Cubbon Park

Cubbon Park lies in the central business district of Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka in southern India. It was laid out in 1870 by Major General Richard Sankey, then chief engineer of Mysore State, on about 100 acres. Later additions brought it to roughly 300 acres.

It was first called Meade's Park after Sir John Meade, acting commissioner of Mysore, and was soon renamed after Sir Mark Cubbon, the longest-serving commissioner. In 1927 it was officially renamed Sri Chamarajendra Park after the Mysore ruler Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, but most people still use the older name. The park is managed by the Horticulture Department of the Government of Karnataka.

The landscape mixes natural rock outcrops with groves of tall trees, clumps of bamboo, lawns and flower beds. Thousands of trees grow here, including native and introduced species. Several notable buildings stand inside or at the edge of the park: the red Attara Kacheri, which houses the Karnataka High Court, the State Central Library in Seshadri Iyer Memorial Hall, and the Government Museum and Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum on Kasturba Road. Statues of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII stand near the entrances.

The park is a favourite with early morning walkers and runners. Roads through the park close to traffic from 5 am to 8 am every day, and the park is closed to motor traffic on Sundays; at other times only light vehicles may use its roads.

Entry is free and the park is open every day. The Cubbon Park and Dr B R Ambedkar stations on the Namma Metro Purple Line are at its edges.

The planting is varied. The park has about 6,000 plants and trees from 68 genera and 96 species, both native and introduced, and it is credited as the place where the silver oak, Grevillea robusta, was first brought to Bengaluru from Australia. Look out for a 20-million-year-old fossilised tree trunk, a gift from the Geological Survey of India.

Several smaller attractions sit inside the grounds. A cast-iron octagonal bandstand from the early 1900s once hosted the Royal Air Force band on Saturday evenings before independence. The Jawahar Bal Bhavan children's area has the Putani Express, a toy train running about 1.2 kilometres through the trees, plus a doll museum and boating. The Government Aquarium, said to be the second largest in India, and the Venkatappa Art Gallery are close by.

Plan a visit early in the morning, when the air is cooler and the walkers and birdwatchers are out, then cross to the Government Museum or the Visvesvaraya museum when they open.