Nandankanan Biological Park

The picturesque Nandankanan or the Garden of the Gods is a beautiful park, 20 kms from the northern edge Bhubaneshwar. It sprawls over an area of 4.37 Sq.Kms of land, across the Chandaka forest where the flora and fauna flourish in their natural habitat. The park is a combination of a botanical garden, zoo and a sanctuary.

Located amidst natural forest near the banks of Kanjia Lake, Nandankanan Zoological Park derived its name from ‘Nandan Van’ literally means the Garden of the Gods or the Garden of Pleasure. Established in 29th December 1960, it was originally a biological park; later renamed as Nandankanan Zoological Park and was declared as a sanctuary on 3rd August 1979.

With facilities for boating, white tiger and lion safaris, a nocturnal animal house, reptile park, aerial rope-way and cable car, Nandankanan is the perfect place for a person with a penchant for the great outdoors. Around 14 lakhs of people visits this park in a year.

Nandankanan is the home of around 151 species of animals which includes 75 species of birds, 49 species of mammals, and 27 species of reptiles. There are also 36 species of fishes.

The major attraction of Nandankanan Sanctuary is its rare species of white tigers. The park is the only one in India with the credit of having Patas monkey, Eastern Rosella and Open-billed Stork. It is also among the 2 zoos in India having Orang-Utan, Indian Pangolin, Spotted Munia and Burmese Python and among the three zoos of India having Green-winged Macaws, Cinereous Vulture and Nicobar Pigeon. Other spectacular animals include black panthers, Barasinghas, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, India pangolin, Manipuri deer, Himalayan black bear, Orangutans, Wild Ass, Zebras etc.

The reptile park, occupied with Crocodiles, Lizards, Turtles and Snakes, has a life-size structure of tyrannosaurus at its cave like entrance. The zoo is the first captive breeding centre for endangered Gharials Crocodile.

The bird species in Nandankanan Sanctuary consists of variety of aquatic birds like Blue and Yellow Macaw, Green-winged Macaw, White Peacock, Open-billed Stork etc. Other attraction is the 34 aquaria, which is the home to a large variety of fresh water fishes.

Other added attractions of Nandankanan Sanctuary include nocturnal animal house, cable car, aerial ropeway, nature interpretation centre, Zoo library, toy train ride for the kids etc. The sanctuary offers facilities for boating and lion safaris and white tiger safari, the first of its kind in the world.

The zoo is open on all days except Mondays. The visiting hours are from :
07.30 am to 5.30 pm (April - September)
08.00 am to 5.00 pm (October to March)

Entry Fee : Rs 30/-.