The Aravallis are one of the oldest landforms on the Earth (dating back 350 million years). They stretch across four states (Delhi, Haryana , Rajasthan & Gujarat). “Aravalli” is a Sanskrit word which can be broken into Ara and Valli which means “line of peaks”. The Aravalli mountain range stretches over 800 km from Gujarat to Delhi. By the time the they reach Delhi, they get inundated under a swathe of young alluvium, only rising occasionally as hillocks like the Raisina Hill, upon which rest the North Block, South Block and Rashtrapati Bhawan.
From Delhi, it bounds up to Haridwar, hidden entirely below the Earth’s surface. Then it extends towards the Thar desert. A number of well known rivers like the Sabarmati in Gujarat and lesser known rivers like Luni and Vakal in Rajasthan or Sabi or Indori in Haryana originate in these hills. It supports natural marvels like the brackish Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan and Sultanpur Lake, Haryana as well as man-made wetlands like Ramgarh Lake in Jaipur or Pichola Lake in Udaipur.
The Delhi Ridge
The Aravallis are the “Green Lungs” of Delhi, protecting the city from hot winds coming from the Thar. They have also enabled Delhi to be the world’s second most Bird-Rich capital, after Kenya’s Nairobi. For administrative reasons, the Delhi Ridge has been divided into four parts : Northern, Central, South Central and Southern. Together they cover almost 7,777 hectares and declared a reserved Forest area in 1993, putting a halt on all construction activities.
The Delhi Ridge serves as as a source of fodder and fuel wood for poor and marginalized communities living in the vicinity. During summers, its trees are decorated with yellow flowers of Amaltas, Orange flowers of Palash and white flowers of Chamrod.
Northern Ridge
Also referred to as the Kamala Nehru Ridge, it covers an area of 87 hectares and is located near the North Campus of Delhi University. The area consists of an eclectic blend of nature and history and houses the Northern Ridge Biodiversity Park also known as Bonta Park, developed and maintained by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). As a local resident, We used to go there for our evening walks during Corona. There are lot of monkeys over there. You get an experience of walking through a Forest and if lucky, you can hear the wild calls of a Robin or a beautiful Peafowl.
Historical monuments
The North Ridge encompasses several monuments that date from as antiquated as the pre-Mughal era to the colonial British period. [12][13][14]
- Mutiny Memorial
- Ashokan Pillar
- Pir Ghaib (inside Hindu Rao Hospital)
- Baoli (Step well) inside Hindu Rao Hospital
- Chauburja Masjid
- Flagstaff Tower
- Eastern Guard House
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Mutiny Memorial -
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Southern Guard House -
Pir Ghaib, a 14th-century hunting lodge and Observatory built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq -
Chauburji Masjid -
Baoli (Stepwell) inside Hindu Rao Hospital
Central Ridge
The Central Ridge includes 864 hectares of forestry which were designated a Reserved Forest in 1914, and spans from the southern fringes of Sadar Bazaar to Dhaula Kuan.
Buddha Jayanti Park
The Buddha Jayanti Smarak Park is situated in the central part of the Delhi Ridge in New Delhi, India. It occupies a stretch of almost a kilometre on the eastern section of Vandemataram Marg, also known as Upper Ridge Road. It was established on the 2500th anniversary of Gautama Buddha‘s enlightenment by Indian architect M. M. Rana. A sapling of the Bodhi Tree from Sri Lanka was planted here by the then Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri on 25 October 1964.
On an artificial island in the park stands a pavilion housing a gilded Buddha statue, which was dedicated by the 14th Dalai Lama in October 1993. Each year in May, on the full moon day of Vaisakha, the Buddha Jayanti festival is celebrated here. Neeraj Gupta, an Indian sculpture artist and environmentalist, is the president of Buddha Jayanti Park. In August 2023, Gupta organized a plantation program that resulted in the planting of 1,000 Cassia fistula (Amaltas) trees.
Historically, the major activities contributing to the degradation of the Ridge have been :
- Illegal Mining
- Construction of buildings, roads and housing
- Conversion of Forest land into Parks
- Activities like Garbage Dumping and over-grazing
- Introduction of Invasive Species like Vilayati Keekar
Major References : Plants of the Northern Aravalli Range in Delhi, A Guide, Dept of Forest & Wildlife, GNCT of Delhi