Sanjay Van

Sanjay Van is a sprawling city forest area near Vasant Kunj and Mehrauli in Delhi, India.

The forest, which is part of the Mehrauli South Central Ridge, has undergone severe degradation in recent times with the proliferation of the Prosopis juliflora tree which is non-endemic to the Aravalli Ranges and has caused depletion of the ground water level, killing native flora and changing the natural soil characteristics of the Aravallis.

Resident or visiting birds include the Indian peafowl, grey heron, Eurasian golden oriole, purple sunbird, Asian koel, Brahminy starling, Indian silverbill, grey-breasted prinia, crested honey buzzard, white-throated kingfisher, rufous treepie, Indian paradise flycatcher, Eurasian sparrowhawk, red-wattled lapwing, cattle egret, common moorhen, white-breasted waterhen, grey francolin and the Jacobin cuckoo, a migrant from Africa that breeds in this forest.

There are multiple entry and exit points, but the ones at the Qutub Institutional Area and Neela Hauz Bridge near Vasant Kunj provide the easiest access and least confusion.

Visitors are advised to wear shoes and full-length trousers as protection against the thorny shrubbery, and to take sufficient fluids and snacks, as there is no kiosk or shop in the quiet of the woods.

A deer in Sanjay Van