Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park

Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park covers about 3,600 acres at Vanasthalipuram on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada road and is the largest green space in Hyderabad. The land was once a private hunting ground of the Nizams. It became a deer park and was named in 1975 after Mahavira, to mark the 2,500th anniversary of his nirvana.

The terrain ranges from rocky hills to gently rolling ground, covered with dry deciduous forest, scrub and grassland with sandalwood, rosewood, palas and teak. A few hundred blackbuck live here along with chital, wild boar, porcupines, civets, water monitors and peafowl, and the birdlife includes short-toed eagles, pond herons, egrets, kingfishers and cormorants. The Telangana Forest Department manages the park and offers guided tours and safari rides for a fee.