Padmaja Naidu Himalayan zoological park

4.4

Location: Darjeeling – Jorethang Rd, near Birch Hill Resort, Jawahar Parbat, Darjeeling, West Bengal 734101, India.

Estimated Visiting Time: Maximum 3-4 hours.

Dilip Kumar Dey is the founder of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Park. He was also the first director of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Park. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan zoological park is a 67.56-acre zoo in the town of Darjeeling and this park is also known as Darjeeling zoo.

The park is specialized in breeding programs. Here breeding animals adapted to alpine conditions and this park has breeding programs for the “Snow Leopard”, “Himalayan Wolf”, “Red Panda”, “Clouded Leopard”, and other highly endangered animal species of Eastern Himalaya. The park is known as the largest high-altitude zoo in India. This park is opened in 1958 and It was established to preserve and study Himalayan Fauna. The Darjeeling park is named after Padmaja Naidu, the former Governor of West Bengal and daughter of Sarojini Naidu.

Attraction

This park has so many animals of rare species among whom “Red Panda” is the most notable one. The park has a huge variety of Flora. There are almost 200 species of plants and Trees, Climbers, Shrubs, Medicinal, etc. Almost 60 varieties of Orchids are also available in this place. Some Oak trees are more than 100 years old and according to the 2006 census, the number of animals of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Park is 156.

And all these things attracted all the visitors very much.

In this place there are so many nearby attractive places and here is a list of these places:

History

The bear is walking

On 14th August 1958, a zoo was established to study and preserve Himalayan Fauna. The venture was taken under the Department of Education of the Government of West Bengal and Dilip Kumar Dey, the founder of the present zoological park and first director of the zoo wanted to establish a high-altitude zoological park that will be specialized in Himalayan Flora and Fauna. In 1960, The Park has established a pair of Siberian tigers, presented to the Government of India by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. This park became a registered society in 1972 and then in 1933, the park was transferred to the West Bengal Department of Forests. Indira Gandhi visited the park and renamed it after Padmaja Naidu in 1975.

Inside/Outside Views

Picture of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park

The layout of this zoo has been made such that it somewhat imitates the living conditions of the alpine animals that are bred here and as you enter Through the main gate, you are welcomed with a huge aviary that houses many different kinds of birds such as Hill Mynas, Rose Ring, Parakeets, Ring-Necked Pheasants, and Blue Gold Macaw.S o roads span in every direction possible. If you take the straight road uphill, you will see a flight of stairs that are supposed to be taken on your journey back and not into the zoo.

Once you reach the bottom of this zoo near the aviary, you will be able to see the red panda Conservation section, and among other animals that you can see on this stretch are Sambar Deer, Barking Deer, Blue Sheep, Himalayan Tahr.

The overview of this place is so beautiful and you cannot take off your eyes from this place.

Opening Hours

During summer: 8.30 am – 4.30 pm (open all days except Thursday)

During winter: 8.30 am – 4.00 pm (open all days except Thursday)

Entry & Others Fees

Entry and other fees of this place are:

₹30 per person (for Indians)
₹100 per person (for Foreigners)
₹10 (for still camera)

Near Restaurants

Nearly restaurants in this place are:

Near Hotels

The nearest hotels from this place are:

There are also so many hotels available for booking.

How to Reach

By Rail: The park is only 1.2 kilometers away from the Darjeeling Railway Station. Take a shared taxi which will take 10 rupees or walk for 20 minutes.

By Air: Bagdogra Airport is the Nearest Airport which is 72.5km away from the park

By Road:

Taxi: It will take 1h 5m to reach the spot. ($40-$50 taxi fees).

Town car: It will also take 1h 5m. ($29-$45 fees).

Drive: It will take 1h 5m. ($7-$11 fees).