Have you ever experienced this? When you step into an empty bus, you often have no clue which window seat you want to pick. You scramble around for a while before you make a decision. Well, that is exactly what happened to us after we settled into our comfortable Airbnb homestay in Udaipur. While we had done our research we were not sure where to head first. Since I and Sarah are nature lovers, our obvious choice was Sajjangarh Biological Park.
Generally, most tourists would head to the City Palace, which is the most popular attraction in Udaipur. However, we were in no mood to rush. Also, we thought it would be best to cover City Palace as the final chapter of our journey.
After we had our breakfast we booked our Uber ride and we were off to our officially first attraction in Udaipur. Nestled in the foothills of the Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace, this zoological garden is a perfect treat for nature and animal lovers. In fact, we rate it as the best attraction in Udaipur. A must recommend.
Also, if you are visiting Udaipur on your winter honeymoon in India trip you can always come here. It allows you to explore the nature and the scenic view of this place especially during the morning hours.
The park is located 4 kilometers from the city center, but Uber rides can drop you here in less than 15 minutes. It covers an area of 36 hectares (around 90 acres) and therefore there is plenty of nature and animals that you can see here. The purpose of the park is to offer protection to some of the important and endangered species in India and the world.
The park was built in 2015 at the cost of 217 million Indian Rupees. This project is a unique collaboration between Rajasthan State Road Development and Construction Corporation Ltd that executed the civil construction works. Public Works Department contributed in developing the service roads while the Forest Department managed forestry works.
When you arrive here you see this massive entry gate which is also an entry gate to the Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace. Basically, the left-side entry is for the park and the right side entry is for the palace on the top of the mountain.
So, if you are first timers like us and if you want to visit Sajjangarh Biological Park first you need to get down at this gate. On the right hand side of the main gate you’ll see a ticket counter (not visible in the picture). You may ask for the park ticket window and the officials will guide you. You buy your park tickets and then enter through the left-side gate.
Sajjangarh Biological Park Timings:
For Winter Months: (October 21 – March 15) – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For Summer Months: (March 16 – October 20) – 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Note: Closed on Tuesdays
Sajjagarh Biological Park Fee:
Adult: Rs. 30 / Foreign Tourist: Rs. 300 (US$4) (3.5 Euros) (3.1 GBP)
Camera Fee: Rs. 80 / Professional Video Camera Fee: Rs. 200
The park also provides golf cart rides (Rs. 50 per person for 90 mins) for those who don’t want to cover the park on foot.
Right on the entry gate you have all the instructions and guidelines and the map. Most tourists would skip it, but the information provided is good and enhances your wildlife tour experience.
The moment you step into the park it is a whole new world altogether. Tiled pathways and lush greenery on both ends offer you a great experience. In a matter of seconds, the chirping of birds and the rustling of the leaves replace the urban cacophony.
The park offers many tiny surprises and therefore you need to be attentive. You have to look around for the birds and squirrels that are busy with their routine of picking food. The park is clean and well maintained which adds to the overall experience.
The best part about the Sajjangarh Biological Park is that it is at the foothills of the mountain. Hence, you feel like you are exploring wildlife on a mountain. A clean and well maintained mountain I must say.
Animals have plenty of space to move around freely. The authorities have done a commendable work on providing them a natural environment within the enclosures. The park has its own hospital and nutrition center for the animals. It is also CCTV monitored which adds an extra layer of security.
Apart from all this, Sajjangarh Biological Park has plenty of spots where you can take a break. You can observe the mountain and the flora and listen to the voices of the nature in the background. There are ample drinking water facilities to ensure you never dehydrate when you are on foot. The park also has clean toilets. If you are hungry you can head to the canteen for some quick bites. There are wheelchairs available for physically handicapped visitors.
Photo Tour below:
Few Tips You Should Keep in Mind:
- Visit the park in the early morning hours. By afternoon hours, most of the animals are far away escaping the heat or probably resting.
- Have a good breakfast before you leave your home or hotel, especially if you are going to walk in the park. Since you will be walking up and down the slope you need the right stamina.
- Always wear a cap or hat. Wear full-sleeve clothes to avoid sunburn.
- Carry water bottles to hydrate and replenish your body. Also, you can carry protein bars and other snack items to ensure you are not hungry. The park has clean toilets so you are covered.
- If you plan to walk a good pair of footwear would allow you comfort and convenience.
- The park tour on foot can take around 3-4 hours, if you really want to experience its beauty. So, plan accordingly.
- Don’t litter in the park and don’t feed the animals.
- The park is closed on Tuesdays. It receives plenty of visitors on weekends, so plan it as per your convenience.
- Take a picture of the park map on your mobile device because that way you can always refer it as you walk.
- Stay light, if you’re going to head up to the Monsoon Palace after the park tour.
4 comments
Wow, guys! I never had any idea that there could be parts of Rajasthan so green, lush and beautiful. Thanks for breaking the stereotypes of dry desserts and camels. Also loved the fact that you guys are making use of videos and hope that some day we will see full fledged video blogs from your platform.
P.S: Would love to know about what was your total budget and actual expenses of this trip, that would help people like us to plan our trip. 😉 Love you guys!
Hey Ashish. Thank you for taking the time out for the comment and reading the blog post. Honestly, we had no idea Udaipur will be so green and beautiful. In fact, it was quite cold and pleasant as well. The total cost of our trip was somewhere around Rs. 35k (excluding shopping) for 10 days. This includes train tickets, Uber rides, food, attraction tickets, Airbnb homestay and other minor miscellaneous expenses. Also, the cost would depend on where you are staying, things you shop and how you plan your daily activities. If you plan it wrong, the cost can quickly escalate. Maybe I should write a post on how to plan trip to Udaipur and add my tips?
Thanks for taking us along on the tour. I love seeing animals in real/close-to-real settings. You and Sarah look pretty good. too. Sorry to be stopping by so late. I wanted to wait until I had a larger screen to view the photos.
I’m glad that you visited the page. We had really worked hard on this particular day to take pictures of the animals. I got tanned plus I was carrying 3 lbs monopod along throughout the day. This was just half the tour of that particular day because the remaining tour will come up in the next post on Monsoon Palace. Thank you for your comment, Dan.