Bannerghatta National Park - Good Place For Wildlife Buffs
In India, There are currently 80 National Park and 441 wild life sanctuaries and these make India a veritable animal lovers’ paradise.
Bannerghatta Wildlife Sanctuary is one among them.Established in 1971 and is 22 km south of Bangalore. This park consists of ten reserve forests of Anekel range of the Bangalore Forest Division.It is surrounded by scenic hills, with many ancient temples perched on them.
This zoological garden is spread over area of about 25000 acres. It consists of dense forest and scrub land becoming home for wild animals like Lion, Tiger, bison, leopard, Bears, Reptiles, Deer’s etc, and also being an important corridor for elephants migrating between the eastern and western ghats.
Last week I had been to Bannerghatta National Park with my family & friends. This is my fifth visit in the last ten years. Except the Butterfly park, no significant changes taken place, other than relocations of some animals here and there. It was a good experience , but depressing to see the human population surpassing the animal population at the sanctuary.
One of the main attractions here are the lion and tiger safari. Other attractions here are a butterfly park, Museum, Jumbo rides etc. In addition, a portion of the park is used as a sanctuary for wild rescued animals.
For the lion and tiger safari. There are three options in terms of tickets , The Grand Safari, Tiger & Lion Safari, & Zoo only. The rates are slightly more for the weekend. Grand Safari will be a better choice ( 100 /- on a weekday, 125/- on a weekend, Camera 20 /, Video camera 100 / ).
In the Safari rides, visitors are taken around a mini bus through the enclosed and protected area of the aninmals to roam around freely. The Grand Safari first shows the herbivores , bison, deer, wild cows, The next section is the black bear section. One can see abundance of bears here. The landscape is pristine, green and there are plenty of lakes, ponds and marsh areas around the park.
Then the lions and finally the tigers. It’s a short one hour adventurous trip where one can see all the wild animals in the beautiful small forest
The butterfly park is another interesting place to see, Thousands of butterflies fluttering around in a dome. It’s the first of its kind in India. The doom shaped closed space in which various class of butterflies are maintained. Informative paintings are drawn on the walls of museum adjacent to the park .It describes all trivia about butterflies
There is a zoo inside the park, which has deer’s, elephants, snake enclosures, aquarium, panther, zebra and the other usual animals. There is also a small museum and a forty five minutes film show on Animals!.
Personally I never recommend anyone to visit Zoo. Because zoos interfere with Mother Nature. Zoo is a prison for animals. I think the zoo should take in animals that can no longer survive in the wild. Any animal deserves to be free.
The Zoo is not properly maintained. Many animals that are in zoos require more space to roam comfortably. The cages stink and doesn’t seem to have been cleaned from long time. And the bird aviary has very little water. The animals need more care taking, as they seemed struggling and suffering the summer heat. Very sorry to see people enjoying & disturbing the caged animals.
Unfortunately, the park has become a haven for amorous couples, mostly college students, who infest the place. It is very embarrassing when you go with the family and find them all over the parks. I do not know why the concerned authorities are not taking any action.
The park is a good place for the first time visitors. For the visitors who come from far places, there is an interesting stay option at the jungle lodges resort in Bannerghatta, where one can stay for a day, do some trekking and can take on a special tour round the park.
A trip to Bannerghatta National Park promises to be a memorable experience, for nature, history, botany and wildlife buffs.
( For Pictures please visit my Photo Gallery )
Useful Informations :
How to Reach - By Road : 22kms from South of Bangalore on the Anekal Road.
Lodging : Jungle lodges (kstdc) are available( Tariff Approx 800 -1200 )
Visiting hours: 9 am to 5 pm
Holiday: Closed every Tuesday
Best time : September to January