India GOButterflies of Hyderabad
Hyderabad has two butterfly parks. The older is at the Nehru Zoological Park: an open butterfly park, the first in India when it was set up in 1992, with about 45 species flying free. The other is a 7,200-square-foot enclosure in the eco zone of Ramoji Film City. Outside the parks, the city's large green spaces are the places to look.
Plain tiger
Depicted in an ancient Egyptian fresco at Luxor, which makes it one of the first butterflies ever recorded in art; its caterpillar feeds on the madar plant.
Danaus chrysippus
The butterfly park at Nehru Zoological Park
The Telangana Forest Department describes the zoo's butterfly park as the first open butterfly park in India, established in 1992, with about 45 species of free-ranging butterflies. Next to it is an insectarium of 91 display boxes with dragonflies, beetles, bees, wasps, moths, mantises and true bugs as well as butterflies.
The zoo's own list starts with the tigers (plain tiger, blue tiger, striped tiger) and runs through the common Indian crow, crimson tip and great orange tip, lime butterfly, tailed jay, common jay, common bluebottle, common mormon, common rose and crimson rose, the great eggfly, common leopard, painted lady and several pansies (peacock, yellow, lemon and blue).
The butterfly park is inside the zoo, so it comes with the zoo ticket. The Nehru Zoological Park covers 154 hectares in Bahadurpura and is closed on Mondays; mornings are cooler. The Sudha Cars Museum is a few minutes away.
The butterfly park at Ramoji Film City
Ramoji Film City keeps a butterfly park in its eco zone: a 7,200-square-foot enclosure with a display area of 20 panels on butterfly facts and myths. Ramoji presents its eco tours mainly as educational visits for school groups. The same zone has a Birds Park aviary and Vaman, a garden of more than 150 bonsai.
The butterfly park makes sense as part of a visit to Ramoji rather than as a trip on its own. Check what your ticket includes when you book.
The butterfly to know: the plain tiger
The plain tiger (Danaus chrysippus) heads the zoo's list. It is a medium-sized orange butterfly with black wing tips crossed by a white band and a scatter of black spots; it is common and flies all year. Its flight is slow and low over grass and flower beds, and it does not dodge: it does not need to. Males have an extra black spot in the middle of each hindwing. Its caterpillar feeds on the madar plant, and it is one of the first butterflies ever shown in art, in an ancient Egyptian fresco at Luxor. More on the plain tiger.
Where to look outside the parks
KBR National Park in Jubilee Hills is 160 hectares of scrub forest with some 600 plant species; the inner park opens early in the morning. The Hyderabad Botanical Garden near HITEC City covers 110 hectares in nineteen themed sections, including medicinal plants, fruit trees and water plants. Ananthagiri Hills, about 80 km west, is the nearest real forest, at its greenest from September to December, straight after the monsoon. These are not butterfly parks, so treat a sighting as a bonus. More green spaces are on parks of Hyderabad.
For walking weather, November to February is mild and dry. From April to June highs reach about 40°C, so go early, and July to October is the monsoon. See Hyderabad weather.
FAQ
Is there a butterfly park in Hyderabad?
Yes, two: the open butterfly park at Nehru Zoological Park, set up in 1992 with about 45 free-flying species, and a 7,200-square-foot butterfly enclosure in Ramoji Film City's eco zone.
Is the butterfly garden free?
Neither park has a separate entrance: the zoo's butterfly park is covered by the zoo ticket, and the Ramoji enclosure is inside Ramoji Film City, which is ticketed.
Which butterflies can you see in Hyderabad?
The zoo's list includes the plain, blue and striped tigers, the common Indian crow, lime butterfly, tailed jay, common mormon, common and crimson roses, painted lady and several pansies.
When is the zoo's butterfly park closed?
The Nehru Zoological Park is closed on Mondays.
Sources (2)
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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