With rapid development and urbanization, the city of Mumbai has become a huge concrete jungle. However even among the chaos and hustle and bustle of city life, it is home to some lush and beautiful gardens. Read on to find out five of the must visit gardens in Mumbai.
Ferozeshah Mehta Gardens (Hanging Gardens)
Location: Malabar Hills.
Timings: 5:00 am- 9:00 pm.
Entry Fee: None.
Ferozeshah Mehta Gardens, more popularly known as Hanging Gardens, is a beautiful garden with it’s lush greenery and animal shaped hedges. A huge shoe made entirely of stone (known as the ‘Boot House’ or ‘Old Lady’s Shoe’) is one of the main attractions here. Another attraction is the view of the sunset across the Arabian Sea.
Sagar Upavan
Location: Colaba
Timings: 6:00 am- 11:00 am, 4:30 pm- 8:30 pm.
Entry Fee: Rs. 2.
Sagar Upavan is also known as the Bombay (Mumbai) Port Trust Garden. It is a botanical garden. It has a number of different species of trees, flowering shrubs, cactuses, etc. (with their names given in English and Marathi.) In addition to this, there are a number of birds like the cuckoo, crow and humming birds among others. You can also enjoy the view of the nearby sea with its fishing boats going to and fro.
Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP).
Location: Dharavi, Sion.
Timings: Mondays- Fridays, 8:30 am- 4:00 pm, Saturdays & Sundays, 7:30 am- 3:00 pm.
Entry Fee: Rs. 10.
Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP), formerly known as Mahim Nature Park, is a man- made forest created on a garbage dumping ground. Spanning for about 37 acres, the nature park boasts of a number of plant, bird, insect and reptile species. The park is divided into 10 different sections consisting of an education centre, nursery (for plants), wooded area section, medicinal plants section, palm section, vegetables section, fruit trees section, aquarium, bird observation point and vermicomposting demonstration project. It also has a rain water harvesting system and a building containing an amphitheatre, library and audio- visual room.
Chhota Kashmir Park
Location: Aarey Colony, Goregaon
Timings: 6:00 am- 6:00 pm.
Entry Fee: Rs. 10.
The garden, with its greenery and beautiful lake was notable for the shooting of many Bollywood films in the 70’s and 80’s. It is a wonderful picnic spot. Let your kids enjoy a number of joyrides (like swings and toy trains) as well as go boating on the Chhota Kashmir Lake.
Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden
Location: Thane.
Timings: Sundays, 8:00 am- 12:30 pm.
Entry Fee: Adults= Rs. 100, Children (Under 10)= Rs. 50.
The Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden boasts of more than 70 species of butterflies. It is home to several local as well as migrant butterfly species. Unlike most Butterfly Gardens in the world, butterflies here, are bred naturally.
So the next time you are in Mumbai, be sure not to give any of these gardens a miss.
Bernadette Braganza 
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