List of Prominent Gardens in India

India as a country has a diverse topography and wealthy cultural heritage. It is home to many beautiful monuments, enchanting fortresses, and luxurious gardens. Most of these parks and gardens in India are attributed to Mughal Emperors.

But lately with urbanization and awareness cities are opening more parks and blooming gardens in India. This is done to preserve the ecosystem, praise the architecture, and provide a soothing escape from the city.

This is the list of prominent gardens of India which are relevant for competitive exams. Here is the list –

List of prominent Gardens in India

1. Auroville Botanical Gardens – Auroville, Tamil Nadu

It came into existence in 2000. It is a 50-acre cashew land with more than 310 tree species. The Conservation and preservation of the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest made this area a botanical garden to save it from real estate construction.

It also promotes land management and environmental education at this location.

2. Sim’s Park – Coonoor, Tamil Nadu

It came into existence in 1874 by the efforts of Major Murray. It covers 29 acres of land with more than 1000 species of plants. This park has a tropical mountain climate suitable for growing trees and flowers. It is 1780 metres above sea level. It hosts annual fruit and vegetable shows every year in May.

3. Government Botanical Garden – Ooty, Tamil Nadu

William Graham McIvor is the architect behind this botanical garden. It came into existence in 1847. It has six sections called – Lower Garden, New Garden, Italian Garden, Conservatory, Fountain Terrace, and Nurseries.

This park also has a 20 million years old tree trunk at the center. It comes under Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department and covers 135 acres of land.

4. Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden – Kolkata, West Bengal

It came into existence in 1787 with the efforts of the East India Company. The purpose was to get herbs trade benefits from it. It comes under the Botanical Survey of India. Royal Botanical Garden and Indian Botanic Gardens are its previous names.

The name changed to Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden in 2009. It is a 269 acres land with 1200 tree specimens. One of the largest banyan trees in India is here.

5. Lloyd’s Botanical Garden – Darjeeling, West Bengal

William Lyod gave his land to establish this botanical garden in 1878. It follows a flowering calendar of orchids according to seasons. It has more than 150 species of succulents covering 40 acres of land. This park preserves many other rare plant species. It is one of the main tourist attractions of Darjeeling.

6. Rock Garden – Darjeeling, West Bengal

The Britishers built this area in 1835 and introduced tea gardens as well. It covers 2471 acres of land with rock structures, lakes, fountains, and a variety of plants.

This park is again one of the main tourist attractions of Darjeeling. It has been under Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council (DGAHC) since 1988.

7. Brindavan Garden – Mysore, Karnataka

The diwan of Mysore established this garden in 1932 near Krishnarajasagara Dam. It is a tourist attraction with 3 terraces of flowers, fountains, and trees.

The government of Karnataka enterprise is responsible for the maintenance of this garden. It is famous for its beautiful structure and musical fountain.

8. Pilikula Botanical Garden – Mangalore, Karnataka

It is part of the Pilikula Nisargadhama and the garden alone covers 86 acres of land. There are around 236 varieties of flowering plants here. It also has more than 460 varieties of medicinal plants with 9 aquatic ponds. It comes under the District Administration of Dakshina Kannada.

9. Lal Bagh Botanical Garden – Bangalore, Karnataka

The chief commander of Bangalore, Hyder Ali built this garden in 1760. It is home to 1000 species of plants and trees more than a hundred years old. This park is famous for a glasshouse structure built-in 1889. It covers 240 acres of land and comes under the Department of Horticulture of India.

10. Malampuzha Garden – Palakkad, Kerala

This is part of the Malampuzha Dam that came into existence in 1995. It is famous for Chess Board Park, Japanese Garden, Maze Park, Sunken Garden, and Snake Park. It is famous for its dam and garden combination which attracts many tourists.

The Malamphuza garden is at the foot of the dam covering 29 acres of land. It is a mini version of the famous Mughal gardens.

11. Balasinor Dinosaur Fossil Park – Mahisagar, Gujarat

It came into existence in the early 1980s after some paleontologists discovered dinosaur fossils there. This is the second-largest Dinosaur Park in World. It covers 177 acres of land with more than 10,000 dinosaur fossils.

History suggests that 13 species of dinosaurs lived there. The remains of eggs and fossils are still preserved there.

12. Sarita Udyan – Gandhinagar, Gujarat

It is located on the banks of the Sabarmati river. It is one of the most prominent gardens of Gandhinagar as it attracts mass tourists visits throughout the year. The main attraction is the deer park near it which attracts people to go there.

13. Sajjan Niwas Garden / Gulab Bagh – Udaipur, Rajasthan

It is the largest garden in Udaipur covering 100 acres of land. It came into existence in 1887 by the orders of Maharana Fateh Singh. This Garden is famous for Saraswati Library, Navlakha Mahal, Gulab Bagh Zoo, and Kamal Talai.

It gets its name Gulab Bagh because of the number of roses it has. The zoo has different species of animals including ostriches.

14. Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park – Jodhpur, Rajasthan

It came into existence in 2005 to restore decaying ecology near Mehrangarh Fort. It comes under the Geological Survey of India. This park covers 177 acres of land and has distinctive volcanic rocks formed more than 700 million years ago.

This park has more than 250 species of native plants and over 200 species of birds.

15. Chambal Garden – Kota, Rajasthan

It is a garden built on the banks of the Chambal river. The main attraction here is the presence of several gharials. Gharials are fish-eating crocodiles.

16. Chandrashekhar Azad Park – Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

It came into existence in 1860 as Company Gardens to mark Prince Alfred’s visit to the city. It is 133 acres of land. This is the death place of Chandra Shekhar Azad and thus renamed after him. It is Allahabd’s biggest park. It is one of the tourist attractions of Allahabad.

17. Mehtab Bagh – Agra, Uttar Pradesh

It was built right opposite to Taj Mahal by Babur in 1530. Shah Jahan called it the Moonlight Garden. It is the last of the eleven Mughal gardens built on the banks of the Yamuna river. It is square in shape and covers a land of 25 acres. Generally, it gets flooded during monsoon.

18. Saharanpur Botanical Garden – Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh

It came into existence in 1750 and came under East India Company in 1817. It comes under the Botanical Survey of India. This has now become a Horticultural Experiment and Training Centre and serves commercially. It is home to 235 plant species and more than 400 flower species.

19. Aram Bagh – Agra, Uttar Pradesh

It is the oldest Mughal garden in India. It came into existence in 1528 by Babur’s orders. This is a Persian garden built near the Taj Mahal. It is again on the banks of the Yamuna river with many fountains.

20. Jhansi Herbal Garden – Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

It is a herbal garden spread across 37 acres. It is named after a famous white tiger – Bundelkhand. This attracts tourists throughout the year. It has more than 200 species of herbal plants or medicinal plants. It comes under the army officials living there.

21. Lodi Garden – New Delhi

It is one of the most beautiful gardens in India. It came into being in the 15th century built during the Lodi Dynasty. This serves as a tomb for many Lodi rulers. It covers a land of 90 acres and comes under the Archaeological Survey of India. It is famous for the Bara Gumbad, Masjid, and the Shisha Gumbad.

22. Mughal garden – New Delhi

Sir Edwin Lutyens is the architect behind this beauty of Rashtriya Bhawan. It came into existence in 1929 and covers 15 acres of land. It has 159 varieties of roses and 49 species of trees built in a Mughal- English way.

The Mughal built garden in Jammu is the inspiration for this one. It is the soul of the Presidential Palace.

23. Jallianwala Bagh – Amritsar, Punjab

It is a historic garden that commemorates the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. This massacre led to gunfire at innocent people gathered to celebrate Baisakhi by the Britishers. It became a memorial site in 1920. It covers an area of 7 acres with wall Martyr’s gallery and museum.

24. Pinjore Garden – Panchkula, Haryana

It came into existence in 1707 as a summer retreat for Aurangzeb. It is a mix of Mughal and Patiala architecture. This garden has seven terraces with different palaces like – Sheesh Mahal, Hawa Mahal, Rang Mahal, and Jal mahal. It covers 100 acres of land and comes under the state government.

25. Rock Garden of Chandigarh – Chandigarh

It came into existence in 1957 and is on the bank of Sukhna lake. It covers 40 acres of land and comes under The Rock Garden Society. This garden is famous for doll museums and the use of sustainable architecture.

This is completely made of industrial and home waste and discarded items. It has sculptures of waste ceramic.

26. Chashme Shahi – Srinagar, J & K

It is a Mughal garden that came into being in 1632. It was built by Shah Jahan as a gift for his elder son Dara Shikoh. This is a 1-acre land that comes under the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department.

It has Iranian influence in the structure and design is similar to Persian gardens. It is famous for the water spring which is known to have medicinal properties.

27. Shalimar Bagh – Srinagar – Srinagar, J & K

It is on the bank of Dal lake built by Jahangir for his wife Nur Jahan in 1619. It is a 31 acres land that is famous for its attractive architecture. This Park comes under the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department and is one of the tourist attractions. This public park is the “Crown of Srinagar”.

28. Nishat Bagh – Srinagar, J & K

It is another Mughal garden built by Jahangir’s brother in law Asif Shah in 1633. It is on the eastern side of Dal lake. This park is adjacent to Shalimar Bagh and Chashme Shahi. It is a 46 acres land that is famous for 12 terraces symbolizing each zodiac sign.

It again comes under the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department and is one of the tourist attractions.

29. Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden – Srinagar, J & K

It is a tulip garden with an overview of Dal Lake. It came into existence in 2007 to promote floriculture and tourism in the city. This comes under the Department of Flora-fauna and covers 74 acres of land.

They host a tulip festival every year to showcase varieties of flowers. They currently have 48 flower species and 15 lakhs plants.

30. Chaubatia Garden – Ranikhet, Uttrakhand

This fruit garden came into existence in 1868 by the efforts of Britishers. It is a botanical garden spread covering 600 acres of land. It is famous for fruit orchards like apples, apricots, peaches, and more.

This garden comes under the Government Fruit Research Centre. The Himalayan ranges are visible from this garden.

31. Hanging Garden – Mumbai, Maharashtra

It came into existence in 1881 to cover Bombay’s main reservoir. The architect behind this terrace garden is Ulhas Ghapokar. It is dedicated to Pherozeshah Mehta, a Parsi political leader. It provides views of Kamla Nehru and Malabar Hills.

32. Jawaharlal Nehru Botanical Garden – Gangtok, Sikkim

It came into existence in 1987. It is home to 1.5 lakh ornamental plants. This garden covers 16 acres of land and comes under the Forest Department of the Government of Sikkim. It is famous for different varieties of Orchids and Oaks. The garden gives a view of Himalaya peaks and the city of Gangtok.

Conclusion

Indian geography is important for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, RRB, and more. This article is about the prominent gardens in India. We have covered their history, features, and the location above. It is well detailed and easy to understand.

It may be part of the GK section or Geography section. Every exam gives importance to this topic. This article will help you cover all the prominent gardens in India. Giving it a good read will prove beneficial for your exam results.