One Familys Blog: Bangalore

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HAL Aerospace Museum, Bangalore Review

HAL Aerospace Museum (aka Heritage Center and Aerospace Museum)

is located on Airport Road, 8KM from MG Road and just 1.5KM from Airport. Hours are 9AM to 5PM, Saturday & Sunday Closed. The location is within Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) premises and it was inaugurated in 2001 as India’s first aerospace museum. Adult (over 12) ticket pricing is Rs 55 and children are fee. There is limited parking in front of the facility.

The main hall (Hall-1) has a good photo exhibition of HAL’s growth from the 1940s in chronological order at the entrance.. During World War II, allied air-crafts were serviced here and that marked the start of present-day HAL.

The hall has a circular design with several rooms highlighting HAL’s achievements by decade, starting from the 1940s. B&W photographs of the assembly lines of Vampire and the GNAT fighter aircraft, the mainstays of Indian Air Force during the early wars that did India proud are very special.

Hall-2 has two floors. The ground floor has a video program that highlights HAL’s contribution to the country’s aerospace programs - it is being continuously shown.

It also has photo exhibitions showing:

the evolution of Research, Design, and Development at HAL,
the evolution of world aviation, and
benefits to society from aeronautical science & technology.

The second floor has two flight simulators. Our kids tried it but were disappointed - it is a lame video game not comparable to what is now available in Nintendo and Xbox consoles. The ground floor also has some air-crafts/models on display. They include the Basant HA-31 indigenous aircraft of the 1970s (agricultural use), the Pushpak indigenous aircraft of the late 1950s (for flying clubs), models of Vampire and Light Observation Helicopter (LOH), and a parachute ejection system.

The grounds of HAL

Aerospace Museum has a couple of interactive exhibits and several air-crafts and rockets on display:

The ATC (Air Traffic Control) tower shows the history of navigation. The tower also has sweeping views of the surrounding including the airport runway.
The Sea King MK 42 Indian Naval workhorse helicopter from 1969 till date: Visitors are allowed to enter this helicopter and sit on the cockpit. Manufactured by GKN Westland Helicopters, UK, the roles include anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue missions, casualty evacuation, search and strike, and cargo carrying and troop transport.

Highlights from the outdoor exhibits include the Lakshya pilotless target drone,

Ajeet fighter aircraft (variation of the British Gnat built under license), the Canberra bomber, Advanced Light Helicopter, the De Havilland Devon HW-201, the Hansa indigenous training/sport/hobby composite light aircraft designed and developed by National Aerospace Laboratories of Bangalore, the Kiran trainer aircraft (basic jet liner with the Rolls Royce Mk11 engine), the PSLV heat-shield, and a GSLV (Geo Satellite Launch Vehicle) 1:10 model.

The premises

also a canteen but there is very limited fare on offer here - chocolates, soda, and a small selection of other snacks. A gift shop that existed before has since been closed. Overall, the museum is a nice place to spend a few hours while in Bangalore. The place is not very popular for some reason and so is usually not crowded - an added bonus!

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Last Updated: 02/2015.

Lalbagh Gardens & Viswesarayya Museum, Bangalore - Review

The huge 200-odd acre Lalbagh garden,

located a few kilometers south of MG Road (Bangalore, India) is well-connected by public transportation - BMTC buses from Shivaji Nagar to Jayanagar area pass through one of the four gates of Lalbagh. The garden is very popular with joggers and primarily for their benefit the entry is free from 6AM to 9AM and after 6PM. Entry at other times is Rs 40 for adults with kids free. Hours are from 6AM to 7PM all days. Cars/scooters are allowed only through the East gate (Double Road). There is plenty of parking in that area as well.

Gala events are occasionally hosted at Lalbagh and the most famous among them are the biannual flower shows that happen in January and August on the occasion of India’s Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations respectively. The purpose of the flower show is to develop public interest in plant conservation and cultivation. It is held at the famous glasshouse of Lalbagh - called the “Jewel of Lalbagh”, it was built in 1889 on the lines of the Crystal Palace of London, to commemorate the visit of Prince of Wales.

The garden has a tremendous diversity of exotic flora, made possible by the painstaking process of introduction, acclimatization, and development of plants obtained from various parts of the world since inception - close to 700 genera and over 1850 species of plants are found in Lalbagh currently.

Highlights of Lalbagh include the Kempegowda Tower (sweeping views of Bangalore city areas from the top of the hillock), several huge specimens of the Kapok (aka Java Cotton or Silk Cotton) tree including the largest known one, the Lalbagh Lake, Japanese monument replica, specimens of the weeping willow trees, statue of Sri Chamaraj Wodeyar (ex-ruler), the Lalbagh Rock (one of the oldest rock formations on earth dating back 3000 million years), Rose Garden, and the giant electronic flower clock built on the grounds by the HMT watch company. The garden also has a deer park and an aquarium.

Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, located on Kasturba Road in the heart of Bangalore is more an “interactive science center” than a museum.

Currently under the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), the objective is to popularize science through interactive exhibits. Entrance is Rs 20 and the exhibits are spread-out over four floors. Hours are from 10AM to 6PM all days except Dusserah (Monday October 14, 2013) and Ganesha Chathurthi (Monday September 9, 2013).

Visitors interested in science should plan to spend at-least a day at the facility. The overall structure of the museum is as follows: First floor has machinery parts, second floor science and technology, third floor entertainment and space research center, and fourth floor food court. The building is not air-conditioned. Carrying plenty of water will help with saving energy to enjoy all what is on offer.

Highlights of the museum include the rolling ball exhibit that travel endlessly through roller-coaster metal tracks ending with the drop and bounce to the basket, the virtual game area, the mini-planetarium show, the full-scale replica of the 1903 plane by the Wright brothers, and the 3D theater.

Cubbon Park, the Aquarium, Children's Park, Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium, Vidhana Soudha, and Attara Kacheri are other attractions in the vicinity. Parking in the area can be a problem. Cubbon Park has some parking although it is not strictly legal. Another option is to use the parking lots of one of the shopping complexes in the vicinity- for Visvesvaraya museum, parking at UB City (Rs 50) is a good option - it is a five-star shopping mall that caters to the rich and has a good number of world renowned brand outlets.

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Last Updated: 02/2015.

Bannerghatta National Park, Bangalore Trip Report

Bannerghatta National Park is a 104 square kilometer zoological park located around 30 minutes South of Bangalore.

To get there, take the Nice Road from Hosur (Rs 30 toll) and Exit at Bannerghatta Road (it is the next exit and it comes at around the 9KM mark) and drive around 20 minutes on that road to get to the entrance.

There is also excellent public transportation to the place (BMTC buses 365, 366, 368, and Big-10). The park is open 9AM to 5PM and closed Tuesdays.

The main activities available at the park are the safari,

the zoo, and the butterfly park. The overall facility is pretty well organized. We got there around 9:15AM and got the Grand Safari plus Zoo tickets (Rs 210). Although they say the park opens at 9AM, the first Safari doesn’t leave until after 9:45AM. Thankfully, there are waiting sheds provided. Also, it is to your advantage to be among the first to arrive - the animals are caged at the end of the day and so you get to see them when they are released for the day, if you are in the first batch of buses.

The safari buses are seating only -

the windows have grills but there are openings to put a camera and/or binoculars. The front of the bus have wider grill-less windows but that place is usually blocked off - sometimes the helper (‘kili’) will offer someone a seat there but the expectation is that they will give a good tip - Rs 500/- is the usual solicitation but you can bargain it down. The large area that the safari takes you through is fenced in and there are entry/exits to different portions of the safari (lion safari, tiger safari, bear safari etc). It takes about an hour as they stop whenever they see animals.

They also have a more private safari in a jeep . For us, the highlight was the great sight of a bunch of happy-looking lions running into the forest when they were released. Also saw white tiger, bears, deers, etc.

On the way back, they dropped us off at the Butterfly park - the tickets (Rs 30) can be purchased from there as well. The main facility is an enclosed glass house with plenty of flowering plants and butterflies. There is a breeding center adjacent to it (restricted entry). Also, the Butterfly park grounds have plenty of butterflies as well - you can spend a good half hour here.

The zoo is also very well organized and covers an area of

12 hectares at the moment, although there are expansion plans for another 28 hectares. It hosts over 1400 animals belonging to over 70 species. The complex also has a museum, auditorium, and an animal hospital (no access for visitors) inside the premises.

Prominent animals on display include cayman crocodiles, panthers, hog deer, a good variety of exotic birds, etc. They also occasionally have feeding time, demonstrations, and such - we got to pet a baby elephant! Also, the albino peacock was a first for us.

Not everything was perfect at the park when we visited: Parking was not that well organized, ticketing areas were chaotic, restroom facility was well below par, and there were no restaurant options to speak of (Hotel Vanashree Mayura is next to the entrance but did not look appealing)