Garruda Park in Pondicherry is the latest attraction for tourists. It was opened in December 2022 and is next to the pogo land adventure theme park.
Location:
Garuda Park is located in Pathukkannu village on ousteri lake road, around 13 km from the White town Pondicherry. From White town, it will take approximately thirty to forty minutes to reach the location. Garuda Park is the first animal park in Pondicherry. Aviary is the main attraction here in Garruda Park, where they tried to replicate the SGS Birds Park in Mysore or Jurong Bird Park in Singapore kind of aviary.
Things to do in Pondicherry
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What to expect:
Aquarium:
They have kept the series of aquarium tanks on the right side of the entrance. You can see all exotic fishes, from carp, Mollies, Cichlids, Angel Fishes, Gold Fishes, Lobsters, Glow tetras, Zebra fishes and fighter fishes (bettas) on the bowls. The tanks were unclear, and did not keep the name boards on the tanks. Red Eared Turtle was kept in the tanks at the aquarium’s end.
Two Camels were kept inside the shelter, and they are friendly to photographs.
Butterfly Park:
They have a vast butterfly park on the Garuda Park campus. Inside the butterfly park, there were statues of butterflies and a waterfall. All kinds of host plants for butterflies were planted surrounding the waterfall. I didn’t see any butterflies inside the park since these are early days; they will bring them soon. It is not easy to maintain a butterfly park; a lot of factors are involved.
Aviaries:
They have displayed exotic birds like African lovebirds, budgerigars, Diamond Doves, Helicopter budgies etc. Pigeon varieties like Fantails, Saddleback fantail, Mukhi, Modena, King, Jacobin, Frills and other varieties of pigeons were kept on display.
Open aviary is my favourite in this whole Garruda Park. Very few places in India offer this kind of open aviary. A double entrance to this open aviary prevents the birds from escaping the enclosure. Once you are in, then you are into this exotic bird world, where birds fly all over you. It is a huge enclosure where the birds are kept free; the best thing about this aviary is you can feed them. Birds flock to your hand and head to eat the sunflower or groundnut seeds offered by Garruda Park.
There are two open aviaries in the park, one for seed-eating birds and another for fruit-eating birds. Seed Eating birds like Sun Conures, Pineapple conures, Budgerigars, and Cockatoos are there. The Star attraction is the Blue and Gold Macaws. Sun conures and cockatoos are easily approachable. It is a dream come true to see an open aviary in Pondicherry; I used to visit SGS birds in Mysore to show the birds to my kids and Family.
The next one is an open aviary for fruit and nectar-eating birds. They have rainbow lorikeet and Red lorikeet in the enclosure. They were eating meshed papaya when I visited the park.
Fancy Chicken Enclosures:
Fancy Chicken varieties like Golden Sebright, Silver Polish, Kadakkanath, and Giriraja and Mammals like Persian Cats, Rabbits and Guinea Pigs are kept in display cages.
Two ostriches were attracting visitors with their immense presence. Next to the open aviary, they have a dwarf bull, sheep, horse etc. Exotic Dog varieties like Great Danes, Beagles, Dobermans, Labrador, Rajapalayam etc., were kept in the enclosures for the visitors. Kids may get scared by their loud bark. Just opp to the dog’s sections, duck varieties like Indian runner, Pelkin etc., were kept on display. Overall it is an excellent addition to the tourist places in Pondicherry.
Entrance Fees:
Ticket Price: Rs.300 for Adults and Rs.200 for Kids
As of now, there are no separate camera charges.
Timings: 10.00 Am to 5.00 Pm
Parking: No Parking fees. A sufficient place to park your car and bike
Nearby Attractions and Adventure Activities: Kayaking in Mangrove Forest, Paramotoring, Arts and Crafts Village, White Town
