The wildlife tour Chennai begins with hotel pickup at 8 am in a private air conditioned vehicle.

The first stop is Vandalur Zoo, the Arignar Anna Zoological Gardens, India’s first public zoo and its largest, spread over 600 acres on the southern edge of Chennai. The zoo houses over 1,500 wild species including 46 from the endangered list. The highlights include a butterfly house, a walk through aviary, a serpentarium, a primate house and the world of nocturnal animals — a specially darkened section where nocturnal species are active during daylight hours. Your guide explains the zoo’s conservation work, particularly its breeding programmes for endangered species.

The Madras Crocodile Bank follows, founded in 1976 by Romulus Whitaker, the American born Indian conservationist who is widely credited with saving the mugger crocodile and the gharial from extinction in India. The bank is home to over 2,500 reptiles — crocodilians, turtles, lizards and snakes from across India and beyond. The Snake Venom Centre is one of the most unusual experiences on the wildlife tour Chennai, where you can observe a demonstration of venom extraction, the process by which venom is collected from live snakes to produce the anti-venom vaccines that save thousands of lives across India every year. The crocodile enrichment programme is the other highlight, where the reptiles are encouraged to exercise and play for their physical and mental wellbeing in ways that make you completely rethink your assumptions about how intelligent these animals are.

Guindy National Park is the final stop, and the most surprising. This small national park sits entirely within the city limits of Chennai, a haven for wildlife in the middle of one of India’s largest cities. The park is home to blackbucks, jackals, spotted deer, monitor lizards, snakes, tortoises and an extraordinary variety of butterflies. Walking through Guindy with a guide who knows where to look and what to listen for is one of the most unexpected pleasures of any visit to Chennai.

Hotel drop by 6 pm.

This private wildlife tour Chennai is fully inclusive. We take care of hotel pickup and drop in a private air conditioned vehicle, your expert guide throughout the day, and all entry fees.