Bannerghatta trips you up since it is not a single attraction, but an entire zoo, mini safari drive and butterfly park all rolled into one, complete with a unique timing structure and ticket for each. Combine the range of safari types, from a shared bus to an exclusive jeep – lets not even get into pricing and you have most visitors in a spin. Well this guide sorts that all out, the timings for each area, every current ticket price, which safari to go with, when’s best to visit and how it compares with other zoos so you can plan the whole visit in one place.

Bannerghatta National Park Timings: The Short Version

Here is the core of it. Bannerghatta National Park timing 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, closed for one day a week. The below pattern, for instance, is followed at the Bannerghatta Biological Park, about 22 km to the southeast of Bengaluru, where the zoo-safari-butterfly park are all incorporated within it. Consider these as the standard hours, they could tend a bit on busy days!

Detail	At a glance
Open	9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Weekly closure	Closed every Tuesday
Last entry	Ticket counters close earlier, around 4:30 PM
Safari hours	Runs in batches, roughly 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Zoo entry	Rs 120 for adults, Rs 60 for children
Bus safari (with zoo)	From Rs 370 per adult on weekdays
Location	Bannerghatta, about 22 km south of Bengaluru, Karnataka

Opening Hours and Closed Day: The Basics

The park opens at 9.30 am and remains open until 5pm every day of the week, except Tuesday when it is closed for maintenance and animal care. The one thing you need to check is that closure on Tuesday, because so many people arrive at the gates and its shut.

Ticket counters and last entry shut before five, often at half past four so do not leave your arrival too late. It is open the whole year, and the various areas within have slightly different hours, so some planning comes in handy.

The Sections Explained: Zoo, Safari, Butterfly Park and More

Bannerghatta is actually an assortment of attractions under one gate and knowing how each feature works helps you choose what to book.

• The zoo: Large walk-through zoo collecting Indian and exotic Mammals, Birds and Reptiles.
• The safari: accompanied by a driver (In bus or jeep), drive-through the lined natural forest, pass herbivore, bear, lion and tiger zones.
• The butterfly park: typical of India’s first dome dedicated to dozens of species of butterflies as well as a museum.
• Extras: boat rides, vehicle on battery power to go around, a rescue centre and an elephant sanctuary section.

You can either purchase entry to only zoo, only bumper park, combination of the zoo and Butterfly ticket, Or a safari package that combines the zoo Safari. Your choice determines both your fare and your schedule.

Safari Timings: When the Bus and Jeep Safaris Run

The safari is the main attraction, and operates on its own schedule. Safaris are run in batches throughout the day, approximately 10am to 4-30pm depending on demand and daylight. It is usually on the lookout for the large cats with activity generally from afar, which is between 10 and half past four in the afternoon.

Due to the popularity of this safari, we recommend booking your slots well in advance for on weekends and during public holidays as they get full fast. The safest way to get a ride is to arrive early, or always book it well ahead online, rather than being in long counter queue and risk miss out on a sold-out batch.

Types of Safari: Bus, Jeep and What Each Includes

Your safari can be done many ways, and how you do it dictates the experience and cost.

• Non-AC bus safari: The most cost effective option, a shared bus ride through the safari zones including entry to the zoo.
• AC bus safari, a more comfortable shared bus, the zoo, the butterfly park, camera charge or video guard
• Jeep safari: in this the ride is small size and intimate, typically shared with family or few people Close to nature due to smaller vehicle sizes (unlike buses), bundled with zoo, butterfly park and camera.
• Bus safaris will be suitable for families and big groups, the prices are per person. The jeep options are charged per vehicle, making them more efficient when you have a party of people to fill the seats and prefer an up-close-and-personal experience with wildlife.

Ticket Prices: Zoo, Butterfly Park and Combined Entry

Entry to zoo and safari fees are different and every section charges. The prices below are the updated official tariff as of 2025. Treat fee amounts as indicative only and check with the official park page for up to date rates they are occasionally updated.

Entry ticket	Adults	Children
Only Zoo	Rs 120	Rs 60
Only Butterfly Park	Rs 50	Rs 30
Zoo + Butterfly Park	Rs 170	Rs 90
Senior citizen, Zoo	Rs 70	–
Senior citizen, Zoo + Butterfly	Rs 100	–

Zoo and butterfly park prices the same on weekdays and weekends Entry to the zoo and butterfly park is free for children of specially abled visitors and the specially abled.

Safari Ticket Prices: Bus and Jeep Options

The entry of safari packages contains zoo, but the AC bus and jeep contain that butterfly park as well as camera charge. Also, keep in mind that safari prices increase on weekends & on government holidays.

Bus safari (per person)	Mon to Fri	Sat, Sun, Holidays
Non-AC bus, adults	Rs 370	Rs 420
Non-AC bus, children	Rs 210	Rs 260
Non-AC bus, senior citizen	Rs 260	Rs 310
AC bus, adults	Rs 690	Rs 740
AC bus, children	Rs 480	Rs 530

The jeep safari is priced per vehicle, not per head, so the more seats you fill, the better the value.

Jeep safari (per vehicle)	Mon to Fri	Sat, Sun, Holidays
6-seater non-AC jeep	Rs 3,600	Rs 3,900
6-seater AC jeep	Rs 4,200	Rs 4,500
8-seater non-AC jeep	Rs 4,600	Rs 5,100
7-seater Innova or 6-seater Scorpio	Rs 5,700	Rs 6,200
4-seater EV car	Rs 3,200	Rs 3,500

Extra Charges: Camera, Boating and Battery Vehicle

A few extras carry their own small charges, useful to budget for before you go.

Extra	Approximate charge
Still camera	Rs 50
Video camera	Rs 250
Battery-operated vehicle	Rs 100 adults, Rs 50 children
Boating, row boat	Rs 50 per head, about 30 minutes
Boating, pedal boat	Rs 200 for a 2-seater, Rs 400 for a 4-seater
Safari, specially abled visitors	Rs 200 on weekdays, Rs 250 on weekends

Note that the AC bus and jeep safari packages already include the camera charge, so you do not pay it twice.

How to Book Tickets: Online or at the Counter

Tickets can also be purchased on the day from the counter, but, particularly weekends, we strongly advise booking in advance online through the official park portal. Having an Online booking ensures you a place on the safari and also most of the times is a faster entry than keeping in queue at counter.

Carry a printout or the digital confirmation along with a photo ID, and reach a little ahead of your safari batch time. During peak holidays, same-day counter tickets for the safari can run out by mid morning, so booking ahead is worth it.

The Best Time to Visit: Season, Day and Animal Activity

There are three layers of timing that matter here, and getting them right make your visit.

• Time of day: late morning and afternoon (approx. 10:00AM to 4:30PM) is the best time as bigger cats like lions, leopards and other animals are more likely active at this occasion.
• Day of the week: Weekdays are much quieter than weekends and holidays, offering shorter safari queues and easier bookings.
• Season: the months of monsoon (June to August) make this forest start turning green, but from October to February you will find that it is at its most pleasant for a full days out.

With this in mind, for many visitors the best time to visit is a weekday soon after opening beating the safari rush during the cooler or greener months. Forget a weekend afternoon in peak season, unless the wholepurchased well in advance.

How Long to Spend: Zoo, Safari and a Full Visit

Plan your time around what you are doing. The zoo in itself is a good 2 to 3 hour stroll if you take it easy. It lasts about one half to two hours. A dual visit that combines both – and the butterfly park as well if you wish – easily takes about four to five hours so take your trip to Bannerghatta as bare minimum half a day, ideally one day.

Families with small children should stick to the longer end and use the battery-powered vehicle to get across the large zoo grounds without wearing everyone out.

How Bannerghatta Compares to Other Zoos and Safaris: What Sets It Apart

If you are deciding between Bannerghatta and the other big wildlife parks of the south, the table below sets it side by side.

Park	Known for	Safari
Bannerghatta, Bengaluru	Drive-through safari with tigers, white tigers and lions, plus a butterfly park	Yes, bus and jeep
Mysore Zoo, Mysuru	Heritage from 1892, exotic diversity, a walk-through zoo	No safari
Arignar Anna, Vandalur, Chennai	India’s largest zoo by area, with a lion safari	Yes
Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad	Safari rides and a dinosaur themed section	Yes
Nandankanan, Bhubaneswar	White tigers and a lion safari in a forest setting	Yes

The takeaway is simple. If you are looking for a drive-through safari with big cats, Bannerghatta is the nearest and easiest option from Bengaluru (and few zoo pairs a safari with a butterfly park like it does). If you want a larger mix of exotic species and there be no safari, then Mysore Zoo is your better fit than say a few hours away, a heritage walk-through zoo. Both are on the route for many of the tourists to Karnataka.

What Bannerghatta Has That Others Don’t: The Standout Points

A few features genuinely set this park apart.

• A forest safari, near a big city: a one of the few wild safaris positioned closer to any metro local (just south of Bengaluru).
• The tiger safari : at Normal & white tigers which we can see close to from bus or jeep
• India’s inaugural butterfly park: The domed butterfly conservatory here was the first of its kind in India
• Pioneering Elephant Sanctuary: Bannerghatta was one of the first to set-up a large fenced sanctuary for elephants.

It is a zoo, it is a safari, it is a rescue centre and conservation work all wrapped up in one protected forest: the biological park model.

Animals and Highlights: What You Will See

The national parks is filled in with a great deal of wildlife through-out its segments.

• The safari rides: They have zones of tigers (white tigers included), lions, sloth bears, leopards and then hermbovores like the dears, gaur and elephants.
• The zoo: hundreds of individuals from dozens of species including large cats, primates, crocodiles, king cobras and Himalayan black bears.
• At butterfly park: hundreds of species of butterflies in a planted structure with a museum describing their life cycle.
• Birds : Home to hundreds of species, the larger park is a favoured destination for birders.

History: From National Park to Biological Park

Bannerghatta National Park, established in 1971 over a significant area of forest south of Bengaluru, is an essential elephant corridor in the region. A part of the park has been split in 2002, And converted into Bannerghatta Biological Park to promote eco-tourism and research maintaining a larger part as it is.

The biological park today is what most visitors refer to as Bannerghatta, comprising the zoo, safari, butterfly park and rescue centre; the larger national park around them is a protected wilderness and an elephant corridor.

Facilities and Rules: Making the Most of Your Visit

A few facilities and rules shape the day, so keep them in mind.

• Facilities include parking, food outlets, restrooms and a battery-powered vehicle to traverse the expansive zoo area.
• On safari, keep windows closed where advised, never put hands out, and don’t feed or antagonise the animals.
• Plastic is banned, littering is punishable by fine and feeding of animals anywhere in the park also prohibited.
• Make sure you wear sensible shoes and bring plenty of water to drink and a hat as the zoo requires quite an exposed long walk.

Keeping these in mind ensures a smooth visit and, safe safari.

How to Reach Bannerghatta National Park: By Air, Bus and Road

The park lies about 22 km south of Bengaluru, an easy trip by road, though city traffic can stretch the journey.

Mode	Details and distance
By air	Kempegowda International Airport is about 55 to 58 km away, roughly one and a half to two hours by cab through the city.
By bus	Direct buses run from the city, including routes such as 365 and 366 from Kempegowda bus stand and Majestic, and 368 from Shivajinagar.
By road	About 22 km from central Bengaluru, roughly one to one and a half hours by car or app cab depending on traffic. Parking is available at the park.
Local transport	App cabs and autos reach the park gate directly, the simplest option for most visitors.

Because it is so close to Bengaluru, Bannerghatta is a popular day trip from the city, best started early to beat both the traffic and the safari queues.

Trivia and Lesser-Known Facts: Bannerghatta

• It is one of the few places in the world where a true safari is just outside of a major city.
• There is even a tiger safari, which contains both normal and rare white tigers.
• This Butterfly Park is the first of its kind in India.
• It was one of the initial parks to establish a fenced area for elephants on a large scale.
• The national park came into existance in 1971, followed by the establishment of the biological park as a separate unit in 2002.
• The forest surrounding is one in the nation important elephant corridors with herds transversing this landscape.

Nearby Attractions: What to Combine With Your Visit

There are also a few worth stopping at the area around the park.

• Champakadhama Swamy Temple: A Hoysala period temple located at the foothills of Suvarnamukhi hills nearby.
• Suvarnamukhi pond and hills, which is close to the park and related to local mythology
• Bengaluru City Sights: With the park so close, you can combine it with a visit to gardens, palaces and museums.

Quick Tips: Making Your Bannerghatta Timings Work

• Never plan a Tuesday visit. The park is closed.
• Advance booking of the safari is advisable (especially on the weekend — these slots fill fast), and it can be done online.
• We arrive any time between 9am-9:30am to avoid the traffic and the safari rush.
• The safari can be either a bus which would be the most cost effective or you could opt for a jeep which gives you that more closer, private ride.
• Leave four to five hours for the zoo, safari and butterfly park together.
• Take water, hat and comfy shoes and use the battery vehicle for the big zoo

Final Take: Planning the Perfect Bannerghatta Visit

Bannerghatta tops all day excursions around Bengaluru as far as planning goes. It offers a walk-in zoo, drive-through safari and India’s first butterfly park all under one roof but requires individual timings and tickets for each one of them with the safari tickets selling like hotcakes. All you need to do is plan your visit during a weekday, arrive at the park just as it opens at 9:30 AM to dodge the crowds and the traffic, pre-book the safari slot and allocate four to five hours for your visit.

If watching the tiger, white tigers and the lions is the purpose of your visit to Bannerghatta, it is probably the best choice to do so within easy reach of Bengaluru. Otherwise, the Mysore Zoo located about an hour away may suit you better. Anyhow, it is best not to visit Bannerghatta on Tuesdays, take some water along and remember to check on the latest ticket prices as they keep changing.

Frequently Asked Questions

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