Alipore Zoological Garden
The Alipore Zoological Garden (Calcutta Zoo), founded in the year 1876. It is India’s oldest zoological park covering 46.5 acres land. The Alipore Zoo is a major place for tourist attraction especially if you are in Kolkata during winter.
You must have heard about the longest living tortoise “Adwaita”? Yes Adwaita, an Aldabra Giant Tortoise, was alive for 250 years and he was a part of Alipore Zoo.
Alipore Zoo started PANTHERA HYBRID PROGRAM in 1970 resulting in producing Tigons (cross breed of Royal Bengal Tiger and African Lion) and Litigons (cross breed of Tigons and Asiatic Lion). Later on such breeding programs was banned by the Government of India after introduction of a campaign called “World Wide Fund for Nature”.
Alipore Zoo is also a home of few species that are on the verge of extinction.
The zoo has also started a scheme known as “ADOPT AN ANIMAL” in August 2013.
The scheme is especially to adopt an animal and raise funds and contribute money for its protection as well as its well being. Almost 40 animals are adopted in 2013. According to the guidelines of Central Zoo Authority Of India, the Alipore Zoo has to increase the number of open air enclosures for the comfort of the animals.
Alipore Zoo is also a major place for migratory birds. There is a wetland inside the garden where the migratory birds come in flock every year. You can see beautiful birds of different colors and origin around this marsh area especially during winter. But due to high climatic change the number of such migratory birds has been decreased.
The Alipore Zoo is the home of different animals including Royal Bengal Tiger, African Lion, Asiatic Lion, Jaguar, Hippopotamus, One Horned Rhino, reticulated giraffe, Grant’s Zebra, Indian Elephant, Leopard, White Tigers, Swamp deer, Sloth Bear, Salt Water Crocodiles, Galapagos Giant Tortoise, Cobras, Pythons, Chimpanzee, Olive Baboon, Storks, Serpents, Mynahs, Parakeets, Bulbuls, Cockatoos, Macaw Parrots, Hornbills, Pheasants, Peafowls etc. There are also particular houses for the animals including Reptile House, Primate House, Elephant House, Panther House and a Children Zoo.
The Salt Water Crocodiles resting and relaxing under the sun beside a small lake getting sun bath. You may also find few of them in the lake.
The rhino walking peacefully in the afternoon beside the marshy area where it lives.
The colorful macaws shouting loudly and their shrill voice are echoing in the full area.
They are giving a tough competition to each other to see whose voice is more thrilling and exciting. Besides giving a tough competition their affection towards each other will delight you.
Birds of different species resting and walking with their mates beside the lake especially during afternoon. Sometimes they fly from one side to other gracefully.
There you will find a lake area surrounded by storks. The storks are busy collecting fishes from the lake with their long beak. You will be mesmerized by their style and prettiness.
The Mandarin Ducks are always busy with some activities.
Sometimes they are busy floating and sometimes they are busy relaxing beside the lake.
Here comes the elephant. They are busy fighting with each other.
The most amazing part is that when any visitor throws any food they collect it in such a classy way with their long trunk.
The deer of different spices are happily
roaming inside the park.
Additionally you will find how photogenic they are. The way they walk and the way they are beautiful
will obviously amaze you. Not only that just
take a look at their long curvy colorful horns.
You definitely have to believe in God’s creation.
Refreshment:
There are many food stalls, ice cream stalls, candy floss stalls inside the park. Here you can take any refreshments and snacks when you will feel hungry. There is a beautiful garden filled with various colorful flowers. You must take a shot of the garden if you are visiting the zoo. While walking in the park you may find squirrels running over your feet.
The chirps of such wide ranges of birds all together will appear quite loud and shrill to you but you won’t regret watching them and listening to their voice.
If you are lucky enough you may also find the peacock dancing by flaunting his gorgeous bright feathers.
You can carry a camera inside the zoo and if you are into animal photography or bird photography then it’s the best place to capture their movements.
But the saddest part of the zoo is that you won’t find any lively and joyful animals.
Furthermore you can easily figure out by looking at their eyes that they areliving a stressful unhappy life. Even if you look at their cages you will see how dirty and gloomy it is. This is due to lack of space in the zoo and also due to poor management of the zoo authorities. The birds who are shouting inside the cage will give you a feeling that how distressful life they are living inside the cage as a captive. Moreover you will notice is that the animals and birds there are quite less in number and most of their houses remain empty.
BEST TIME TO VISIT:
Winter season (November- February)
| Particulars | Timing |
|---|---|
| Zoo Timings | 09 AM to 05 PM |
| Weekly Off | Thursday |
| Aquarium Timings | 10:30 AM to 5 PM |
| Weekly Off | Thursday |
| Ticket Counter Timing | 09 AM to 04:30 PM |
Alipore zoo Entry Fee:
| Particulars | Ticket Rates |
|---|---|
| Visitors above 5 years of age (Days ther than Sat, Sun and Government holidays) | 25 Rs |
| Visitors above 5 years of age (On Sat, Sun and Government holidays) | 30 Rs |
| Child below 5 years | 10 Rs |
| Aquarium Charges | 5 Rs |
| Camera Charges | Nil |
| Professional Camera Charges (Videography) | 250 Rs per Hour |
Map:
LOCATION:
2, Alipore Road, Kolkata- 700027.
HOW TO REACH:
Take the metro up to Rabindra Sadan or Jatin Das Park. Additionally from there auto or bus. Not only that but also you can also take bus route from any part of Kolkata.
What an amazing place! I love zoos! We have also a great one in Vienna!
Wow thats cool. Hope you visit this zoo someday and you will enjoy it.
I have always wanted to visit India but have never had the opportunity! If I did get to go I would definitely visit here – my niece & nephew die over animals!
Great. Then you will really have a fun time here.
Tigers are my favorite animals, so beautiful and dangerous.
Graceful it is.
I love animals, this place looks exciting. Would love to visit it!
Sure. Do visit sometime.
Fun read, I will definitely share with someone that would love this too.
Please do share and visit here sometime.
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Wow great photos! Looks and sounds like a fun place! I am always all for ice- cream too, so it would be awesome to stop and get some in the zoo after being outside all day.
Yes icecreams have the power to change your mood anytime. After full day outing when you will have it you will truly feel tireless.
I would love to visit this zoo! Maybe I can next year when I’m in Europe!
Sorry but its in Kolkata (India).
What a fun and amazing experience!!!! Your photos are amazing!!!!
Thank you and the place is much more amazing.
I would love to visit this zoo with my little boy one day!! He would love visiting this zoo so much… thanks so much for sharing your amazing photographs with us 🙂
Welcome. Your kid will definitely enjoy it.
Omg now I wanna go so bad! I lobed ur post btw
Then just pack your bags and come here. What are you waiting for😊
This post just reminded me that I have not been to the zoo in years. This zoo looks amazing and I think my son would love it. I’ll have to book a trip.
Sure. Your child will have an amazing time out here.
Amazing place. I read several articles on Kolkata destinations & I think Alipore zoo is most important among them. We can see rare species in the natural atmosphere and with a nominal fee.
Beautiful pictures. Thanks a lot for the share,
Welcome. No doubt its an amazing place. Visit here soon.
It’s always sad that look in their eyes when it’s clear they know they’re captive.
Yes thats a sad story. We also feel the same thing.
This place looks like a great way of spending free quality time!!! I will definitely give it a try!!!
Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Welcome. Do visit here anytime.
Such a beautiful post left me speechless in the end. Part of my bucket list
Thank you. Do visit here and have fun.
Zoo! This reminds me my childhood and my fascination with animals. Great post!
Thank you. Relish your childhood days visiting here.
Would love to bring my son here. He loves animals.
Sure then your child would love it.
This is one of the first zoos that I have seen where the animals actually look happy. I loved the giraffe photo, so cute. I learned a lot from the blog and if I’m ever in the area I’ll be sure to check it out.
Proper care is taken of the animals. But somehow you will feel a little sadness in their eyes being deprived from their forest life.
I’ve tried a lot to click such pics, but not able to click. I’ll be visiting Kolkata next year, so I’ll include this for sure.
Sure. Here you can easily click photographs as the animals give their poses.😊😊
Amazing animal photos:) I feel very conflicted about zoos as I think that animals should be free to roam, but I also really like seeing them and observing their behaviour. Thanks for sharing:)
Welcome. Yes its quite sad to see them inside those cages.
Oh the tiger looks so cool, it’s probably my favourite animal. 🙂
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Royal bengal tigers are too much graceful. Their style and personality is quite fascinating.😊😊
This looks like such a cool place to visit, love all of the animal photos!
Chrissie
Thank you. You can visit here to capture some pics of animals.
The tiger looks so majestic. Lovely post
Yes its style and personality will make you feel that.
I love zoos! You captured some great shots of the animals. There seems to be a really good selection of animals at Alipore Zoological Garden.
Come anytime and you can click their photographs too. It will be an amazing outing.
Tiger is one of my favorite animals. And the elephant look so cute. Your zoo look so much more fun.
Yes when you will visit here you will definitely enjoy the outing.
I loved your pictures and reading through your post! I will be visiting India in October so I will surely keep this place in mind!
Sure. Do visit here and enjoy the day with animals.😊
This is so good, house too many animals. Thank you for sharing with us. Will visit when I am there.
Its a must visit place. Amazing day out with animals and birds 😊
Wow this is beautiful. The pictures make me more anxious to visit in the future
Truly amazing. Visit here soon.
I love animals this is beautiful omg!
Then you will definitely enjoy here.
Looks like an amazing zoo. We missed going to the Zoo when we visited San Diego a few years ago and it was a disappointment for me.
Its a full day fun outing. Visit here when you are in India(Kolkata.
Wow the Mandarain ducks are absolutely stunning aren’t they? I love how bright and colourful they are and the Zoological garden looks like an educational experience for tourists and locals x
Stunning and pretty. The way they give their poses is quite amazing.
This would be a great place to take kids!!
Absolutely. Kids will definitely have much fun.
This reminiscenct of a safari
Quite true. I agree with you.
Awesome pictures! I’ll be going to the zoo in Toronto this weekend to see pandas!
Although you wont find pandas here but you will find beautiful birds and the great royal bengal tiger here.😊
I love Tigers – well any fury animal looks just so cute! and that baby giraffe? Oh my!!! Zoos are great places for kids 🙂
Kids enjoy a lot in the zoos and these cute animals make the place much more fascinating.
what a diverse collection of animals
Exactly.
I love all kinds of animals just not a snake. lol! I would love to visit here.
Then visit here soon. You will have fun.
woow i love this article. thaks alot i really love nature
Welcome. This zoo is a great home for animals too.
Great pictures, I absolutely love zoo’s so I’d definitely go here if I was in the area x
Come here once. You will enjoy the outing.
I didn’t know there was a Zoo in Kolkata. I’ve been reading your blog posts, and I feel there is so much to see in Kolkata. Looks like a place to visit.
Definitely. Great place for a trip and there are so many amazing places to visit.
Wow! This looks a very prestigious zoo for being the house to Adwaita. I admire their scheme of adopting an animal.
This scheme is totally different and this is a great step to keep the animals safe.
India is definitely on my bucket list.
So visit here soon. And when you are in India dont forget to visit Kolkata.
It is sad that animals are stuck in zoos. I’d much rather see them in a sanctuary or in the wild.
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We also feel the same thing. But at the same time they are protected from the animal poachers hunters.
Oh what a beautiful place. I love taking a nice walk and watch animals!
Then this a great place where you can hangout have fun while watching animals.
The animals are so beautiful! It would be wonderful to visit one day. At our zoo in Canada we have polar bears!
Although we dont have polar bears here but you can spend your time watching the elegant royal bengal tiger.
Oh my goodness you took some AMAZING photos! You really brought the experience to the page with those! Keep it up
Thank you. Hope you liked it.
Love the setup of your review. I also can’t go past the giraffe doing yoga – so cute
Its too cute to watch the giraffe in yoga pose😊
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Zoo’s are a terrible place. Any animal that is captive is miserable. I was so happy when the Circus disbanded. Now I have lots of respect for animal welfare organizations and habitats. Rehab and release unless an animal wouldn’t make it in the wild.
Yes but still they are safe from the hands of animal poachers and our zoo is taking the adopt scheme where animals are took care of much more.
These animals are soooo cute! I haven’t been to the zoo in a while and your post just made me want to visit it sooo badly! Places like this give us a rare chance to admire so many stunning species.
Yes visit here soon and you will definitely enjoy.
My kids love going to the zoo! I love the vivid pictures and the details about the animals. As much as we love these animals in zoos, it is sad to see them unhappy.
We also feel the same thing when we see that in their eyes. Still alipore zoo has a great collection of animals which kids will definitely enjoy.
Oh I LOVE zoos. I laughed at your comment about the giraffe doing yoga 🙂 What kind of camera do you use? Your pictures are so crisp and clear!
I use DSLR camera.
Wow, what an amazing place! My hubby and I would certainly enjoy going there! We have some wildlife parks in Maine, but nothing like this! Thanks for sharing the information AND the great photos!
Sure do come both of you and spend some time with these cute animals.
Each zoo has its own personality and features the amazing animal world a little differently. I’d love to see the Alipore Zoological Garden in person. The birds sound incredible!
Amazing collection of birds and you will go crazy when they shout
Looks like a very beautiful place. I wish I had a zoo to go to that was close by but mine is an hour away.
Truly beautiful it is. Visit here when you are in India (Kolkata).
My three-year-old son is a big fan of Zoos. So much so that we have now seen over ten Zoos. Hopefully Alipore will be his eleventh!
Wow thats cool. Bring your son here he will have much fun.
What a lovely place! I live in Macedonia and our zoo is nowhere near like this one.
Alipore zoo is much unique. Visit here anytime and you will definitely have fun.
This post has reminded me that I need to take my kids to the Zoo this summer. Lovely photos you got here.
Sure. Kids will enjoy here.
as much as i hate zoos it is important to some endangered species and that it helping those animals that actually need it.
and it helps educate everyone on whats out there
Yes I also feel the same thing. They are some what protected from the hands of hunters and animal poachers. May be there are sad and leading the life of a captive still they are alive.
Is photography allowed in the Zoo? I see that most of your photos are high resolution, what camera do you use?
Yes photography is allowed inside. I use Nikon D5100 along with 18-55 mm and 55-300 mm lens. 🙂
I love going to zoos and seeing animals and this one looks great! I love the Mandarin ducks, they’re so pretty!
Yes so beautiful they are. 😊 Visit here soon and enjoy watching them.
Ohh looks like a fun place to be for the kids! Unfortunally we never went to Calcutta but if we pass by there one day I will definetly take my daughter there!
Sure please come here and enjoy with your kids.
Oh wow what a great looking zoo with a large range of animals to go and see. I love your photos they’re so clear.
Thank you. Yes alipore zoo has a large collection of beautiful animals and you will be amazed by their activities.
Thank you. Visit here soon.
I absolutely love going to the zoo and seeing all the beautiful animals. Some animals are more intelligent than we give them credit for.
Yes much intelligent than us.
This Alipore zoo looks quite impressive as zoo’s go. I’m not a huge fan of zoo’s but I must say the animals in your fab photograph’s look pretty happy and contented. My favourite is that fabulous peacock.
The peacock looked so lovely when it was flaunting his feathers. Amazing it was.
I love all of these photos, I love animals so much! The photo of the peacock, the vibrancy of the colors, really caught my attention!
Amazing beauty I think. And you have to be lucky enough to see the peacock flaunting his feathers.
The photos are beautiful, it’s such a shame that the animals don’t have a better life. I’m not a huge fan of zoos, I don’t think it’s fair but I understand sometimes keeping animals in captivity for breeding but still…
We are also against animals in captivity but somehow they are safe from the hands of animal poachers.
I love that this isn’t your typical zoo! Wonderful pics and awesome information! Thank you!
Welcome. Truly awesome zoo.
I love animals so much and zoos sometimes make me a bit sad, these animals look so well taken care of though. I LOVE the peacock, my favorite animal.
Yes thats a positive point. Animals are taken well care of. Whereas most of the zoos doesnt even care for the animals. Neither they provide them with proper food and water nor a proper clean shelter. This is the story of most of the zoos.
I’m a little confused here,you are pushing the zoo on one hand and then point out how poorly it is run and how unhappy the animals are. Based on your blog,this is not a zoo I would want to go to.
I did enjoy your pictures how ever…..
Yes its an amazing zoo no doubt with a great collection of animals. But zoo is a place where all animals are imprisoned and you will feel it also looking into their eyes. At the same time animals are safe from the hunters in the zoo. They are protected here. They are taken proper care of.
Nice articles thanks for sharing us.
Welcome. Hope you liked it.
This Alipore zoo looks so quite impressive. I would love to visit this kind of zoo, I really love to see animals. I am much interested in peacock dancing in the rain by flaunting his gorgeous bright feathers. Looks so cool!!
And you have to be lucky enough to see this amazing thing.
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Very great zoo. I will be visit at there. It’s really fun to visit at there.
Yes you will definitely have fun.