UDAIPUR
A dated municipal zoo with small, visibly cramped enclosures - the garden itself (Victoria Library building) is a fine quiet walk, but skip the zoo section on animal-welfare grounds alone.
Laid out in 1878 by Maharana Sajjan Singh, who allocated 66.5 acres and an initial budget of roughly 15,625 rupees for the garden, making it one of the oldest zoos in India. The Maharana engaged T. H. Story, a Madras-based garden specialist, who oversaw its landscaping from 1882 to 1920, and later rulers Fateh Singh and Bhopal Singh expanded and beautified it further, including an 1888 flower and vegetable show. The garden also houses the Saraswati Bhawan Library, one of Rajasthan's oldest public libraries, founded in the same royal era.
