Van Vihar National Park

Van Vihar sits along the shore of the Upper Lake in Bhopal, covering 455 hectares of wooded land that became a national park in 1979. It functions as both a national park and a zoological park: the enclosures are built to look naturalistic rather than caged, and they hold big cats, bears, hyenas, crocodiles, and other carnivores. The animals here were brought in from across Madhya Pradesh, most of them rescued rather than wild-caught.

You move through the park on a driveable circuit trail that runs past the enclosures and along the lake edge. The same trail is open to cyclists. Because the forest borders the Upper Lake, the habitat draws a range of bird species, and deer and antelope move through the grounds without enclosure. Butterflies and insects are present in number across the wooded sections.

The lake runs alongside the park boundary for much of the circuit, so water and tree cover are visible together for most of the route. The park is easily reached from central Bhopal, which makes it a practical half-day visit from the city.