Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden
Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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If you are a butterfly enthusiast, you must visit this garden. The Ovalekar wadi butterfly garden has been maintained as a family home and Mr. Rajendra Ovalekar has grown a variety of butterfly host and nectar plants. He takes care of his plants very fondly. His patient efforts for the last several years, have turned this place into a butterfly sanctum. There are a number of plant for butterflies to feed and lay eggs, which assures their continuous presence. The garden is open on Sundays 9 AM to 12.30 PM. The best time to visit are just after monsoon (August-September), but if you visit any other times you can surely see up to 20-30 butterfly species and their early stages. It is advised to come soon so that you can make the most of your time and take pictures. If you are lucky you can also see Blue Mormon here, the state butterfly of Maharashtra, which we saw today on our visit. There is an orientation lecture by Mr. Ovalekar which covers basic aspects of butterfly life cycle, enriched with his personal gardening experiences. He has vast knowledge about plants, butterflies and associated insects, which he passionately shares with everyone. Butterfly activities such as puddling, courtship, fruit-baiting, oviposition can be regularly spotted here. Visitors can participate in the day-to-day gardening activities such as weeding, mulching, seed collection. This experience is very enriching for school-children and elders alike. Ovalekar wadi can be easily reached using public and private transport. The garden has basic restroom facilities and a comfortable public sitting area. It is advised to carry sufficient drinking water and your own food items, especially if you have small children with you. Please make sure to maintain the garden as it is and not to litter or damage any plants/insects. Like any nature outing one has to be patient while watching butterflies and be mindful of weather conditions. The place is generally safe being a private property, but care needs to be taken and one should avoid getting into deep vegetation. Also avoid touching/consuming any plant parts without knowledge. The place is definitely recommended for a Sunday outing and you will be inspired to start your own butterfly garden. You will keep going back here!!
Gyro InfographicGyro Infographic
80
This place is open only during Sunday and Thursday from 8 AM to 12.30 PM. Entry fee or adult is RS.100 and child RS.50. If you need breakfast, you have to pay extra RS.50 and that is not compulsory. We reached this place around 8.45 AM. The name board was written in Marathi only. If you can read Hindi, you can easily identify it. Mr.Ovalekar and his team gave an overview about the butterfly garden, when is the best time to visit, what are the butterflies we can see there etc. It was informative. After the overview, he and his team guided the us to the garden and explained about the butterflies while showing them. They have also showed us the butterfly eggs. It is very small. Another important thing is butterflies can't hear, but they got a very good eyesight. So it's better to avoid bright colors while visiting the garden. The best time to visit butterfly garden is second week of July to second week of December. Also butterflies used to migrate from one place to another and we won't be able to see all the butterflies at the same time. We had a hard time to capture the butterflies as they are flying so fast from one place to other. But still we managed to get few clicks. Overall it was a great experience and we have seen many new butterflies. Whenever you go there, take your children as well. It would be a great experience for them too.
Sruthy VargheseSruthy Varghese
100
I am writing this review to save you from the disappointment and inconvenience. After I first heard about this garden 5 years ago, I kept this place on my Must Visit places. I kept on postponing to visit this place as it was very far away from my home. Finally, after 5 years, I decided to visit this 'butterfly garden'. I called up and spoke to the owner of that place, Rajendra. I asked him if the park was open and when I could come. He replied by saying that the park is open and I can come in the morning to see the butterflies. They open the park which is known as Ovalekar wadi - only on Sundays in the morning. They do not have their own website where you can find the information about it or book the tickets. All they have is a single web page which mentions the timings and some photographs. The butterfly garden felt a little 'fishy' to me and I could literally hear the song, "Golmal hai bhai sab golmal hai". But, I wanted to strike that place off my list and so I decided to give it a chance. How wrong I was!! :-( I took a OLA ride and travelled almost 50 kms. The park fees was Rs.150 or so and I went with my family. In the name of the butterfly garden, it is a small 'wadi' but just TWO butterflies! Yeah, you read it right. Just 2 butterflies in the whole garden. Keep reading. We were a total of about 25 people in a group. Rajendra started by showing us cocoon of the butterfly and started to explain their cycle. Then, he took us in his 'garden' and showed us again the same thing in a different way. It happened for almost an hour and half and then he concluded that it was nice having us all. All of us were dumbstruck as he did not show us a single butterfly forget about 'butterflies'. I then asked him in front of the group, 'But, what about the butterflies? Where can we see them?" To that he replied, "Oh yes! Talking about the butterflies, people come here and expect to see the butterflies in off season. You will have to come at some other time for that." Seriously? I told him that it was not fair and he should have told me over the phone about it instead of wasting our time, efforts and money come to his barren butterfly garden. He did not have any answer for that and started to give dumb lame excuses. Some of the other people in the group also got bitter about this but that person did not even have the shame to return us our money and apologize for the same. His attitude was such that. 'Jo ukhadne ka ukhado". There were many small children in a group who have come to see the butterflies. Everyone of us were disappointed but Rajendra was very indifferent about it. Even his assistant who was taking thousand of pictures of a single ordinary butterfly to show off as he was an award winner of National Geography channel. He looked shabby and literally wearing space suit! The garden was not at all maintained properly. In conclusion, I would say that somewhere inside me already knew about it and I did not listen to my voice. It was my experience but your experience could be great - who knows? You could find some 'great reviews' about people writing about this garden but mostly about how 'great' their homemade food was! Seriously? Are they giving reviews for butterfly garden or butterfly restaurant? Find out for yourself!
Raju MotiyaniRaju Motiyani
70
A great place to spend your Sunday morning with your family & friends. One can easily spend 2 to 3 hours at the garden, by looking at variety of plants and of course the butterflies. The park is home to over 150 species of butterflies. There are over 80 species of plants that serve the butterflies in some way; nectar or breeding. The butterflies migrate from October to December and then from April to June, therefore, making these months best for visiting. The park is an oasis for species of butterflies like the Gaudy Baron, Striped Tiger, Swordtail, Bluebottle, Commander, Common Crow, Wanderer, Crimson Rose, Monkey Puzzle and Grass Demon. Public can visit on Sunday mornings. There’s a guided tour for Rs. 100/- per adult and Rs. 50/- per child and the owner Rajendra Ovalekar himself conducts the guided tour, explains about various plants, variety of butterflies etc. Don’t miss out to see the 150+ years old mango tree (planted by Rajendra’s grand father), which gives him over 1000 mangos every year. The garden has a small parking area which can take about 10 to 12 cars. Remember to carry enough water and some packed light snacks and a cap to cover the heat. I am sure a visit to Ovalekar Butterfly Garden will give you an insight to Butterflies ! Enjoy the images taken during my visit to the Garden on Sunday.
Badri NathanBadri Nathan
10
Who should visit this place: Butterfly watchers / hobbyist. Naturalists Any adult / child interested in Nature. Groups of school children, for a nature outing - not a picnic spot! 😊 Photographers, especially for macrophotography. The place is specifically designed to attract 🦋 (butterflies) and includes their host plants in large numbers. The person, Rajendra Ovalekar, who has set up the place is truly passionate and knowledgeable on the subject by and it shows not only in the footfalls and number of butterfly species but also associated species of moths, bugs, spiders and other insect life. The butterfly park is about an acre and divided into three discrete areas plus a covered hall which is used to give informative talks on the subject. There are no audiovisual facilities. The best season to visit the park is from mid-July to December end but the butterflies are there all year round. The park/garden is open only on Sundays between 8 am to 12:30pm. The registration fee is Rs.100/-. It's hassle free and involves writing your name and contact number only. There are no camera charges. Parking space is available inside the park.
Samir MehtaSamir Mehta
200
A privately owned butterfly garden by Mr. Ovalekar. It's about 10 mins walking distance from Ovala bus stop if you take a bus from Thane station. Any bus going to Mira Rd will do. We maintained and lush green space spread across 2 acres of area. Many flowering plants and trees are spread across the garden. Entry fee for adults is a nominal 100 rs and children below 10ys is 50 rs. It's a really good place to bring youngsters who are interested in nature, butterflies and plants. The garden opens at 8:00 am in the morning and closes at 12pm (open only on Sunday). At 9:30 am there is a interactive session which is conducted by Mr. Ovalekar himself which is very informative and a must attend where he explains all about the life cycle of butterflies, their host plant there important in our surroundings and how you create your mini butterfly garden in you house. I would definitely recommend nature enthusiast to visit this place at least once if you are in Mumbai.
Rajesh PoojaryRajesh Poojary
100
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Address
7XC4+25C, Ovalekar Wadi,Owala Village,Takkarda Road, Ghodbunder Rd, Thane, Maharashtra 400607, India
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Overview
4.2
(654 reviews)
Ratings & Description
outdoor
relaxation
family friendly
attractions: , restaurants: Veggies Annex, Velvet Garden, Vintage Garden The Family Restobar & Lounge, The Courtyard, Aagri Katta®, Sanjog Wine N Dine, Vaibhav Garden Family Restaurant & Bar, Mr. Grill, Live Solkadhi, Royal Garden- Family Garden Restaurant & Bar
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