Lalbagh Gardens, Bangalore

The Lalbagh garden apart from being a beautiful garden is also a precious geological treasure. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Bangalore. The garden is famous for its glass house where the annual flower show takes place. Lal Bagh has an aquarium and a lake and it is home for possibly the largest collection of tropical plants found in India. It is a major attraction for geologists from around the world.

Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore and father of Tipu Sultan, originally built this garden but it was Tipu Sultan who later completed it.

Lal Bagh has four gates-

The Eastern Gate

The western gate

The Southern Gate

The Northern Gate

The western gate is located near the Siddapur Circle. The pleasant atmosphere of the garden can be enjoyed when one enters his gate.

Basavanagudi can be reached from the Southern Gate.

The Northern Gate is quite a wide and big road. The Glass House is to be seen by going straight from here.

Lalbagh Rock

A popular hillock known as Lalbagh Rock can be seen when you enter the Eastern Gate from Double Road. The Lalbagh Rock is a good place where you can climb and sit over it, or play there or just relax and enjoy snacks and refreshments. The Lalbagh Rock is considered as the oldest rock formation in the world which dates back to about 3000 million years ago when granite, quartz and mica combined as molten lava.

It is a geological treasure in the true sense. It is believed that nothing on earth has been found as old as this rock. It is also given the name of Peninsular Gneiss. Based on the scientific studies of this rare rock, the term 'Peninsular Gneiss' was given by W.F Smith in 1916 who was from the Mysore Geological Department.

At the Lalbagh gardens, an exposure of this rock mass was identified by The Geological Survey of India (GSI) which was projecting high above the ground as a hillock dating back to about 2.5 to 3.4 billion years ago.
And since Lalbagh is frequently visited by tourists from all over the world, this rock mass was declared as a National Geological Monument so as to spread the knowledge about it among the common public.

Many geologists from all over the world have been attracted by the uniqueness of this rock. The scientists of the Mysore Geological Department, Geological Survey of India and other scholars, on the basis of this rock, have also created erudite scientific papers relating to the evolution of earth. Parts of this rock are still being used as samples by various geologists and scientists for research in earth science.

Only 6 months ago, it was planned by the government to develop a rock garden on it and a musical fountain at the foot of the hillock but the plan was cancelled because the environmentalists did not favor this plan and opposed it.

Other Monuments

One of the four Towers constructed on Lalbagh rock by Magadi Kempe Gowda is another famous monument that can be seen here.
This tower was simple and undecorated, but during Sir Kengal Hanumanthiah's administration mythological figures were designed on it to enhance its appearance.