Cubbon Park Guide: Timings, Vehicle Rules, Aquarium, Toy Train and What to See

Cubbon Park (officially Sri Chamarajendra Park) was founded in 1870, started at about 100 acres, and is about 300 acres today according to Wikipedia and Holidify. Karnataka Tourism notes that some records say 334 acres, while The News Minute reported 197 acres in January 2025, so treat the size as roughly 200 to 330 acres depending on what is counted. It is maintained by the Department of Horticulture and holds about 6,000 trees and plants of roughly 68 genera and 96 species, including mature bamboo clumps, avenues of silver oak, gulmohar and mahogany, and a lotus pond.

The hard part of planning is that the park’s own rules shift: vehicle hours, weekend closures to traffic, and the opening days of the buildings inside have all changed in recent years, and sources disagree. This page shows ranges and says which claims are from a single page. For the rest of a Bengaluru day, our Bengaluru district guide, the Lalbagh guide and the Bangalore Palace guide pair well with this one.

The park is open to walkers from early morning, and the roads around it are meant to be vehicle-free from 5 to 8 am every day, according to Wikipedia and Karnataka Tourism. Beyond that, the rules have moved around: a Sunday vehicle ban was planned as a one-month trial from late April 2015, and later orders extended the vehicle-free days. A page that tracked the rules reports that vehicles are not allowed on Sundays, second and fourth Saturdays and public holidays, and cites a May 2025 order with walking hours of 5:30 to 9 am and 4:30 to 6 pm. We could not confirm that order from a government source, so treat those hours as reported rather than official.

In January 2025 the government decided to let vehicles through on a trial basis for three months on alternate Saturday evenings. Deccan Herald and The News Minute report second and fourth Saturdays from 7 to 10 pm, while a heritage group’s meeting note says first and third Saturdays; the same note says the trial would be reviewed after three months. We found no report of whether it continued, and the figures conflict, so check on the day if you plan a Saturday evening visit. The practical advice is simple: Sunday morning is the quietest and the surest to be vehicle-free, and weekday mornings are good for walking.

Sources even disagree on whether the park itself closes on Mondays and second Tuesdays. Holidify and Karnataka Tourism list those closures, while another guide calls them unclear and notes they probably apply to the buildings. We would not rely on a Monday visit to the museum or aquarium, and we would not skip a Monday walk, but check ahead for either. A phone number given for confirmation by one page is 080-22864125; verify it before relying on it.

Take the metro. Cubbon Park station on the Purple Line is about 450 m from the Kasturba Road entrance on one page and about 100 m from the park on another, depending on which gate you count, and Vidhana Soudha station serves the north side. Cars are not allowed inside, according to a Karnataka Tourism blog, which advises parking at Sree Kanteerava Stadium and walking about 10 minutes to the Bal Bhavan or High Court gates. Another page lists paid parking near Kasturba Road and along Queens Road by Bal Bhavan; the tariff is not published, so keep small change. Nearby, Vidhana Soudha is about 50 m away, MG Road and Brigade Road about 1.5 km, and Lalbagh about 4 km, per Karnataka Tourism; Bangalore Palace is listed at about 3 km on one page and 4.5 km on another, so check a live map.

The park is described as plastic-free. A Karnataka Tourism blog says single-use plastic bottles and bags are confiscated at the gate and that fines apply for crossing barriers or plucking flowers, so carry a steel or glass bottle. The same blog advises arriving between 6 and 8 am because crowds peak after 10 am.

Early morning is best all year, and the cooler months from October to February are the most comfortable for long walks. Rain turns the paths muddy but makes the trees look their best. Costs are small: the park is free, the toy train is about ₹30 for adults and ₹10 to ₹20 for children, boating about ₹50, and the aquarium roughly ₹15 to ₹40 on older listings. For a couple with the toy train and aquarium, expect to spend roughly ₹150 to ₹300 on tickets, which is our own estimate based on those figures, plus metro fare and breakfast.

Mistakes to avoid

• Arriving by car and expecting to drive in. Use the metro or park at the stadium.
• Planning a museum visit without checking whether it is open.
• Carrying plastic bottles and bags, which are confiscated at the gate.
• Going on a Saturday evening assuming it is vehicle-free, when a traffic trial may apply.
• Arriving after 10 am on a weekend when crowds peak.
• Assuming a Monday works for the buildings. Several list Monday closures.

Continue with the Lalbagh Botanical Garden guide, the Bangalore Palace guide and the Bengaluru district guide. For the best months across the state, see best time to visit Karnataka.

Timings, closure days, vehicle rules and fees are approximate and change often, and several figures here come from older pages. Confirm with the park or the horticulture department before you travel. Updated October 2026.