Established in 1959 over 86 hectares of greenery, Delhi Zoo is home to more than 2000 species of animals and birds from Africa, America, Australia and Asia. Lying adjacent to Purana Qila it is a perfect place to see a variety of animals. The Zoo was set up in 1959. It is regarded as one of the finest zoos in Asia and efforts have been made to provide an almost natural habitat to the animals and the birds. It is a good spot for picnics. It has an early 17th century Kos Minar, which was one of the many, put up by Jehangir, son of the emperor, Akbar. As you climb up the red sandstone gate, you get a chance to admire the vast expanse of the Zoological Park. The winding pathways here are laid with the red Badarpur gravel, and the green shrubs demarcate the red with the undulating brown-green vast stretches of grass.

There are open-roofed mobile vans available at nominal charges within the zoo and it is suggested that during the sweltering hot Delhi summer season, one must use the facility. It also is a good picnic spot as there are a number of parks in the complex. There are ample numbers of water points though one is advised to carry enough replenishment. You may feed the hunger pangs at the DDA cafeteria outside the zoo. Due to the noticeable effort of the effective supervision of the zoo management, its staff and a few NGO workers at the zoo, there have been no mishappenings with any of the animals even during the peak summer of Delhi informs the Director B.S. Bonal.Going by the standard of all other areas of Delhi, the Zoological gardens are certainly a visual treat to the visitors which include foreigners and Indians alike. Planned and designed by a well-known zoo specialist of West Germany, Hegenbeck, the zoo has several landscaped enclosures where the animals can move freely. Some rare species here are the white tiger, the spotless white peacock, brown bears from Japan and flightless Emu from Australia.