Kandlakoya Oxygen Park: Enjoy deep forest outing in city's backyard

Hyderabad: For nature lovers and adventure-seekers, who find peace in exploring green forests and study birds, etc, need not worry about planning their holidays elaborately, as Kandlakoya Oxygen Park, spread in sprawling 75 acres has come up just in city backyard - about 20 km from Paradise Circle and six km from Kompally on the NH44. Hyderabadis along with family and friends can escape from the concrete jungle and city's hustle bustle to spend time in tranquility whenever they want without any elaborate planning.

The Kandlakoya oxygen park was inaugurated on March 21, 2018 by former forest minister Devaramane Nath. The park has become the first choice of families keen to spend quality time, especially on weekends.

The thick green cover leaves a memorable impression on visitors that they are deep in the forest. The eco-friendly initiative is equally pocket- friendly for the visitors with entry fare at just Rs 30 for adults and Rs 20 for children. While every park and resort does not allow outside leaving no option but to purchase from in house stalls selling food at steep prices, the Oxygen Park asks visitors to bring their own food, mostly home-cooked food is preferred by all as it gives a picnic feeling.

Also, an aviary has been inaugurated on July 11, 2019 by forest minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy. Visitors now have the opportunity to walk directly into the profusion of bird calls, while experiencing the canopy walk. The 'Walk-in Aviary' is built around the tree canopies of Oxygen Park for visitors. The already existing canopy park has been turned into an aviary so that the visitors can enjoy viewing various species of birds.

The latest addition to the park, aviary. is connected through a 200 mt long canopy walk from the park. It is a delight to bird lovers with its myriad collection of species like Blue Gold Macaw, Jenday Conure, Sun Conures, Silver Pheasant, Green Conure, Rainbow Lorikeet and White Cockatiel.

Among its bigger attractions are the devil tree, zipline and the butterfly selfie point. The cost of any of the adventurous sports in the park is Rs 50. The Butterfly selfie point, as the name suggests, is a fancy spot for children and elders to click pictures.

Speaking to The Hans India, Sridevi Saraswathi, Forest Range Officer, Dulapally said, "It is a forest that has been converted into an urban lung space, without any damage to nature. It is the result of Miyawaki plantation, a technique that aims at 10 times faster growth and 30 X denser forests. The distance between the trees in other forests will either be 3 by 3 meters or 5 by 5 meters. They grow nearly 2,000 plants in a space of half-acre keeping a distance of half a meter between two plants."

"On an average during weekdays, 200 adults and 70 children visit the park. However, during the weekends the footfall increases. Around 450 adults and 300 children visit the park," added Sridevi

Here the seats are designed in the form of tree branches. The Devil tree is endeared by most visitors who capture it in their cameras and mobile phones.

Next comes the Tamarind Picnic area, where families can sit under the shade of many tamarind trees and enjoy lunch with their near and dear ones. The spot has swings installed for children to ensure they have fun and laughter as they enjoy their food.

Kandlakoya Oxygen Park has more unique sights and offerings. It has a Medicinal Plants garden that has plants like Insulin, Lemongrass, Aloe Vera and Ajowain. There is also a Butterfly Rainbow garden to attract butterflies.

The huge sculpture of clay tortoise abutting a water spot too is an attractive photo spot, particularly for the kids. Roses and chrysanthemum line the water body, which currently is filled with rainwater.

Further down, there are two huge outdoor classrooms complete with a blackboard and chairs. The hut-like gazebo located nearby with wooden benches is again a good photo spot. The tree-house and old man sculpture will bring the selfie-pro in you out. The canopy walk, which allows one to touch the bamboo shoots, is long and quite.

Since there are no food stalls inside the park, it is always a good idea to carry enough water and food for children.

General information

♦ Entry fare: Rs 30 for adults and Rs 20 for children

♦ Timings: 6 am to 6 pm. (Ticket counter closes at 5:30 pm)

♦ Walking track of 2.2 km for morning walkers

♦ The park is 20 km from Paradise Circle