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The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanical Garden Kolkata, commonly known as Botanical Garden, is a place that is spread over an area of 273 acres in total. This is located in Shibpur Howrah near Kolkata. The garden was established in the year 1787 and was formerly known as the company garden at that time.

It is presently under the BSI or Botanical Survey of India of Ministry Of Environment And Forest Government India. Today the garden is known as one of the most beautiful gardens and landscapes in the entire country. It has astonishing undulating landscape and topography and artificial lakes that create the beauty and essence in the gardens.

It is a pure delight to the people who love nature and wants to spend time in the lap of nature peacefully.

Some of the major points of attraction in the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanical Garden Kolkata

There are around 12000 trees and shrubs which belong to 1400 species along with other herbaceous plants that are found in the Botanical Garden. The entire garden is nurtured with 25 divisions, glasshouses, conservatories and greenhouses. You will also get to see rare species of plants and trees that are specially brought from Nepal, Java, Malaysia, Sicily, Sumatra, and Brazil along with some other places.

The garden also comprises of Banyan trees, Mango Trees, Cuban palms, Mahogany, tamarind trees, coconut trees brought from Sicily, multi-hued bamboo trees, orchids, mad tree, branching palm trees from Brazil, water lilies, types of cacti, ferns, creepers, bamboo, citrus, floriculture, several aquatics, hibiscus and arboriculture plants.

Some of the most exotic plants that are found here are Giant Waterlilies, Bread Fruit tree, double coconut, shiva linga tree, and Krishnabot. The garden also has serpentine lakes in which the tourist can enjoy boating. The Botanical garden also has a library that is blessed with an amazing and impressive book collection.

The Great Banyan Tree at the Botanical Garden

The most beautiful thing that can be found in the garden is the 250-year-old Banyan Tree which is colossal and massive in size and is known as The Great Banyan Tree. Even though it is hard to find out the exact time and date of the planting of the plant and the entire history is unknown, but you can find some bits and the mentioning of the plant name in some of the travel books of the 19th century.

The two cyclones attacked the vast and majestic tree in the year 1864 and 1867 and several branches of the trees broke down exposing it to various types of fungus. The leading truck of this magnificent tree decayed which is why it was removed in the year 1925 but the tree still lives in a healthy state. The tree is famous in India because of its largest spread and has the biggest crown of around 450 meters of the circumference.

It also had 2880 aerial roots that spread all around and reach to the ground. This majestic part of the plant kingdom also holds and records and has its name in the Guinness Book of World Record.

Best time to visit

The ideal time when you should visit Botanical Gardens is during the winter season from October to March.

Things to keep in mind:

• The botanical garden is a no-smoking zone, and no plastic items are allowed. People should abide by the rules accordingly.

• The visitors that are visiting the place are not allowed to take any food or drink inside the premises. There are food stalls inside the premises which you can use.

• The area is too big to cover entirely on foot. You may also need a guide to know about the plants and trees in detail and to have all these. You can hire a six-seater car and guide at the entrance. They will stop at each location and will explain about all kinds of trees.

The place has an entry fee of rupees 10 for national and rupees 100 for foreigners. It is open from 10 am to 7 pm. In case you carry a camera you need to pay extra 20 rupees.