Karnala Bird Sanctuary is a major attraction to the visitors of Mumbai, Thane and other nearby towns. About one hundred thousand local tourists visit the sanctuary every year. Karnala is a paradise for bird watchers. One can also visit Nature Interpretation Centre and trek down to famous Karnala Fort located amidst sanctuary.
Karnala Pinnacle offers refuge to endangered birds like the peregrine falcon, king vulture and the crested serpent eagle. The four-horned antelope, wild boar, common langur, African monkeys and the muntjak or barking deer are amongst the commonly seen wildlife, while the leopard is spotted rarely.
Apart from being a place of interest to the naturalist, Karnala is redolent of martial history. Karnala Fort or the 'Funnel Hill' as it is called, stands 475 metres high. Its command of the high road between Bhorghat and the rivers of Panvel and Apta, must have from the earliest time, made Karnala a place of strategic importance. Two gateways one at the foot and the other at the top of the rock-hewn steps lead to a dual gateway with a chamber in between. There are two inscriptions in the Fort, one in Marathi and the other in Persian. The Fort has a chequered history of having passed through the hands of Muslim, Portuguese and Maratha rulers.
