Napier Museum & Zoo
Napier Museum & Zoo lies adjacent to each other and is located at the heart of Trivandrum city.
Important Info
- Visiting Time : 9.00 AM to 5:15 PM
- Time Requires : 3 to 4 hrs
- Holiday : Monday
- Entry Fee : Rs. 30
Napier Museum & Trivandrum Zoo is located in the same place and its a fun paradise for a kids and family.
Napier Museum, (a.k.a) the Government Art Museum is one of the nicest places to visit if you are interested in arts, natural history and culture of Kerala.
Located in the capital city of Kerala, Trivandrum, this zoo occupies 55 acres (22 ha) of land. There are about 82 species of animals that include lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Indian rhinoceros, Asiatic lion, royal Bengal tiger, white tiger, leopard, Asian elephants, hippos, zebras, and Cape buffalos in the zoo. Also a snake farm and reptile house, with both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes si available here. The main attraction in the snake farm is anacondas imported from Africa. There are about 7 anacondas exhibits here.
Travel Tips
- Ideal destination to witness wildlife and nature.
- Kids love this place..!
- Parking is a challenge.
- Electric mini vans are provided for those who cannot walk around.
- The museum has a nice garden and it has a spread of 55 acres.
- Plastics are not allowed inside the Zoo. Plastic water bottles are allowed inside the zoo with the payment of a refundable amount.
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Detailed Information
History
Zoo - This is the oldest zoo in India which came into being in the 1830 under the rule of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma. The zoo was initially a menagerie of Royal tigers, Panthers and Cheetahs, Deer’s and other wild animals. Presently the zoo fulfills the requirement of conserving and preserving the species more than serving as a recreational facility. In a modernization project of 1995, this zoo got a makeover and its old enclosures were replaced with spacious naturalistic enclosures
Napier Museum - This museum is established by J.A. Brown, then Director of the Trivandrum Observatory and General William Cullen, then British Resident were instrumental in 1857. In 1855, a society was formed in order to encourage people to take interest in natural history, arts, sculptures, etc., and it included Sri Uthram Thirunal the Maharajah of Travancore as Patron, the British Resident General Cullen as President, the Elaya Raja as Vice-President and Mr. Brown as Secretary of the Society and Director of Museum. A new building came up in 1860 to house the museum during the reign of Sri Uthradom Thirunal, the ruler of the erstwhile Travancore dynasty, and it was inaugurated by Mr. John Napier, the Governor General of Madras Presidency. The building is now a state-recognized heritage site.
Years later after 1860, decision was taken to demolish the old museum building and in its place a new museum building would come up. On Lord Napier's recommendation famous architect Robert Fellowes Chisholm, employee of the Government of Madras in 1872 came to Travancore to design the museum building. After familiarizing with the local design, technique and domestic art forms, Chisholm attempted to mix the local attributes with those of European architecture. The new building designed by Chisholm was constructed in 1880 and named after Lord Napier, then Governor of Madras Presidency. The museum has three big hall with a long corridor. The workmanship of this building is just breath-taking. Though it is a British building, the local Kerala architectural influence can be seen in many places. The interior has beautifully designed wood-crafted beams, pillars, doors and windows. Balconies, corridors and sit outs have nice artistic features in wood.
