Vallanadu Black Buck Sanctuary(Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary)
The Vallanadu Black Buck Sanctuary is situated on the hills of the Vallanadu Village in Sri Vaikundam Taluk in Tamil Nadu.
History
The Vallanadu Village is in the Thoothukudi District in Tamil Nadu at a distance of about 16Km from the Tirunelveli Town. This place is a scrub forest on the hill in the Thoothukudi District located on the east side of the Tirunelveli-Tuticorin road. This Sanctuary covers an area of about 1641hectares surrounding the hills.
Unique features
The Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary has an attractive fauna and flora. This Sanctuary provides a site with the forest and picturesque hills for the Photographers. Here this forest covers many varieties of shrubs. In the shrub forests, the total area contains the scrub oak trees or pine trees that grow over an height of 1 to 3 meters.
In this Sanctuary, the endangered species of Antelope cervicapra or the black buck is found. This was the reason for the initiation of Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary to save those rare species of animals. In our country, this Antelope cervicapra is the only available member of the antelope family.
This Sanctuary provides a suitable geography for the fauna like the Black bucks, Mongoose, Spotted deer, Jungle cat, wild hares and the Macaques that are found in this place. These black bucks are seen during the late evening or the early morning in some parts. To watch these animals, the special temporary tents are available in this Sanctuary. Then the annual rainfall available in this region is 758mm.
Other organisms
There are nearly 100 species of birds seen on this site are heron, grey partridges, stork, Peafowl, jungle crow, pied crested cuckoo, black-winged kite, common quails, nightjar, horned hills, sparrows, lapwing and curlew.
Then the grown acacia makes hard to count the number of black bucks in this forest area. On the grazing wastelands and the scrubs of this forest, most of the blackbucks exist.
Many thorny plants and others like the Dichrostachys cineria, Acacia Planifrons, Vachellia horrida, Azadirachta Indica, Pterolobium hexapetalum, Acalypha fruitcosa, Carissa carandas, Albizia amara and Zizyphus are the flora varieties found in this place. This site contains the dry deciduous forest.
Other places to see
Some of the nearby tourists places available near the Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary are the Nallamadan Swami Temple, Vallanadu Mountain Region, Perumal Kovil, Theppakulam and the Kallapiran Temple.
Best time
The Winter season that is from the month of December to March is the best time to visit this Sanctuary. Then the period between October to November is also the best time to see this Sanctuary.
Transport facilities
You can visit this Sanctuary through either the Tirunelveli or the Tuticorin District. Then the railway station nearer to this Sanctuary is Tirunelveli railway station, which is at a 16Km from this area. The nearest Airport for the Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary is the Tuticorin Airport at a distance of 25Km. From there, you can travel via the road transport to reach this site .
Entrance Fees for Indians
| Entrance | Photography | Travel guide | Small Vehicle | Large Vehicle |
| Rs.20 per person with concession | Rs.100 | Rs.50 for four hours. | Rs.200 – for 6 persons. | Rs.500- 15persons Rs.1750- 60 people |
Entrance Fees for foreigners
| Entrance | Travel guide |
| 5 US Dollars per person | 10 US Dollars for four hours. |
Location: Vallanadu, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
Timings: Open throughout the year.
(But timings may occur in different occasions)
Best time for visit: October to February
Total Area- The total area covered by the Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary is 16.41Sq.Km.