Alipore Zoo Kolkata, officially the Zoological Garden, Alipore, is open from 9 AM to 5 PM and stays closed every Thursday, with ticket counters shutting roughly half an hour before the gates. Entry is deliberately cheap: adult tickets have sat in the Rs 30 to Rs 50 band in recent years, young children pay less, and the aquarium inside needs a separate low-cost ticket. The zoo sits at No. 2 Alipore Road in south Kolkata, spread across roughly 46 acres, and the closest Metro stop is Netaji Bhavan on the Blue Line, about a fifteen minute walk or a two minute auto ride away. Opened to the public in 1876, it is India’s oldest formally established zoological garden and still the city’s biggest family day out, pulling enormous crowds through December and January. Budget two to three hours for a relaxed walk, and more if you are visiting with small children.
Alipore Zoo Timings and the Weekly Closing Day
The zoo runs on one schedule through the year. Gates open at 9 AM and the zoo closes at 5 PM. The detail most first-time visitors miss is the ticket counter cut-off, which falls around 4:30 PM, so turning up at ten to five will not get you inside.
Thursday is the weekly holiday and the zoo stays shut all day. That holds even when a public holiday falls on a Thursday, which catches out a lot of families planning a long weekend outing. Timings and holiday schedules do get revised occasionally, so it is worth checking the West Bengal Zoo Authority website before you set out.
Should you book tickets online?
Online booking is available through the West Bengal Zoo Authority portal, and it earns its keep on weekends and through the winter peak, when the queue at the main gate can swallow twenty minutes or more. After booking you receive a downloadable ticket by SMS or email. Carry a photo ID, because staff check identification against the booking at the entrance. On a quiet weekday morning in the monsoon or summer, walking up to the counter is perfectly fine.
Alipore Zoo Ticket Price: What You Will Actually Pay
Alipore Zoo remains one of the cheapest attractions in the city. Published rates have varied between sources and have been revised more than once in recent years, so treat the figures below as a working range rather than a fixed price list, and confirm the current rate on the official booking portal before you travel.
- Adults and older children: typically Rs 30 to Rs 50 per head, with the higher end applying on weekends and holidays at various points.
- Young children: a reduced ticket, generally in the Rs 10 to Rs 20 range, with the youngest often admitted free.
- Aquarium: a separate ticket, usually a token amount of Rs 10 to Rs 20.
- Video photography: a separate charge that has been quoted at around Rs 250.
Still photography on a phone or a regular camera is free. Parking near the main gate on Alipore Road is limited and fills up early on Sundays, which is another argument for arriving by Metro.
How to Reach Alipore Zoo: Metro, Bus, Auto and Cab
By Metro
The nearest Metro station is Netaji Bhavan on the Blue Line, roughly 1.4 km from the zoo gate. That is a fifteen minute walk down Belvedere Road, or a very short auto or app-cab hop if you are with children or elderly relatives. Jatin Das Park and Kalighat, also on the Blue Line, are workable alternatives, and Majerhat on the Purple Line puts you in the wider Alipore area. If you are new to the network, our Kolkata Metro ticket and smart card guide covers tokens, QR tickets and recharge in detail.
By bus, auto or cab
Plenty of state and private buses run along Alipore Road and Diamond Harbour Road, and most conductors know the Alipore Zoo stop by name. Autos run on fixed routes rather than point to point, so you may need a short hop plus a walk. App cabs are straightforward from anywhere in south or central Kolkata, though the stretch around the zoo gate gets congested on Sunday afternoons in winter, and it is often faster to get down a few hundred metres away and walk the rest.
What to See Inside Alipore Zoo
The zoo covers around 18.8 hectares, which is roughly 46 acres, and it is laid out as a walkable loop of enclosures under old shade trees. You do not need a map to enjoy it, but you do need comfortable shoes.
The animals people queue for
The headline residents are the Royal Bengal tiger, the African lion, the jaguar, the hippopotamus and the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. The reticulated giraffe and Grant’s zebra enclosures are perennial favourites with children, and the Indian elephant and dromedary camel draw steady crowds. Alipore also runs a conservation breeding programme for the Manipur brow-antlered deer, one of India’s rarest deer, which is a quieter but genuinely significant part of the collection.
Birds, reptiles and the aquarium
The bird collection is one of the strongest parts of the zoo and is often skipped by visitors rushing towards the big cats. Look for macaws and lorikeets, hornbills, emus and ostriches, and the pheasant enclosures with golden pheasant, Lady Amherst’s pheasant and Swinhoe’s pheasant. The aquarium sits within the complex and needs its own small ticket; it is a short visit and works well as a cool-down stop in the middle of a hot afternoon.
A little history worth knowing
The zoo was established in September 1875 and opened to the public on 6 May 1876, built around the private menagerie of Carl Louis Schwendler, a German electrician working in India who is generally credited as its founder. Its most famous resident was Adwaita, an Aldabra giant tortoise gifted to the zoo in 1875 and reputed to have been over 250 years old when he died in 2006. Alipore is recognised as a large zoo by the Central Zoo Authority, the national body that evaluates and regulates Indian zoos.
Best Time to Visit Alipore Zoo
Weather-wise, November to February is the obvious answer. The catch is that everybody else in Kolkata has reached the same conclusion. Alipore Zoo is the city’s default winter picnic destination, and 1 January is the single busiest day of the year by a wide margin; attendance has crossed a lakh of visitors on New Year’s Day. Christmas week, 1 January and Sundays through December and January are best avoided unless crowds are part of the fun for you.
The sweet spot is a weekday morning in November, early December or February, arriving close to 9 AM. Animals are more active in the cooler first two hours, the light is better for photographs, and you can finish the full loop before the school groups arrive. In summer and monsoon the zoo is far emptier, but plan for heat, humidity and sudden showers, and carry water.
What to Carry and the Rules That Get Enforced
- Carry water, a hat and comfortable walking shoes. The loop involves a fair amount of walking on open paths.
- Do not feed the animals. This is the rule staff enforce most strictly, and for good reason.
- Single-use plastic and outside packaged snacks face restrictions at the gate. Check what you are carrying before you join the queue.
- Keep a photo ID with you if you have booked online.
- Prams are manageable on the main paths, though a few stretches are uneven.
What to Combine With Your Zoo Visit
Alipore sits close enough to central Kolkata that the zoo works well as a half-day anchor. The Victoria Memorial is a short ride away and pairs naturally with a morning at the zoo, while the Kalighat Temple is a few Metro stops down the Blue Line. If your family enjoys green, unhurried spaces, the Indian Botanic Garden across the river in Shibpur is the natural follow-up on another day. For the full picture of how these sights fit together by neighbourhood, see our guide to things to do in Kolkata.
Frequently Asked Questions About Alipore Zoo Kolkata
Is Alipore Zoo open on Thursday?
No. Thursday is the weekly closing day and the zoo stays shut for the entire day, including Thursdays that fall on public holidays. Plan around it.
How much time do you need at Alipore Zoo?
Two to three hours covers the main loop at a comfortable pace. With young children who want to stop at every enclosure, or if you add the aquarium and a break, plan for closer to four hours.
Which is the nearest Metro station to Alipore Zoo?
Netaji Bhavan on the Blue Line is the closest, roughly 1.4 km from the gate, which is about a fifteen minute walk. Jatin Das Park and Kalighat are also within easy reach by auto or cab.
Can you carry food inside Alipore Zoo?
Restrictions apply to outside packaged food and single-use plastic, and bags are checked at the gate. Water is fine. Feeding any animal is strictly prohibited regardless of what you bring in.
Is Alipore Zoo worth visiting with toddlers?
Yes, with one caveat: go on a weekday morning rather than a winter Sunday. The paths are wide and mostly pram-friendly, shade is plentiful, and the giraffe, elephant and bird enclosures hold a small child’s attention easily. Peak-season crowds are the only real obstacle.
The Short Version
Alipore Zoo Kolkata is cheap, central, historic and genuinely enjoyable if you time it right. Go at 9 AM on a weekday between November and February, skip New Year’s Day entirely, remember that Thursday means closed, and check the official portal for the current ticket rate before you leave home.
