Sarnath Deer Park is situated in the Mulgandh Kuti Vihar temple campus. This is the main temple of Sarnath Buddhist pilgrims and is often referred to as Sarnath Temple.
The deer park is located in the same premises behind the main Sarnath temple. It’s actually a small zoo, but it is named Deer Park as there are over 100 deer kept here. It is also referred as Rishi Park, although you won’t see any rishis (sages) here.
Sarnath Deer Park Info at a Glance
| Query | Details | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Opening time | 9 AM | Throughout the year |
| Closing time | 4:40 PM (Summers) 5:40 PM (Winters) | Summers: 1 Apr to 30 Sep Winters: 1 Oct to 31 Mar |
| Ticket booking | On Spot | No online booking option |
| Ticket pricing | ₹20 per adult Indian national ₹10 per child aged 3-12 ₹50 for Asian nationals ₹100 for other nationals | Photography with a professional camera is chargeable. The charges are the same as your ticket pricing. |
| Activities | Animals, Birds and Boating | Boating charges are seperate |
| Weekly closing day | Friday | Mini zoo is closed every Friday except in month of July and August |
Sarnath Deer Park Timing and Ticket
Sarnath Deer Park opens at 9 AM in the morning and closes at 5 PM in the winter evening and 6 PM in the summer evening. Entries are usually not allowed after 4:40 PM and 5:40 PM in winter and summer, respectively.
You’ll have to buy the ticket at the counter itself. Like the Sarnath Light and Sound show, there is no provision of advanced online booking and to be honest, there is no need for that.
However, remember that tickets can only be purchased by paying cash. Cashless transactions via UPI or debit/credit card are not possible.
Ticket pricing is as follows:
- ₹20 per adult Indian national
- ₹10 per child aged 3-12
- ₹50 for Asian nationals
- ₹100 for other nationals
Note that professional camera charges are additional and it costs the same as your ticket price. So, if you are an Asian national, you must pay ₹50 extra for using your professional camera.
Photography and videography by smartphones are free, and you’ll see people doing it all the time.
What animals can you see in the Deer Park?
As the name suggests, the main attraction of the Sarnath Zoo is the deer. Over 100 deer are placed into two cages. They include the famous blackbuck, among other species of deer.
Other than that, you can see porcupines and alligators. There is another cage beside the alligators that houses Emu, among some other exotic big birds.
There is also a series of cages that house smaller birds like parrots, Cacatua, etc.
Let me list some of them for you:
- Blackbuck
- Chital
- Porcupine
- Gharial (fish-eating crocodile)
- Crocodiles
- Emu
- Sun Parakeet
- Sun Conure
- Zebra Finches
- Lovebirds
- White Stork
- Cokatiel
What else can you do in Sarnath deer park?
Though it is a mini Zoo, there is a small garden/lawn area where you can sit on the grass. There are also a few benches to sit and relax.
The park also has a small cafeteria offering packaged water, cold drinks, and a few snack items like chowmien, noodles, dosa, etc. It is not a fancy restaurant and has only very basic seating offering with plastic chair and tables. I forgot to click its photos.
You can take a stroll in the zoo premise and spend some time if the weather is pleasant.
There is also a small lake behind the animal cages. Interestingly, not many people know about it because the path that goes to this area is at the end of the cages and difficult to notice at first glance. You can do pedal boating in this lake. Boating charges are etc.
There is a walkable path covered with big trees behind the animal cages to reach the lake. Since this area is secluded and not many people come here, you are likely to see couples spending some precious alone time here, some even making out.
Facilities available
Toilet, Drinking water and Restaurant.
There is a toilet inside the zoo premises and an outlet for drinking water. The public toilet is like most public toilets, dirty and smelly. Avoid them if possible.
There is also a restaurant on the zoo campus. It’s not very fancy and serves limited food. Eat here only if you are okay with street-level food quality.
There are no buggies or carts to carry visitors around the zoo, and they are not needed as well. The zoo is not that big and you can easily walk around.
Is it worth visiting the Sarnath Deer Park
That depends on you actually. It is certainly not the best zoo, and neither does it have many exotic animals. I find them poorly kept as well but that’s just my opinion.
Still, if you have young children with you and some free time at hand, you can pay it a quick visit. It is a small zoo so you don’t have to walk a lot. Also, it doesn’t cost much to have a glimpse at the Blackbuck.
You’ll mainly see families with young children and school expeditions here, along with couples spending time on the lakeside. If you are interested in the history of this place, getting a ticket to the Sarnath Museum is a better choice.
Enjoy Sarnath!
