Palms and palaces in Cubbon Park
The green lung of Bangalore – with deciduous trees, bamboo forests, footpaths, a lotus pond, lawns and flowerbeds – was created in 1870. Since 1927, the park was officially named after the former maharaja, but it is better known as Cubbon Park, named after the longest-serving British Commissioner. The park is full of statues of colonists and queens, in addition to Neoclassical government buildings like the state parliament, supreme court, central library and three museums. Kids can enjoy a duck pond, rowing lake and train.
The greenhouse is the crown jewel of Lalbagh
Botanical gardens full of exotic flora
Lalbagh means ‘The Red Garden’ and for good reason. In 1760, Sultan Haider Ali commissioned the construction of the garden, which his son Tipu Sultan completed. The garden is home to 1,800 species of tropical and exotic plants and trees, including Papillionous flowers, Laburnum, Syzygium, talipot palms, cucumber trees and cannonball trees. The showpiece of the botanical gardens neither grows nor blossoms, but is a diamond-shaped greenhouse inspired by the Crystal Palace in London, which burned to the ground in 1936.
White tigers in Bannerghatta National Park
National park full of exotic fauna
Bengalese and white tigers, lions, panthers, bears, bison, deer and elephants: there is no shortage of wild animals at the largest and most recent ‘green’ addition to the list. One hundred square kilometres in size, the Bannerghatta was declared a national park in 1974, four years after its establishment. It includes a zoo with butterfly enclosure, crocodile pond and snake park, rescue centre for circus animals and a safari park that can be explored by jeep. It is also possible to spend the night in the jungle camp in a cabin or safari tent.
