In the year 1972, a mini zoo was created in the midst of the forests in the valley of the famous Champakadhama hills very close to the metropolitan city of Bengaluru. In the year 1974, it was declared as a national park. By the year 2002, the mini zoo had been upgraded to a National Biological Park. The Banerghatta National Park was created to have a biological reserve centre close to the city but the vision was expanded further to meet the ever growing recreational needs of the younger generation and develop awareness of the nature in the future generation. The conservation of the gene pool of endangered species was also added into the vision.
In the year 2003, a joint project between the Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK) with Department of Biotechnology (DoBT), Government of India was initiated under a special master plan. It was completed in the year 2007 opened for public. It was a unique project to serve as a role model for the parks trying to establish Butterfly Park, using it as a knowledge hub.
The park contains a butterfly garden, a conservatory, a research and captive breeding laboratory, a museum and some shops dedicated to conservation of the varied species of butterflies. A butterfly conservatory was especially designed with a transparent polycarbonate roof to house and conserve the butterflies. It is a huge dome shaped structure housing all requirements necessary for creating the natural habitat for the beautiful creatures all year round. Next is a museum that provides all information about the host plants and a diorama that projects documentary movies on butterflies. The museum even preserves some of the butterflies for exhibition purposes and you can learn all about their life cycles.
The butterfly park has a one kilometre long ‘Butterfly trail’ over an area of 7.5 acres that leads the visitors to the conservatory, museum and then the multi-media centre
According to a study, the Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological National Park houses 48 different species of butterflies in various seasons. Various species belonging to different families such as PapilionidaePieridae, Lycanide, Hespiridae and Nympalidae are bred in the conservatory and released periodically into the conservatory dome.
As it is India’s first of a kind park that was made with the vision of becoming a role model for various parks and recreational centres to come, it houses a lot of cool feature and stuff for enthusiasts and people in general. You can visit the park anytime, all year round. The park is climate controlled to provide better functionalities for breeding purposes. It also houses an artificial waterfall and the fauna at the park is perfect for becoming a breeding ground for the butterflies. The park is visited by nature lovers of all age and it has something for everyone. You can plan a Sunday trip for the park with your family or even go hiking or trekking with your friends. You can also go on a Safari in the national park with your friends or family if you wish.
