Gulab Bagh and Zoo - Udaipur’s Largest Garden:

Named after the innumerable types of roses you can spot here, Gulab Bagh is Udaipur’s largest garden. Peoples who visit this place will not be able to find these roses anywhere in India.

The entire Gulabh Bagh property pans over 100 acres, which means that lovers of flora should allocate a day for this visit. Since Gulabh Bagh is located right below the banks of the Pichola Lake banks, you can incorporate a visit here as part of your Udaipur itinerary.

The history of Gulab Bagh :

Gulab Bagh dates back to 1878, when it was started by Maharana Sajjan Singh. Not only is it Udaipur’s largest garden, but it is also the 4th oldest zoo in the Asian semi-continent. The Maharana’s appointed a horticulturist from Madras to plant and maintain plants of medicinal value on the garden. The garden once saw many flower and vegetable shows, an annual schedule which was initiated in 1888 by Maharana Fateh Singh.

Gulab Bagh, also known as Sajjan Niwas Garden, was built by Maharana Sajjan Singh in the 1881. It is the fourth oldest zoo in the semi-continent. It spans across 66 acres of land, and is hailed as one of the most beautiful and largest garden in Rajasthan. By Maharana's volition, a horticulturist from Madras, T.H. Story, was appointed in 1882 to stock the garden with plants with medicinal values on the 66.5 acres of land and worked there till 1920.

 The garden consisted of a Lotus Pond, and many prominent trees that included many species of mangoes, guava, grapes, lemon, bor, mulbury, rayan, pomegranate, bananas, sapota, tamarind, bullock’s heart (ramphal), lichi, arjun trees, wood apple, karonda, campher, citron, jamun, pummelo, meetha neem, kargi lime, ficus species, anola, jack fruit, dhanverjia, grandi flora, jasmin, dawood etc. In the year 1882, all the trees had their name-plates denoting Hindi, English, and systematic botanical names, which are not the same now. A small pond existed in the garden before it was demolished for the construction of Water works complex. In this pond a water lily, Victoria sp., was initially planted. The leaf of Victoria could withstand a child on a chair kept on it, a property common to all the water-lilies of the genus due to plant's structure.

The Garden draws it name as Gulab Bagh due to the presence of a ranch where variety roses can be found in abundance. The garden was also called Bada Bagh but the name dropped has out of popular use.

Maharana Sajjan Singh placed the foundation stone of the Victoria museum(now called Saraswati Bhawan Library) in the garden on 2 November 1890. It was inaugurated by Lord Lansdown. Mr. Gauri Shankar Ojha was the first curator of this museum appointed in the year 1890. The museum had many rare artefacts and stone manuscripts dating from 3rd Centaury B.C. to 17th Centaury A.D.

British Prince Albert Victor unveiled a stone statue of Queen Victoria on 19 February 1890, in front of Victoria Museum which has now been replaced with a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Various Flower and Vegetable shows were organized in the Garden starting from the first one in 1888 by Maharana Fateh Singh. The zoo organized fights meant for entertainment between lions or tigers and wild boars. The zoo upon the fifth decade of its commencement included plenty of rare species including animals like Black Leopards, Rhinos, Ostriches, Zebras, hoolock gibbons, etc. most of the animals were transferred to other zoos in India after Independence.

Places of interest within the garden :

There’s a lotus garden, and you’ll spot many fruit trees including mangoes, guava, grapes, lemon, pomegranate, bananas, sapota, lichi, arjun jack fruit, among others. Tourist's also love the heady perfumed smell from flowering trees like jasmine. Along with the many varieties of roses, it is also the flower bed arrangements that are a thing of beauty. The peaceful ambience and the heady perfume of flowers draws Udaipur residents on a regular basis to spend their weekends here. The garden is pretty safe for kids to explore, and there is a toy train available here that the little ones would love.

Must-see places in the garden include the small horoscope park where plants and herbs are planted to resemble a horoscope and a navigable forest. But you must be ready to walk quite a bit as there are no vehicles allowed inside the garden. Udaipur’s harsh sunlight necessitates a cap, sunglasses and lots of sunscreen.

Saraswati Library :

Gulab Bagh encompasses a library, Saraswati Library, which was originally a museum known as Victoria Hall Museum. This was the first museum in the whole of Rajasthan, constructed by Maharan Fateh Singh in 1887, which was made operational for public on 1 November 1890. In 1968, the Museum was shifted to the City Palace, and was renamed as Pratap Museum, while the building was converted into a public library. The museum is still famous for its collection of antiques, curios, royal household items and other interesting relics from the past.This library houses more than 32000 books related to history, archaeology, Indology and several manuscripts that date back to the early medieval period. The RRLF section has 26215 books, while kids section has 3800 books. Upon registration with the library, several books are available for reading for 14 days. It also houses a large-sized idol of Queen Victoria, carved in white marble. This idol was originally placed in the huge garden just outside the library. But after independence, in around 1948, this statue was removed and replaced with one of Mahatma Gandhi to cherish the victory of nationalism.

The zoo of Gulabh Bagh:

There is a zoo in the property as well. During India’s more princely era, the zoo used to organise fights between lions, tigers and wild boars. It was home to rare species like Black Leopards and Rhinos. After India achieved Independence, these animals were transferred to other zoos in India. Birdwatchers will be able to spot ostriches, pelicans, peacock, parrots, and other and other birds.

Navlakha Mahal :

Gulab Bagh has a Navlakha Mahal or Navlakha Palace, which is a religious place for Arya Samaj. This is situated at the center most area of the entire garden. This is considered to be one of the places where Dayananda Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj had spent his spiritual life.

Toy Train :

There is also a small train that meanders within the zoo. It is open for kids as well as adults, and there is a nominal fees for the ride. The train station is named as Luv Kush Railway Station.

Kamal Talai :

There is a huge artificial water body named as Kamal Talai, situated towards north-eastern end of Gulab Bagh. It is an oval-like structure, consisting of four bridges connecting with each other at the central junction.

Miraj Jyotish Upvan :

There is an Acupressure park called ‘Miraj Jyotish Upvan’ constructed and maintained by Miraj Products corporate group. It has tethered tiles for increasing blood circulation in human body. It also showcases numerous Ayurvedic and non-ayurvedic plants across the acupressure pathways.