Wednesday 3 August 2011

Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Garden a.k.a Katraj Park

The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park is situated at Katraj in Pune (just opposite to the Katraj Dairy). I had been to this place a couple of times earlier with my parents and found that it is a likeable destination for all.
The place consists of a zoo and a snake park surrounded by trees and a lake which also gives an opportunity for boating.
The park itself is of an area of 167 acres and the lake is of 42 acre. So the place is not a small one.
One Saturday afternoon when it was raining heavily we decided to try a trip to this place.

How to go:
I stay in Kharadi so all the routes for my trips start from here. You have to go towards Magarpatta and when you come across the Hadapsar crossing, take a right towards Swargate. Go through this road (NH 9). Once you reach the Swargate bus stand signal, take a left from there and go straight on this road. Once you see the Katraj Dairy on your right, you know that you have reached. There is a paid parking on the left of the road. This is the road map for us:

Though it was raining, we did not expect a huge crowd but we were wrong. There were so many enthusiastic people. Maharashtrians do like to enjoy in the rains, no matter what.
The commercialization around the park does suggest its popularity.  There are many food stalls so eating is never a problem.
There is an entry fee of 10/- per person. We collected the ticket and entered the park.
On entering you can see a small island from where the road towards right goes to the zoo and the road to the left goes to the snake park. There is a straight road which goes to the lake.
We decided to cover the zoo first and then the snake park. There are many animals which are in good condition – a white tiger, a couple of royal bengal tigers, leopards, sloth bear, porcupine, jackal, wolf, spotted deer, black buck, antelopes, porcupine, nilgai, byson, gaur, elephants etc.
The best part of this zoo is the environment under which the animals are kept. They are not actually put into the cages, rather they are kept in open spaces with boundary walls surrounding that space. It gives you a somewhat natural feeling when you them.
These are some of the snaps of the animals.










We roamed around the whole zoo and then we headed towards the snake park. The snake park closes at 5.30 pm so better check your time before you plan a visit.

These are some of the snaps from the snake park, this is not only a snake park but also a reptile park where you can get to see various reptiles – cobra, python, viper, turtles, crocodiles, iguana etc.



After visiting the snake park, we went to visit the lake. Besides the lake there is a separate section for the birds.







This was a good half day outing, but you can also visit this place to relax. There are ample places to sit and just chill. Alternatively if you don’t like walking but need to see the zoo, there are small open cars available inside the zoo.
All in all it was a day well spent!!

11 comments:

  1. Katraj Zoo looks much better than Mumbai Byculla Zoo. Thanks for writing.

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  2. Hi Ronak..
    Don't know about the Mumbai Byculla Zoo but here the arrangements are such that it is almost guranteed that you can see the animals. But it also has its fair share of problems too - deforestation inside the park, 25 peacocks stolen overnight etc. But overall it will be a good experience.

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  3. once again hats off to you! Thanks a million once again, Regards, Katraj zoo Pune

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  4. Once upon a time, there existed the Katraj Snake Park. Then, slowly the park expanded it horizons by bringing in other animals and expanded into the Rajiv gandhi zoologicl park also known colloquially as the Katraj Zoo. The zoo also has a lake within it premises. Tourist across the seas comes here to visit the amazing location and for many travelers who prefer to stay at luxury hotel in Pune.

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  5. Pictures are very beautiful. Spread over 130 acres, the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo is divided into 3 parts, viz. a zoo, a snake park and an animal shelter. The zoo initially started as a snake park and later expanded to include other animals. It boasts of a good collection of animals from different varieties of snakes, turtles and crocodiles to elephants, black bucks and leopards. Check out more about Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park Pune.

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  7. Very nice post about Rajiv Gandhi Zoological park in Pune. Thanks for sharing about this post. Love to visit this place, really amazed to read this blog. If anyone planning to travel this place, book bus tickets in Orange Tours and Travels.

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  8. Hi all, Thanks for such a wonderful post. The Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park is situated at Katraj in Pune. Keep on posting this kind of useful post. I have visited this place twice in a year. If anyone wants to visit this place, book your tickets in Orange Tours & Travels

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