How to reach Vandalur zoological park? - 2023
The Arignar Anna Zoological Park's entry points are 1.5 KMs from the nearest Vandalur Railway station. The Zoo is in Vandalur and so is often referred to as the Vandalur Zoo, by the public. State-operated Government buses of different routes halt in front of these entrances for the convenience of the Zoo visitors.
These buses are by far the most easily accessible choice for people that plan to visit the Zoo. All the means of transport mentioned in this blog are revised for the year 2023. Apart from the public transport options, people can use the huge parking area inside the Zoo campus to travel by their private vehicles.
Bus routes to Vandalur zoo
There are three different directions from where the buses come to the Zoo.
-
From Chennai:
The Zoo attracts most of its visitors from the state capital, Chennai. People opting for the buses to reach the Zoo from places like Chennai Airport or Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station will have to reach Tambaram by bus or train.
Bus Routes Starting point Final spots 500, 500A Tambaram Chengalpattu 91V Thiruvanmiyur Vandalur Zoo 515 Tambaram Kelambakkam 515A Tambaram Mamallapuram E18, M18 Broadway MTC Bus Terminus Guduvancheri 104C Koyambedu Guduvancheri 66G Anakaputhur Guduvancheri 21G Broadway MTC Bus Terminus Vandalur Zoo 55M Tambaram Melakottaiyur M118k Tambaram Maraimalai Nagar Any variant of the 500 series bus routes goes until Chengalpattu and will stop at the Vandalur Zoo. Few bus routes start even before Tambaram, like the E18 which originates from the Broadway MTC Bus Terminus. For your convenience, check for the bus routes that start nearest your location.
-
From ECR/OMR and Mamallapuram:
A few of the routes mentioned above can also be referred to to reach the Zoo from the OMR/ECR side of the city. You may even check for the routes and plan accordingly to visit any other tourist attractions on the OMR road and then come to the Vandalur Zoo for the second half of the day.
Bus Routes Starting point Final spots 515 Kelambakkam Tambaram 515A Mamallapuram Tambaram 55M Melakottaiyur Tambaram -
From Chengalpattu:
500 series bus routes are the only routes that start from Chengalpattu and stop at the Zoo. However, there are other bus routes that start from other points between Chengalpattu and Tambaram that halt at Vandalur.
Bus Routes Starting point Final spots 500, 500A Chengalpattu Tambaram E18, M18 Guduvancheri Broadway MTC Bus Terminus M118k Maraimalai Nagar Tambaram 104C Guduvancheri Koyambedu 66G Guduvancheri Anakaputhur Apart from all the above options, there may be many less frequent bus routes that start from different locations and could reach the Zoo. Kindly check with your nearest bus stop management for the available route details.
Train towards Vandalur Zoo:
As said earlier, the nearest railway station to the zoo is 1.5 KMs away, and to travel from the station to reach the zoo is relatively hard. The local trains running on the Chennai Beach - Chengalpattu Junction, make a stop at the Vandalur Railway Station. If you are coming from Chennai, it is still recommended to travel until Tambaram on a train and switch to a bus.
But, if you still want to commute by train to the Zoo, get off at the Vandalur station and catch an auto-rikshaw or book a cab. Or, safely cross the road and walk to reach the bus stop, catch any bus that stops there, and get down at the next stop. There is no Zebra crossing in front of the Railway station.
Alternatively, if you wish to not take the risk of crossing the road with no proper crossing set up to catch a bus, reach the Urappakkam railway station where you don’t have to cross the road to catch a bus that goes towards the Zoo. Upon reaching the nearest bus stop at the Zoo from Urappakkam, you have to cross the road but, under a safer road crossing setup.
The sub-urban trains towards/from Chengalpattu junction are mildly frequent at the rate of 1-2 trains per hour, and sometimes 3 trains per hour during peak hours. Check for the schedule before planning.
Other modes of transport
The Vandalur Zoo also hosts a huge paid parking space for private vehicles, for both four-wheelers and two-wheelers. You can make use of this facility to plan and travel to the zoo in your own vehicle. You may also catch a cab to reach the Zoo, as these vehicles can drop you off at the entrances of the Zoo, directly.
