Amirthi Zoological Park – Famous Tourist Place
The Amirthi Zoological Park is situated in Tiruvannamalai District in TamilNadu. This place is at a distance of 25Km from the Vellore city.
History
The Amirthi Zoological Park with an area of 25hectares, was opened in 1967. The half portion of this forest, serves as the wildlife Sanctuary, while the other portion is open as a tourist spot. This is the largest forest in TamilNadu, with wide varieties of flora and fauna. A trek in this forest, leads to a beautiful waterfall.
Things to see
The green forest of Amirthi Zoological Park, contains the herbal plants, trees, birds and animals. There is a small beautiful waterfall among the hills and ravines. In this place, the animals like the mongoose, foxes, spotted deer, hedgehog, reason monkeys, crocodiles, rabbits, pythons, tortoises and wild cats are the animals seen here. The birds like the peacock, love birds, red headed parrots, ducks, eagles, wild parrot and the pigeons are found in this forest.
Special things
This place is situated below the Javadi Hills of Tellai, which has a gateway. There is a park for the children and the rock steps to walk around. A number of tourists assemble during the holidays.
1) Amirthi Falls
The Amrithi Falls lies inside the Amrithi forests, near the Javathu Hill. This Javathu Hill is an origin for river Naganathi. The people living in this area, do agriculture, by growing the paddy and corn in the whole area. At a distance of 1.5Km, from the starting point, the Amrithi Waterfalls lie.
2) Trekking
The area of the Amrithi Forest is a gift, to the trekkers. In this area, the stream accompanies the visitors. From the MGR statue in the main road, the Amrithi forests lie straight. The agricultural lands with the paddy and corns are seen on the two sides.
Climatic conditions
This place holds a tropical climate. In this place, there is a less rainfall than in winter than in summer. The average temperature of this place is 27.9ºC.
Development of Zoological Park
The Government of TamilNadu, declared an amount of 3.5 crores for the development of the Amirthi Zoological Park, on 13th September 2013. This development covers the food stores, resting places, pathways, watch towers, information centers and the water facilities. The TamilNadu Forest Department has a plan to improve the mini Zoo into a small Zoo for a cost of 19crores. There is a plan to arrange the elephant camps, which will serve as rehabilitation camps for the temple elephants in TamilNadu.
Best time to visit
The best time to visit the Amirthi Zoological Park, is from June to November month. Then the time recommended to visit this place, is from October to February month.To explore further famous place koonthankulam bird sanctuary
Entrance fees
The entrance fee to visit the Amirthi Zoological Park, is collected by the TamilNadu Tourist Department.
| Entrance | Vehicle | Motor cycles | Cycles |
| Rs.2-5 | Rs.5 | Rs.3 | Rs.2 |
Transport facilities
The Amirthi Zoological Park is nearer to Vellore. So you can choose a road transport from Vellore to reach this place. The regular buses are available in Vellore, to reach this place. If you travel through the train, then the nearest railway station is the Vellore railway station. From there, you can pick a transport to reach this site. If you travel through the flight, then the Vellore Airport is the nearest Airport. From there, you can choose a cab to reach this place.
Location: Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.
Timings: 8.00 A.M to 5.00 P.M – Open in all the days.
(But timings may occur in different occasions)
Best time for Visit: June to November.
Total area – The total area of the Amirthi Zoological Park is 62acres .