Bannerghatta National Park visit!

White tiger















Bear near the van
















Plant name - Birds of Paradise


Recently we visited Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore. It is some 30 kilometers from the airport.

What the place offers
The park maintains the natural wild habitat for the wild animals. The animals are freely moving and not enclosed in a cage. Lions and tigers cross your vehicle and if you are lucky perform some stunts for you as well.

The park has three sections: - Jungle Safari in enclosed vans, Butterfly Park, Visit to the zoo.
Jungle Safari is two types -
Jumbo Safari which means that the van will cover the complete jungle area and tread the regions of big black bears, tigers, lions, bisons, sambhars, elephants, etc. It costs Rs.125 per head and Rs. 50 for children (above 12 years)

Tiger Safari which means that the van will pass through only the tigers, elephants and bears regions. This safari costs Rs.75 per head.

Still camera and video camera are separately charged.

Both the safari end at Butterfly Park. This is a beautiful park recently constructed with a nice eco-system for the butterflies. It claims to have some 2000 species of butterflies inside, but we got a chance to track only 4 or 5!! Anyway, it is still worth visiting this place because of its coolness, quietness and beauty. Do not miss this.

The zoo is free viewing.

There is elephant riding as well. But it is not worth the ride as they charge some Rs.25 - Rs.50 for a small round. If you want to have just fun ride, go for it. Do not have much expectations though!

TIME TO VISIT
The best time to visit is during the morning hours. Plan to reach BNP by 8:45 or 9:00 A.M. Purchase the tickets for the Safari that starts at 10:00 A.M. Spend one hour from 9 to 10 A.M. visiting the zoo as all the animals and birds in the cage will be in the active mode. If you plan to go after the safari, it will be afternoon and the animals sleep in the cage. You will get all sleepy animals in the pictures.

Return to the queue line for Safari by 9:50 A.M. so that you get into the first bus. Safari will end at Butterfly Park. You can spend as much time there as you wish. You can do some creative photography there under the shade of trees, flowers around, and the hills at the back-drop.

KIT AND FOOD ARRANGEMENTS

Carry your hats if you are going during the summer months. Wear sports shoes as it is easy to walk along the pathways. Avoid high heels, ladies!!

As for food, there are some stalls for snacks and drinks. But there are no restaurants for having lunch. Best thing to do is have some sandwiches and cold drinks there and have your lunch inside the city.

Of course, you can carry you own food. There are sit-outs inside the zoo where you can eat your packed food. Pack your food in dabbas and bring paper plates and have a nice picnic in the zoo park.

Do not bring plastic bags there. Plastic bags are not allowed for the safety of the animals. Bring paper bags or you can collect some at the entrance itself.

Good water and lavatory facilities for everyone.

Do visit this wonderful place and enjoy the beauty of nature.