Botanic Garden Howrah and the Great Banyan tree

Quick overview:

Location:

Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur,

Howrah, West Bengal 711103

Best Season to Visit:

Winter is preferable but you can visit here in any season.

Entry Fee:

Indian Nationals: INR 10,

Foreigners: INR 100,

Camera: INR 20

The annual membership fee for all cardholding daily walkers is INR 200.

Garden Timing:

10:00 a.m.  to 19:00 p.m.

Time required: 

2-3 hours

Best for:

Nature lovers, Photographers, Botanists

Not allowed inside:

• Plastic elements like plastic carry bag.
• Outside Foods and drinks, however foods and drinks are available in stalls inside.

Tip:

The garden is too large to be covered on foot and a guide Will be required if you wish to know peculiarities of the plants.  You can book a six-seater vehicle at the entrance of the garden which will take you through the entire botanical garden.  The driver stops at various locations and explains details about the different plants.

Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden is better known as Botanical Garden.  This Botanical Garden is currently under the supervision of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

Attractions:

The city of Kolkata on one side of the Hooghly River and the city of Howrah on the other.  The Botanic Garden is located in the city of Howrah, not far from Kolkata.  Although many rare species of trees are found in this botanical garden, Howrah Botanic Garden is famous for the 250 year old The Great Banyan tree.  Due to this many foreign tourists also come to visit this garden.  Click here to learn more about this giant banyan tree.

Not just this banyan tree.  The Howrah Botanic Garden is home to 12,000 living perennial plants as well as thousands of dried out plants which have been collected from all across the globe.  Thousands of astounding orchids and multicolored flowers can also be found in the garden.  Plants found here include mango trees, banyan trees, tamarind trees, Cuban Palms, mahogany trees, multi-hued bamboo trees, coconut trees from Sicily, the mad tree, orchids, branching palms trees from Brazil, various kinds of cacti  , Bougainvillea, Bamboos, Citrus, Pandanus, Jasmine, Water Lilies, Ferns, Creepers, Ficus, Hibiscus and a range of other aquatic, floricultural and arboriculture plants are notable.  Also Rare species of trees that have been specially brought in from Nepal, Malaysia, Java, Brazil, Sumatra and Sicily among other places can also be found here.

 If you are not very knowledgeable about trees, you can still visit this vast Botanic Garden.  Who will not like to walk around in the lap of nature for a day.  If you come here, you will understand that a piece of forest in the middle of the city still survives today.  In addition to trees, forest-like biodiversity can be seen here.  Such as- different species of snakes, foxes, bats, etc.  In addition, the artificial lakes here add to the beauty of the park.

How to reach:

One can easily take a private car or a taxi to the Garden.  The Botanic Garden is located on the Howrah side of the Hooghly River on the West Side of the Kolkata City Center in West Bengal state of India.  It is advised to travel to it via a private vehicle or a cab.  You can even hop on to a bus which says "B Garden" and it will drop you at the entrance to the garden.

There is no metro stops or other public transport alternatives that will drop you at or near the Botanic Garden.

If you're wondering about trains, the nearest Railway Station is Shalimar.  However, it is not well connected with Kolkata's suburban rail network and only links to Santraganchi Railway Station.  It does, however, connect to a few places outside the city.