SRI VENKATESHWARA Zoological Park

Sri Venkateshwara National Park extends over two districts of Chittoor and Cuddapah of Andhra Pradesh in an area of 353.62 sq.km. The park established in October 1989, is named after Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati. It is located in Rajampet of Cuddapah district and Chandragiri and Bailapadu of Chittoor district. The hilly terrain bounded by Seshachalam and Tirumala hills is rugged and beautiful with gorges, steep slopes, plateaus and valleys. The park is also famous for its beautiful waterfalls like Talakona, Gundalakona and Gunjana.

It's dry deciduous mixed type of forest with patches of moist deciduous forest. It is famous for plant species like Sandalwood, Redsanders, Shorea, Thumbergiana, Shorea talura,Terminalia pallida, Cycas beddomei, Syzygium alternifolium etc. It has about 1500 plant species belonging to 176 families.

The fauna found here are tiger, panther, spotted deer, Sambar, black buck, bison, ibex, sloth bear, pig, bear, Bonnet monkey, mongoose, wild dogs, jackal, fox, wolf, civet cat, jungle cat, rare and endangered golden gecko, Indian giant squirrel, tree shrew, lizards etc and birds like partridges, quail, peacock, jungle fowl etc
Mammals The sanctuary is famous for very rare slender Lorises and the rare and endangered golden Gecko, Indian Giant Squirrel, Tree Shrew and Flying Lizards. There are other mammal species like the Nilgai, Wildboar, occasional leopard, hyena etc to be seen here as well.
Birds: There are more than 100 species of birds in Sri Venkateswaram including Crested Serpant Eagle, Ashy Crowned Finch Lark, Indian Roller, Kingfishers, White bellied Woodpecker etc. So bird watchers can look forward to a busy and happy time.

Best Time to Visit: Throughout the year.

Transport Information

• By Rail: Nearest railway station is at Hyderabad and the nearest railhead is Tirupati. There are trains that travel via Renigunta or Gudur, but do not touch Tirupati. In such cases, Renigunta (just 10-km from Tirupati) is a convenient point to alight.
• By Air: Nearest airport is at Tirupati.Flights to Tirupati are available from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Vijayawada. Indian Airlines, Opposite Central Bus stand, Tirupati
• By Road: 10 kms from Tirupati by road. The park is a three hours drive or 160 km from Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu.