Main Info
Snake park, Katraj
The snake park in Katraj is situated close to Pune city in India, the park is a lovely place for tourists and happens to be the most frequented tourist site located inside the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo.
The Rajiv Gandhi Zoo is managed by the Municipal Corporation in Pune. It is a popular zoo with an area that spans well over 130 acres. The Rajiv zoo is broken down into three further parts: the Katraj Snake Park which happens to be the most popular amongst the other parts, a central zoo and an animal orphanage.
Yearly, thousands of people find their way to the zoo due to the variety of wildlife it offers that will leave you perplexed and wanting to come back. The Katraj Snake Park is Home to several species of wildlife such as: turtles, reptiles, snakes and different type of birds.
The Katraj Snake Park houses over 10 species of reptiles and about 22 different species of snakes, the park is an exciting place to be if you don’t have plans of parting with much money to have fun. The total number of animals in the park is said to be about 150; including the snakes, reptiles and birds.
One of the most interesting sight to behold in the zoo is a king cobra with a length of 3.962 metres. Mr Kumar Khaire Neelam, sometime ago in the year 1986 as the first park director had built the Katraj Snake Park with some level of help from the Pune Municipal Corporation. The snake park was created on a piece of land which is today the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park. Ever since it was built, the park has seen thousands of tourists yearly.
Katraj Snake Park hosts a number of programs to help people overcome ophidiophobia and herpetophobia, the park also create awareness to abolish any myth associated with snakes. When it’s time for Nag Panchami, Katraj Snake Park will often create awareness to stop the abusive ways snakes are being treated. Some of the snakes you’ll find at the zoo are; pythons, cobras and Russell’s vipers. Anytime you hear “Katraj Snake Park” a rush of excitement comes over you and the feeling keeps reminding you of the tour to the snake park. Perhaps this is why you should make paying a visit to the park an important date.
Extra Information About Katraj Snake Park; The Park’s history.
Sometime ago in 1953, the Peshwe Park was created by the Pune Municipal Corporation. The park was created where Peshwe Madhavrao once kept a personal collections of wild animals in the year 1770. The location of the personal wildlife collection was in the city’s heart downwards the Parvati Hill. It showcased various animals in a traditional styled cage. With assistance given by the Pune Municipal Corporation, in the year 1996, Mr Kumar Khaire Neelam was able to create the Katraj Snake Park. Unknown to him at that time that the land would later turn out to become the popular Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park. Mr Neelam after sometime became the first ever park director. He made the park grow immensely overtime. There was Need to make the Katraj Snake Park to become Rajiv Gandhi Park and Wildlife Research Centre and this was done in 1997. The change was done in strict accordance of the Central Zoo Authority of India, hence the animals that were located in the Peshwe Park were brought to the new Rajiv Gandhi Park and Wildlife Research Centre.
In the year 1999, the zoo was opened to the public and had just sambars, monkeys, Reptile Park and spotted deer
.
Moving the animals was not a walk in the park, it was a task that took time and lots of resources as the process didn’t stop until later in the year 2005. After all movements had been concluded, the Peshwe Park was closed.
Types of Animals Found in the Park
There are lots of animals found in the park, lime different types of snakes, reptiles, birds and turtles. Ciphers, Indian crocodiles, Indian rock python, Indian star tortoise and different snakes: these are the animals that can be seen in the Katraj Snake Park. The park houses more than twenty two different types of snakes as well as over 10 different types of reptiles. In all, the total number of animals are a total of 150. The park celebrities are a 2.743 metres long king cobra which was gotten from the Sunderbans mangrove, uncommon species of turtles and birds and a Brown Palm Civet.
What to Take Note of When Visiting Katraj Snake Park
Apart from enjoying the views of the different snakes in the zoo, the zoo offers some other exciting adventures like;
* There’s a beautiful lake which you can enjoy a boat ride with loved ones.
* There is also a library which provides more than enough information about not just the snakes in the zoo but all kinds of snakes.
* Asides the snakes available for tourism, there are some other animals you can find at the zoo. Animals like barking deer, leopard, several type of wild cats, black bucks, white tiger, the famous Indian tortoise, crocodiles, birds, mammals, Sambhars, sloth, etc. Anytime you decide to visit, there’s always an activity for kids, adults and just about any body.
Different Events that holds at Katraj Snake Park
In line with snakes and other reptiles conservation, the snake park often holds various types of festivals and different awareness programs for snakes. These festivals for snakes and reptiles are held consistently to educate the general public about snakes and reptiles, it is done to abolish any harmful superstitions relating to snakes and help people overcome their fear of reptiles.
When it is time for Nag Panchami, the park will embark on a snake awareness sensitization that will enlighten the public on the negative ways snakes are treated.
Entry Fee and Visiting Time at the Katraj Snake Park
The only time the park is not accessible is on Wednesdays, other days the park is always opened for the public.
The entry fee into the park is as follows;
Children – INR 2 (admits one person only)
Adults – INR 3 (admits one person only).
The Katraj Snake Park is open from 10:30 in the morning and closes at 6:00 in the evening. You are allowed to bring a camera to snap beautiful pictures and save the memories.
Useful Information to Note When Visiting The Katraj Snake Park
1. Feeding of animals is highly frowned upon and is a punishable offence.
2. Make sure you have a tour guide with you always as moving alone can be dangerous.
3. Don’t tease or taunt the animals
4. Plastics within the zoo are contrabands.
5. If you plan on visiting during the weekend then you have to plan the trip very well because weekends are filled with lots of visitors.
6. Obey all rules and regulations.
Best Way to Get to Katraj Snake Park
Situated at the outskirts of the city is the Katraj Snake Park. It is located close to the Bharati Vidyapeeth University. There are rickshaws on ground at swargate that you can hire to take you to the snake park. The snake park is about 4.9 miles from Pune and has a Katraj Bus station closely. Alternatively, you can pick a City bus ride from swargate bus station which is available at a ten Minutes interval. Last alternative is to drive there or hire a cab to take you there.