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Spotted deer grazing under trees in Sarnath Deer Park
BuddhistHeritage

Sarnath Deer Parkसारनाथ हिरण पार्क

  • Timings09:00–17:00, closed Fri (Central Zoo Authority listing); a 2024 guide gives earlier last entry by season
  • EntryAbout ₹20 adult · ₹10 child (Indian); ₹50 Asian · ₹100 other foreign visitors (2024 guide; the older CZA listing shows ₹10 / ₹5)
  • Time needed30–45 min
  • Best timeMorning, soon after opening, when the deer are most active and the day is cool; any day except Friday

A fenced deer enclosure and mini zoo beside the excavated site, keeping alive the old name of Sarnath as the deer park where the Buddha first taught.

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Visit at a glance

Timings and fees are not confirmed from an official source; check before you go.

Good to know

  • Closed on Fridays, the same day as the Sarnath Museum; a 2024 guide says the zoo opens on Fridays in July and August.
  • Tickets are sold for cash at the counter, according to the same guide; carry small notes.
  • The deer can be seen across the moat from the archaeological site, even when the zoo is shut.
Read the full story

It was set up in 1956, is run by the Forest Department's Social Forestry Division in Varanasi, and is recognised by the Central Zoo Authority as a mini zoo. Spotted deer and blackbuck graze behind a moat, with aviaries and enclosures for crocodiles and gharials nearby.

The Pali texts call this place Isipatana and Migadaya, the deer park, where the Buddha set the wheel of the Dhamma turning. Its name recalls a story of a deer who offered his own life to save a doe from a king's hunt; the moved king made the forest a sanctuary for deer.

Sources: Central Zoo Authority — Sarnath Deer Park information sheet · Wikipedia — Sarnath Deer Park (mini zoo, established 1956, CZA member since 1999) · Visit Sarnath — Deer Park animals (deer, gharial, crocodiles, emu, birds) and tickets · OpenStreetMap — Deer Park, Sarnath (way 103172567, tourism=zoo)

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