being the nearest place from marine sanctuary has its own airport, railway station and bus stand and is connected to major cities. The airport is located 9 kilometres away from the city. Daily train runs from Ahmedabad and other cities of Gujarat to Jamnagar. The nearest railway station to Marine sanctuary is merely 4 kilometres in Jamnagar and one can drive in by road to reach to Jamnagar and afterwards to Narala Island which is around 60 kilometres from Jamnagar in Dwarka route. Also you can enjoy boat rides by booking boats from Bedi port or Nava port in Jamnagar. You can take advice from the locals also to plan your trip to Marine sanctuary from Jamnagar as it takes about one to two hours only to reach the island.

Best Time to Visit

The sanctuary is open on all days throughout the year… however November to March is the best time to visit. This is the only time you can encounter annual migration of birds and can enjoy the unforgettable experience of sailing on the waters of Chajja creek. After exploring the Marine sanctuary during your stay in Jamnagar or Dwarka, you can visit few of the nearby places too which include Bet Dwarka, Dwarkadhish Temple, Lakhota Talav, Khijadiya Birds Sanctuary etc.