The Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden is situated in Ovale Village in Thane, Maharashtra. The park is home to over 500 species of butterflies. There are over 80 species of plants that serve the butterflies in some way; nectar or breeding. The butterflies migrate from October to December and then from April to June, therefore, making these months best for visiting.
The park is an oasis for species of butterflies like the Gaudy Baron, Striped Tiger, Swordtail, Bluebottle, Commander, Common Crow, Wanderer, Crimson Rose, Monkey Puzzle and Grass Demon.
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Timings and Entry Fee
The Butterfly Garden is open only on Sundays from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM. There is an entry fee of INR 100 for adults and INR 50 for children. The best time to visit this place is from October to February. However, October and November are the seasons when the butterflies migrate from the plains to the Ghats, thus increasing the chances of being spotted at the park. April and May are when they migrate back from the Ghats to the plains.
History of the Butterfly Garden
Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Park is a farm that belongs to the Wadi family in Thane. They cultivated the 2-acre wide field for paddy. Unfortunately, the land dried and the cultivation stopped, making the farm a barren brown patch of land.
Rajendra Ovalekar youngest of the Wadi’s got an opportunity to teach at a school in Thane, and his obsession with nature kept him from giving the farm away. In 2004, he attended a program called Breakfast and Butterflies organised by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in Mumbai. That is when the epiphany to convert the farm into a butterfly park dawned upon him. He started from scratch and planted over 5,000 plants with at least 180 species that served butterflies in some way; nectar or breeding.
The park is an oasis for species of butterflies like the Gaudy Baron, Striped Tiger, Swordtail, Bluebottle, Commander, Common Crow, Wanderer, Crimson Rose, Monkey Puzzle and Grass Demon.
Source The usually migrate during October to December from the plains to the Ghats, thus making this the best time to visit the Park. They migrate back during April to June from the Ghats to the plains as their progenies emerge out from the pupas they left at the Park.
Facilities at Ovalekar Butterfly Garden
Mr. Rajendra Ovalekar plays the role of the enthusiastic guide who would brief through the life-cycle of a butterfly. The Park is filled with eggs, caterpillars, cocoons and various species of butterflies.
There is a parking space available.
Breakfast can be bought at INR 60, which usually constitutes of vada-pav and tea.
Must Carry-ons
The park is bustling with varied species of butterflies, and therefore a camera is necessitated.
In order to view the butterflies without scaring them away, a pair of binoculars is required.
The Book of Indian Butterflies by Isaac Kehimkar will help identify the butterflies and acquire facts about their breeding and migration patterns.
The Ovelekar Wadi Butterfly Garden situated in Ovala Village, Thane. The Park is at a distance of 7.4 km from Thane.
The buses from Thane Municipal Transport bus depot will lead to Suraj Water Park, which is 3.2 km away from the Butterfly Garden. Catching an auto is a convenient mode of transportation.
The trains stop at Thane Railway Station, and the Thane Municipal Bus Stop is at a walkable distance from the railway station. The Thane Airport - Airoli – is 15 km from the park. There are buses available to Thane Municipal Bus Depot. Private cabs can also be directly hired from the airport.
