Government Rose Garden

Five terraces curve down the slope of Elk Hill, and on them sits the largest rose collection in India, kept by the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department and named a Garden of Excellence by the World Federation of Rose Societies. Thousands of cultivars grow here: hybrid teas, ramblers, and the odd green or near-black rose that stops people mid-path. Flowering peaks from April to June, around the summer shows. Open daily from roughly 7:00 or 8:00 until 18:30, with a modest ticket. This is not the older Government Botanical Garden across town.

Green and near-black roses among thousands of cultivars, at their peak in May