Sanjay Gandhi National Park, previously Borivali National Park, is a large protected area in the northern part of Mumbai city in Maharashtra State in India. It encompasses an area of 104km2 and is surrounded on three sides by India’s most populous city. It is notable as one of the major national parks existing within a metropolis limit and is one of the most visited parks in the world.The rich flora and fauna of Sanjay Gandhi National Park attracts more than 2 million visitors every year. Tourists also enjoy visiting the 2400 years old Kanheri caves sculpted out of the rocky cliffs which lie within the park.HistoryThe Sanjay Gandhi National Park area has a long written history dating back to the 4th century BC. In ancient India, Sopoara and Kalyan were two ports in the vicinity that traded with ancient civilisations such as Greece and Mesopotamia. The 45km land route between these two ports was partially through this forest.The Kanheri Caves in the centre of the park were an important Buddhist learning centre and pilgrimage site sculpted by Buddhist monks between 9th and the 1st centuries BCE. They were chiselled out of a massive basaltic rock outcropping.The park was named ‘Krishnagiri National Park’ in the pre-independence era. At that time the area of the park was only 20.26km2. In 1969, the park was expanded to its present size by acquiring various reserve forest properties adjoining the park. After this, an independent unit of the Forest Department called ‘Borivali National Park Sub-division’ administered the area. Krishnagiri National Park was created in 1974 and later renamed as ‘Borivali National Park’. In 1981, it was re-dedicated as ‘Sanjay Gandhi National Park’ in memory of Sanjay Gandhi, the son of ex Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, who was killed in an air-crash in 1980.