Tropical butterfly conservatory (Butterfly Park), Tiruchirappalli is located in Srirangam area of Trichy district. Tropical Butterfly Conservatory is located in the Upper Anaicut reserve Forests in Srirangam with an extent of 25 acres. The area falls in river Cauvery and Kollidam drainage basin. Tropical butterfly conservatory consists of Butterfly Park and Nakshatravanam (star forest) also. The conservatory falls under Tiruchirappalli Forest Division.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu announced on 15.09.2012 the establishment of Butterfly with financial outlay of Rs. 7.35 crore at Srirangam. The Park was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. J. Jayalalitha on 13.11.2015 through video conferencing from Chennai.The final cost of construction of the park is said to be 8.67 crores. Of the sum, Rs. 1 crore has been sanctioned by the State-owned Tamil Nadu Forest Corporation Ltd. under its corporate social responsibility initiative.
This park has an outer conservatory area to provide and facilitate an enabling environment for butterflies to breed, procreate and complete its lifecycle on a perpetual basis under near natural conditions. During summer the humidity may become relatively less. Since it may cause discomfort to the plants, butterflies and visitors, artificial lake was created. The indoor conservatories will be having Air conditioners and green houses for the butterflies to reproduce in a suitable manner. To maintain a natural atmosphere, lighting has been carefully provided to attract butterflies.
Well laid out lawn, floral patches with children play equipments is the recreational centre of the tropical butterfly conservatory. Boating facility for kids in the artificial pond is arranged. An Amphitheatre and additional irrigation systems are made from the additional Rs. 3.3 crore funds allocated by the State Tourism Department.
This park has garden, fountain, large butterfly glass house, fountain and hut to take rest and have food. The Park also had a 1.2 km walkway for the visitors. The garden is full of nectar flowers and host plants to attract butterflies. A big blue tiger butterfly sculpture can be seen at entrance in the lawn. The garden has fountains, artificial pounds, suspended bridges, butterfly houses, sculptures of caterpillars, butterflies to attract visitors.
The Nakshatravanam is a part of the park. It has 27 numbers of trees / plants species corresponding to 27 stars and 12 trees / plants of corresponding 12 zodiac signs of Indian astrology. The idea was to encourage people to grow a tree associated to their star, near their homes.
