Silvassa, the capital of Dadra & Nagar Haveli is 180 km from Mumbai and 120 km from Surat. The town derives its name from the Portuguese word Silva meaning woods which is justified from its location. The road to Silvassa is dotted with tall majestic trees, rivers, waterfalls, verdant meadows and gentle hills and deep forests. It was a Portuguese enclave between the period 1779 and 1954. Here you can see some ruins of the colonial buildings, churches and temples. The Church of Our Lady of Piety and Bindrabin Temple are now evocative. The Vandhara Udyan in Silvassa is a riverside park with sprawling lawns dotted with exquisite pavilions. It is an ideal site for picnickers. The Mini Zoo and Bal Udyan (children park) offers quite fun to the children. You can see colorful birds, mischievous monkeys, awesome pythons and sleepy crocodiles coupled with swings.

The Tribal Cultural Museum is a "must visit" site in Silvassa, situated in the heart of the town, close to the Tourist Information Centre. The idea of establishing this museum was to preserve the vanishing tribal culture of DNH. The museum displays some extraordinary objects including masks, hunting tools, fishing gear, musical instruments, agricultural implements, household and kitchen articles and life-size statues of local tribes etc.