Nanmangalam Reserve Forest: A Biodiverse Haven Amidst Urbanity

Nanmangalam Reserve Forest, one of Chennai’s two reserve forests, stands as a vibrant world within the urban sprawl. Spanning 320 hectares along Velachery-Tambaram Main Road, this protected area hosts a Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, adapted to Chennai’s brief monsoon rainfall. The landscape includes hillocks, remnants of quarries, and a variety of flora, featuring wax-coated leaves and trees like eucalyptus and red sanders.

A treasure for bird enthusiasts, Nanmangalam shelters diverse avian species, from common woodshrikes to Great horned owls. Despite past threats from sand quarrying and proposed metro rail alignment, conservation efforts and legal interventions aim to preserve this ecological haven, emphasizing the significance of urban biodiversity conservation.