Jaipur: Nahargarh Biological Park Entry Ticket

A zoo that is mostly a forest

Nahargarh Biological Park covers 720 hectares on the Jaipur–Delhi road, twelve kilometres from the city, inside the larger Nahargarh sanctuary. It is a rescue and conservation facility rather than a traditional zoo — most of its animals came from circuses, from injury, or from conflict with villages, and the enclosures are hillside woodland rather than cages.

What is here

Asiatic lions, which exist in the wild in exactly one place on earth, the Gir forest in Gujarat, and number around 700. The breeding programmes at parks like this one are the reason there is a second basket for those eggs.

Bengal tigers, leopards, hyenas, wolves, sloth bears, crocodiles, jackals and several deer species.

The birds

This is the part most visitors do not expect. The sanctuary records over 285 species, and Ram Sagar inside the park is a known birding spot — herons, storks, kingfishers, raptors overhead, and migrants through the winter.

The one to look for is the white-naped tit, a small black-and-white bird that is endangered and is very hard to see anywhere else in India. Birders come here specifically for it.

The lion and tiger safari

A separate short vehicle safari runs inside the park through the large enclosures, which is a different thing from walking the paths. Ask at the gate; it is ticketed separately and runs on its own timings.

Practical

Allow two to three hours minimum; keen birdwatchers will want a morning.

Closed on Tuesdays. Opening hours shift between summer and winter schedules, and the animals are most active in the first and last hours of the day — the middle of a hot afternoon is the worst time to come.

There is real walking on uneven ground, and shade is patchy. Carry water, and binoculars if you have them.

This is an entry ticket. Transport to the park is not included.