Living in Bangalore and not visiting the Bannerghatta NP would be a missed opportunity. For that matter even if you are visiting Bangalore , would be good to take a day out and spent it at the NP. It lies approx. 25 km south of Bangalore . By and large it met my expectations.
This time around I decided to take a bus to reach the NP as the bus would terminate right in front of the park. Takes away the pressure of driving in the chaotic traffic which Bangalore is riddled with.
My partner in crime , this time around as well was my husband. We took Volvo passes (cost Rs 140 each). They check an identity proof at the time of issuing one , so make sure you carry one.
Buses boarded :
Kadugodi to ITPL (335 E)
ITPL to Jayadeva Hospital (500 CA)
Jayadeva to Bannerghatta Park (365)
These are all comfortable buses to ride. They are all air conditioned.
Even if you are driving in your own vehicle there is ample parking space available, A parking fee, of course , is applicable.
We had already booked the tickets online to avoid standing in the queue.
This can be done here :
Bannerghatta web site
Payment details were as follows ;
Zoo Rs 80
Safari Rs 180
Butterfly Park Rs 30
Still camera 25
Service charge Rs 5
Total cost per person came to : 320 (per person ).
These charges seem reasonable to me.
We started our journey at about 8:30 AM and reached the park at about 10:45 AM.
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| The place where the bus drops you |
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| Main entry point which houses shops,cafe which lead to NP |
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These are handmade wooden toys from Channapatna
The origin of these toys can be traced to the reign of Tipu Sultan who invited artisans from Persia to train the local artisans in the making of wooden toys.School Bavas Miyan is the father of Channapatna Toy. He is the one to sacrifice his life for channapatna toys. He adopted Japanese technology for toys making and help the local artisans improve there art . For nearly two centuries, ivory-wood was the main wood used in the making of these toys, though rosewood and sandalwood were also occasionally used.(Wiki)
I have bought a couple of items while travelling through Channapatna town on the way to Mysore. There are small dolls, kitchen utensils, key chains etc which are made out of ordinary wood these days |
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| Walk further down toward the NP |
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| Safari buses all queued up to depart at 11 AM onwards |
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| Walk on.... |
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| About to reach the entry point |
The ticket is checked at the entry point. We got ours stamped for the Safari and moved on.
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| Left for the safari and towards the right is the zoo |
The NP has 3 main zones :
1. Safari
2. Zoo
3. Butterfly park
The park is closed on Tuesdays.
The timing for the park is 9 AM to 5 PM. The safari wraps up half an hour earlier by 4 : 30 PM.
I would suggest reaching the park around 11 AM. This is when the safari starts. This assuming you have already booked the tickets online. If not, reach a bit earlier to beat the queue. If booking online take about 2 copies of the printout. Though i used up only 1, second one was just a back up. They will stamp the area visited and return the printout to you.
I first hopped onto the safari at around 11 AM. This lasted for about an hour. They drop you right outside the Butterfly park which was the second place I visited. This took about 2 hours as we found a guide who took us around and explained things to us. Very informative. By the time we finished , it was almost lunch time. We went to the cafe and had dosa and coffee. Post this was time for the zoo visit . We wrapped by around 4 PM and headed back home. The same bus numbers got reversed.
I cherish this visit and hold it close to my heart. I love animals, birds and so for me there is no scope of finding any faults with the park.
Please remember that the park is a Plastic free zone. Respect this and do not litter.
There is an air conditioned bus safari also available.
I will cover the Butterfly Park in the next blog followed by the safari and the zoo visit clubbed as one blog.
