Historical Origins & Architectural Context

Originally protected by Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj alongside the Laxmi Talav (Radhanagari) and Kalammawadi reservoirs; notified in 1958 as Dajipur Bison Sanctuary. Positioned 55 km southwest of Kolhapur city at the top of historic Phonda Ghat connecting Kolhapur to Kankavli (Konkan).

More than a century before modern environmentalism, Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj recognized that the watershed forests of Radhanagari were the ecological lifeblood of Kolhapur. Today, herds of muscular, white-stockinged Indian Gaur—weighing up to 1,000 kilograms—graze peacefully across the misty high-altitude plateau of Savrai Sada.

“राजर्षी शाहू महाराजांच्या दूरदृष्टीतून जपलेले महाराष्ट्रातील पहिले अभयारण्य आणि गव्यांचे नैसर्गिक नंदनवन—दाजीपूर-राधानगरी!”

— Kolhapur Forest Division & Bison Nature Club Archives

Cultural Significance & Enduring Legacy

In autumn, the sanctuary’s streams shimmer with electric-blue wings as thousands of Blue Mormons (Maharashtra’s State Butterfly) congregate on damp mineral patches.

Hosts annual butterfly meets (160+ species including Southern Birdwing and Blue Mormon—Maharashtra’s State Butterfly), Savrai Sada plateau treks, and Rautwadi Waterfall tours. Spanning 351.16 sq km of southern semi-evergreen and tropical evergreen forest, forming a vital wildlife corridor linking Koyna-Chandoli to Goa’s Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary.