Around Bangalore: Parks

Bangalore is indeed a ‘Garden city’ even now; not many can boast of such vast gardens in the heart of the city. Blessed with a pleasant climate and fertile land, Bangalore was also fortunate to have many rulers with a love for parks. Read about Bangalore’s famous parks and gardens.

1. Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Details

Lalbagh was created in 1760 covering an area of 40 acres, as a private garden for the then Mysore Rulers, Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan. Today, spread across an area of 240 acres, the lush green garden is famous for diverse and exotic flora collected from all over the world. A treasure house for the botanists, it is a huge lung space for the common man and a joggers’ delight.

The famous Lalbagh Glass House, where the annual flower shows are held, was built in 1889 to commemorate the arrival of Prince of Wales. It had been designed on the lines of London’s Crystal Palace. Lalbagh is also home to one of the four watch towers built by Kempegowda II, the founder of Bangalore City.

Did you know?

Next time you enter Lalbagh through the West Gate observe the lantern shaped granite gate lodge. This was originally at the entrance of Dewan P N Krishnamurthy’s Bungalow in Kumara Krupa. While on his morning city rounds, the then Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail happened to notice the bungalow, then a Government property, being demolished. The ornamental gate lodge caught his attention and he immediately rescued it. It was defabricated and reinstalled at the Lalbagh West Gate.

Location

Lalbagh has four gates (East gate- Double Road, North Gate – Subbaiah Circle, South Gate – Jayanagar, West Gate – Basavangudi). Vehicles are allowed only through the East Gate Entrance. The Park is open daily from 6.00 am to 7pm.

References

http://www.horticulture.kar.nic.in/lalbagh.htm
Book: Studies on Dewan Sir Mirza, Mythic Society – Bangalore

2. Cubbon Park

Details

The Cubbon Park was created by Sir Richard Sankey, the then chief Engineer of Mysore. It has been named after Lord Cubbon, the longest serving British administrator of Bangalore. It covers an area of 334 acres and holds many official structures like High Court, Sheshadri Iyer Memorial Hall and the Government Museum.

Colonial statues of Queen Victoria, Prince Edward, Lord Cubbon and Statues of Maharaja of Mysore Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar and Dewan Sheshadri Iyer can be found at various corners of the park. The park also includes Jawahar Bal Bhavan – a vast amusement centre and play area for children.

Cubbon Park

Did you know?

In the 1940s the Rana family of Nepal had taken refuge in the city. The Maharani Bajang of Nepal wanted a home for her pet parrot in Lalbagh. When she discussed the plans with the then Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail, he suggested building a fountain in Cubbon Park as an alternative idea. She agreed and provided Rs 7000/- towards the construction. However, before the fountain was built, the Maharani expired in Bombay and the parrot could not be traced. The fairy fountain in Cubbon Park is in memory of this parrot which was never found!

Location

In the MG Road vicinity, the park can be entered through multiple gates. The most common entrance is from the Queen’s Street (facing KSCA). Private vehicles can also drive through the park from Hudson circle, High Court or Vittal Mallya road.

References

http://www.horticulture.kar.nic.in/cubbon.htm
Book: Memoirs of Sir Mirza Ismail (narrated by Vijay Thiruvady)

3. Jawahar Bal Bhavan

Details

Inside the Cubbon Park resides a vast area called Bal Bhavan, a play area for children. One of its most famous attractions is the Putani Express – a toy train that chugs along a 1.5 kilometer train track around the Bal Bhavan. There is a doll museum and an amusement park for the young ones. There are many summer courses on offer for the inquisitive young minds ranging from pottery, bamboo crafting to aeromodelling. Do not miss the 20 million year old fossilized tree in the park area, a gift from the Geological Survey of India.

Bal bavan

Location

In Cubbon Park – the Bal Bhavan’s entrance is from Queen’s Street (facing KSCA).

4. Cariappa Memorial Park

Details

Between the KSCA and the Parade Grounds stands a small park as a memorial to Field Marshal Cariappa. The park is spread over 22 acres and a huge statue of Gen Cariappa stands at its entrance. A big man-made waterfall and a pond are the main attractions of the park. A live band plays on an elevated grassy area and entertains the public every fortnight. The park includes a childrens’ play area designed in the military style to develop physical strength and mental co-ordination. The Garden is maintained by the Army and is open to the public.

To really appreciate the thick woods and for a fantastic aerial view of the park, stand on the balcony of Ebony, 13th Floor, Barton Centre, MG Road.

Location

In the MG Road vicinity, entrance from Cubbon Road. Open from 5.30 pm – 8pm on weekdays, 1pm – 7pm on Saturday and 9am – 7pm on Sunday. No food and drink can be bought in. Pets not allowed.

5. Bannerghata Zoological Reserve

Details

Bannerghatta National Park is 22 km from Bangalore and is a zoological reserve for Indian lions, tigers and panthers. The park, established in 1971, includes ten reserves of Anekal forest range. A safari through the Tiger reserve is one of the main attractions here. A mini Zoo, a snake park, crocodile farm and a newly added butterfly park are some of its other attractions. There are also a lot of hills around this forest reserve – Uddigebande, Hajjamana Kallu- that are popular among trekking enthusiasts.

Location

Bannerghatta Road from South Bangalore leads you to the reserve. The park is closed on Tuesdays and open on all other days from 9am – 5pm.

References

http://wikitravel.org/en/Bannerghatta_National_Park

Comments:

  1. praveen madhava says:

    Informative, I think you missed mentioning the Fish aquariam in the Cubbon park :)…

  2. praveen madhava says:

    You could add Indira park opposite to planetorium. The park has fountain with music.
    :).. Getting to remember bangalore and things around bangalore. Thanks to you and citizen matters for the effort 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Low-cost, mobile air quality monitors will empower citizens: Dr Raghunathan Rengaswamy, IIT Madras

Project Kaatru offers a low-cost, mobile solution to capture hyperlocal data on air pollution and may soon be accessible to Chennai residents.

Imagine a scenario where Chennai's residents can access real-time air quality data of their surroundings to decide whether to step out, stay home, or avoid certain routes. This level of air pollution monitoring could well be a reality soon. Currently, Chennai relies on two main systems of air quality monitoring — manual monitoring stations and Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS). While these are crucial, theoy come with high operational costs; around Rs 3 lakh for manual stations and several crores for CAAQMS setups. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has developed a mobile air pollution monitoring sensor…

Similar Story

Cyclone Fengal in Chennai: Some areas badly impacted, others hold steady

This photo essay depicts how Cyclone Fengal exposed the shortfalls in rain preparedness and civic infrastructure.

Whenever rainstorms hit and the Adyar River swells, the residents living beneath the Saidapet Bridge hold their breath, silently praying for reprieve. The haunting memories of the catastrophic 2015 floods, when the river overflowed and submerged the bridge, still linger. Many homes were inundated and belongings were swept away, leaving a lasting impact on the community. This happened again during the December 2023 floods. That's why, residents here live in constant fear. On Saturday, as Cyclone Fengal brought severe thunderstorms and gusty winds over Chennai, they just clung to hope that the flood waters would not reach their homes. Read…