The Mahim Nature Park is considered to be a great wonder for all the nature lovers, as it is built on 5 meter deep garbage in Mahim, near India`s commercial capital, Mumbai. The park is located on the southern bank of Mithi River, and at Bandra-Sion Link Road, near Dharavi that is said to be the largest slum in Asia. The park is a brainchild of a corporate lawyer and the chairperson of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), India; Ms. Shanta Chatterjee and was built over a long period of 12 years. The main purpose behind building the park was to preserve the natural beauty and estuarine ecosystem of the region.
Earlier a garbage dump, the area was conceived by WWF-India in the year 1976, to make a nature park. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) undertook the project to restore and develop the place as sophisticated nature park and completed the work after 12 years. The park is considered as one of the greatest achievements towards preserving the biodiversity in India.
The Mahim Nature Park is well famous for being home to several species of birds, butterflies and trees. The park has retained its natural beauty in its most pristine way, and has become a favourable destination among the nature lovers from all over the country. The Mahim Nature Park is located in a total area of over 450 acres of land and its climate in all seasons makes it a pleasant abode to several species of birds, butterflies and trees. The climate remains a bit hot during the months of March to October, and it begins to cool after October. Hence, the best time to visit the park is considered to be from mid-October to February-March.
The Mahim Nature Park has earned reputation for being the Green Lung of Mumbai, as it provides the nature lovers a very pleasant escape from their pollution-ridden city life. The rich greenery of the nature park proudly boasts more than 200 species of trees and all these mangrove evergreen forest causes plenty of species of birds, butterflies, insects and fungi to thrive in the park. Apart from the tree species, the Mahim Nature Park also houses 37 species of butterflies and 80 species of birds. The bird watchers can watch several species of birds hovering over the Mithi River and in the park, during the months of October and March.
