Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park

Views:

India /West Bengal /Darjeeling /Darjeeling

Sight Address : Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park is located Jawahar Parbat, Darjeeling, West Bengal Edit

Detail InformationEdit

Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park is the only specialized Zoo in the country and is internationally recognized for its conservation breeding programmes of Red Panda, Snow Leopards, Tibetan Wolf and other highly endangered animal species of Eastern Himalaya. It was formerly known as Himalayan Zoological Park and was established on 14th August, 1958 in Darjeeling (West Bengal) as a joint venture of Govt. of India (Department of Science and Technology) and Govt. of West Bengal (Department of Education). In January, 1972, the Park was converted into a registered Society under West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 with an understanding that the maintenance cost of the zoo will be shared by the Center and State Governments. The Society in May, 1993 was transferred to Department of Forests, Govt. of West Bengal. At the Govt. of India level the Zoological Park is under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Zoological Park is striving for the maintenance of ecological balance in the Eastern Himalayas with the following objectives:Ex-situ Conservation and Captive Breeding of endangered Himalayan animal species.Educating, motivating and initiating awareness campaign among the local people as well as visitors on the importance of conservation of Himalayan Eco-system.Initiating applied research on animal biology, behavior and health care.The Zoological Park falls under the category of small zoos as per Central Zoo Authority’s classification but is the largest high altitude zoo in the country (India).

Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park. Darjeeling

HistoryEdit

In 1975, Late Smt. Indira Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India dedicated the Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling in Memory of Late Smt. Padmaja Naidu, ex-governor of West Bengal. The Zoo was re-named as Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park.

Must SeeEdit

Attraction

Visiting TimeEdit

8:30 am to 4 pm

Closed OnEdit

Thursdays

Best Season to VisitEdit

Winter (December to January)
Spring (February to March)
Summer (April to June)
Autumn (September to November)

Best Time To VisitEdit

Morning , Afternoon .

Time Required for SightseeingEdit

N.A.

Ticket Required : Yes Edit

Individual National Adult Rs. : Rs30

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Individual Foreigner Adult Rs. : Rs.100

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Still Photo Camera Rs. : 10 per camera.

Video Camera Rs. : 0

Guide Required : No Edit

Approximate cost: N.A.

Dress Code (If Any) : No Edit

Dress Require: N.A.

Restaurants NearbyAdd / Edit

N.A. ; N.A. ; Ph/M – N.A. ; Food Serve – N.A.

How to ReachEdit

Taxi : Intra-city transport is mostly by hired taxis. The private taxis or cars are essentially of two types – small cars like Maruti Vans or Santros, and large ones like Scorpio, Tata Sumo etc. While you can always take a private taxi/car from outside the station or airport, negotiate the rates and move for Darjeeling, it is always advisable to take one from the Pre-Paid taxi counters located inside the station and the airport.

Bus : You will get buses only from the Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus located on Hill Cart Road in Siliguri. It is about 8kms from NJP station. The usual route is by Hill Cart Road and the travel duration is about 4 hours. Bus fare from Siliguri to Darjeeling Via Hill Cart Road: Rs. 50.00 per person Bus fare from Siliguri to Darjeeling Via Mongpu: Rs. 80.00 per person. The Mongpu route is taken in case the Hill Cart Road is closed. After getting down at the bus stop, you can take an auto-rickshaw, or hire a taxi to reach the destination within the city.

Train : New Jalpaiguri is the nearest major railway station. New Jalpaiguri is well connected to major Indian cities, especially Kolkata. The diesel engine hauled toy train leaves NJP station at 9am and takes about 7 hours 15 minutes to reach Darjeeling. You can also board the train from Siliguri Town Station or Siliguri Junction Station that are 5kms and 8kms away from NJP respectively. There are also toy trains available from Siliguri Junction and Darjeeling for joy rides. These are steam engine hauled toy trains. Check out Darjeeling Toy Train Services for current status and schedules.
NJP to Darjeeling (1st Class): Not operational since Sept 2010 due to track damage
NJP to Darjeeling (2nd Class): Not operational since Sept 2010 due to track damage
Darjeeling to Ghoom & back Joy Ride (First Class): Rs. 270.00 per person if booked through IRCTC website. This two hours ride includes entry fee for the DHR Museum at Ghoom.
Siliguri Junction Station to Tindharia & back Joy Ride: Rs. 496.00 per person. After getting down at the railway station, you can take an auto-rickshaw, bus or hire a taxi to reach the destination within the city.

Air : Darjeeling does not have an airstrip. The nearest airport is Bagdogra airport (IXB), near Siliguri, which is a 3-hour (approx. 90 km) drive from Darjeeling. Indian, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are the three major carriers that fly to Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati from Bagdogra. Indian Airlines (2254230; Chowrasta) (10am-5.30pm Mon-Sat). Pineridge Travels (2253912; pineridge@mail.com; Nehru Rd; h10am-5pm Mon-Sat) For domestic and international flight tickets. After getting down at the airport, you can take an auto-rickshaw, bus or hire a taxi to reach the destination within the city.

Others : Toy train are also available for this destination.

Things to CarryEdit

Carry bottle of drinking water.Sun-screen, sun glasses, tissue-rolls, roll of duct-tape, extra batteries, torchlight, water, energy-bars are ‘must-carry’ along with a First-aid kit.
•Medicines to carry when you are travelling to a new place or when you’re away from home town (which must be approved and prescribed by your physician or medical practitioner) are:
• Painkillers
• Anti-inflammatory
• Wide-spectrum antibiotic
• Anti-diarrhea
• Anti-constipation pills
• Mild sleeping pills – just in case you feel very overwhelmed by the altitude and atmosphere because of which you are unable to sleep.