This botanic garden is commonly known as Kolkata (or Calcutta) botanic garden (despite of not being located in Kolkata). Previously this magnificent botanic garden was known as Indian botanic garden, and also Royal botanic garden, Calcutta. The size of the garden is approximately 270 acres. This is located in Shibpur, Howrah (beside the famous river Hooghly). It was established in 1786 by Colonel Robert Kyd who was a British army officer. Recently, in 2009 this was renamed as Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden after the famous Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose.
The Great Banyan tree:
Although the Kolkata botanic garden hosts numerous species of plants, but the main attraction is the huge Banyan tree (which is believed to be a 250 years of old). The circumference of the tree is approximately 330 meter. The main trunk of the plant diseased after a cyclone incident in 1925. But the plant living on other hundreds of trunks (which might be considered as a separate tree). More about that Banyan tree can be found in wikipedia.
Plants and Ponds:
There are numerous plants can be seen inside the botanic garden. Although most of them are not having any nameplates, which makes it hard to know about the plants. There are plenty of tall trees inside the garden which looks like a forest. You could walk through the provided paths and feel like walking through the forest. There are several ponds located inside the garden too. Was expecting to see more waterlilies and lotus flowers, but was dissatisfied after exploring. Mostly I saw the water hyacinth in the ponds. But it was lovely to see the water birds like Jacana or Waterhen hopping over those.
Nice place for birdwatchers:
Kolkata botanic garden is a nice place to watch for birds (if you are a bird lover). Having plenty of trees and also slightly isolated from the city crowd this place is a heaven for the birds. Although most of the birds are common garden birds. During my visit I’ve seen Kite, Jungle babbler, Black hooded oriole, Greater coucal, Yellow footed pigeon, Striated barbet, Waterhen, Bronzed winged jacana, etc. Apart from the birds and flowering plants this botanic garden has other species like squirrel, foxes, mongooses, and several different types of snakes.
It is beside the famous river Hooghly:
The view from the River Hooghly would be a nice option. But for some interesting reason the authority put a barricade (or boundary) between the garden and the river. So it is really hard to see the beauty of the river. If you really want to see you have to look through the iron fence of the garden. There are also several sculptures and statues inside the garden. The famous Roxburgh monument is also inside there.
Popular dating destination:
Kolkata botanic garden is a popular destination for the dating couples. You’d see plenty of them dating here and there inside the garden. The good thing is that they don’t disturb anybody. While I was there it was raining heavily for more than an hour. So was sitting inside a shelter with other local people. It was a nice opportunity to talk to them listen from them.
I’ve had a chance to visit the garden couple of times. One during September and another one during January. Didn’t find that much difference other than different flowers were blooming. Another difference was the cold of wintery January and the rain of September.
How to Go:
Best option to go near the Kolkata botanical garden is using a taxi. Because it is not connected with a public transport which a tourist would use very easily. The nearest railway station nearby is the Shalimar station. But that is also not well connected with Kolkata main station. You can drive by your own if you have your own vehicle (or a hired one). GPS coordinate of the botanic garden is (22°33’29.1″N 88°17’31.6″E).
Opening and closing time:
Kolkata botanical garden is closed during Monday. And all other weekdays it remains open from 10:00am to 5:00pm.
Entry fee:
The entry fee for the Indian national is only 10 INR (plus you have to pay additionally for the camera). For the foreign national the fee is 100 INR.
Where to stay
Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal. That’s why you’d find plenty of high or low quality hotels around. And most of the hotels are available to book through online. I’ve stayed in a cheap hotel (probably named Hotel oriental, and rent was 1000 rupees). You can find list of hotels from Kolkata from this link. Just an FYI, not all hotels from Kolkata can accept foreign guest as they need to maintain some sort of minimum standard and formalities.
Things to ponder:
– This botanic garden is a no plastic zone. So don’t drop anything inside.
– You are not allowed to carry your own food inside.
– This garden is so huge that you won’t be able to cover everything in a single day by walking. Think about coming back again if you love botanical garden.
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden,
Shibpur,
Howrah,
West Bengal,
Country: India,
GPS Coordinate (22°33’29.1″N 88°17’31.6″E).
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog https://www.alonelytraveler.com/
Saturday, 19 sept 2015,
Friday, 15 January 2016
