Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a small Indian union territory wedged between Gujarat and Maharashtra in western India. A former Portuguese colony until 1954, it is now one of the more heavily forested administrative territories in the country — almost 40 percent of the land is covered by forest, and the landscape is a patchwork of hills, rivers, and small waterfalls. Since 2020 it has been administered together with the coastal exclaves of Daman and Diu, former Portuguese territories further west on the Gujarat coast, as a single merged union territory — though the two halves are geographically separate and feel like quite different places.
The capital is Silvassa, a compact town that holds most of the territory's attractions. The tribal heritage is particularly strong here — the Warli, Kokna, and Koli communities have lived in these hills for centuries and their art, weaving, and customs are still visible in daily life. Portuguese colonial remnants include the Church of Our Lady of Piety, built in 1889.
The territory is easiest to reach by road from the Bombay-Baroda National Highway (NH-8), with Silvassa about 14 km from Bhilad and Vapi. The nearest railway station is Vapi on the Western Railway, about 18 km from Silvassa. Mumbai, about 180 km south, is the nearest airport. Dadra and Nagar Haveli works well as a quiet weekend trip from Mumbai or as a stopover between Gujarat and Goa.