Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden

Howrah, West Bengal, India

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The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden in Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal—commonly known as the Calcutta Botanical Garden—is one of India’s oldest and largest botanical gardens, spanning 109 hectares (270 acres) just across the Hooghly River from Kolkata.

Established in 1787 by Colonel Robert Kyd of the East India Company to identify plants with commercial value like teak and cultivate spices for trade, it was originally called “Company Bagan” and later the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta. The garden is now under the Botanical Survey of India (Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India) and renamed in honor of the renowned Indian scientist Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose.

It houses over 12,000 specimens of rare and exotic plants, including the world’s largest collection of palms with approximately 100 species, and countless indigenous and introduced species from around the globe. The garden’s most famous landmark is the Great Banyan tree, a 250–270-year-old massive banyan that covers 4.5 acres with its sprawling canopy and aerial roots, creating its own forest-like ecosystem.