Located in Connaught Place of New Delhi, Central Park is one of the most visually pleasing locations of the city. Ever since its creation, the youngsters have been visiting this park for occasional hangouts, evening stroll and morning walks. The nearby office employees also get a space to gather together and enjoy their lunch hours. Since Central Park is located in the heart of Connaught Place, which is a bustling area with mostly foreigner populace, the park is always crowded with visitors. People who spend hours in shopping at the Palika Bazaar, which is an underground shopping complex, often come to this park and spend few hours of leisure and conversation amongst friends. Thus, the strategic location of the park has given it a vibrant ambience and also the comfort of shady trees and cool breeze.

One of the prime features of Central Park is the “Tiranga” - the Indian national flag, which is hosted at Central Park and is considered as the largest national flag of India. The two bodies namely the New Delhi Municipal Council and Naveen Jindal's Flag Foundation of India came up together to set up this flag as the 46th 'monumental flags' on 7 March 2014. The design of the flag pole resembles the architectural structure of Connaught Place. The flag is centrally located in the park and on a mast of around 207 feet. It is specially illuminated with high voltage lights during evening hours and the CCTV camera has its eye on the flag round the clock.

The grass lawn of Central Park is as smooth as carpet and the lovely landscape looks pictorial with hedge plants encompassing over 27,000 square meters. Other shrubs cover 2,100 square meters area and the variety ranges to above 2,750 species. There are around 700 trees to adorn Central Park; most of them have evergreen properties and all year round blossoming qualities. Some of the tree species in this park are Bottle Brush, Ashoka, Indian Laurel, Gulmohar, Royal Palms, Pink Tabebuia, and White Champa.

Central Park is undeniably a very well decorated public space and you will see ample visual attractions in the park. 21 fountains, 4 clean and well maintained water bodies, and a central stage with an area of 60 square meters (adjacently an amphitheatre spans a  5,000 square meters area) is in Central Park and considered as the prime attractions of the place. The water bodies appear vibrant and lively during the dark hours as the cascades along the fringe are set with variety of colors that are light up during evening hours. The amphitheatre has 7 step landing, which can accommodate around 350 people at a time. The Central Park can be entered through the 9 entries and exit gates (which take to the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station directly).

Central Park has actually gained prominence and popularity in Delhi because of the various cultural programs held in the place. It has been a well known venue for different performing arts, and programs staged by local and national groups. Spring time in Central park is particularly beautiful and scenic owing to the trees that are in full blossom with vibrant and colorful flowers; some are however fully blossomed all across the year.

History of Central Park

Connaught Place in Delhi gained significance during the British Raj, when it was named after the Duke of Connaught (British Raj). Later it was officially renamed as 'Rajiv Chowk'; eventually it turned out to be the busiest place in Delhi and one of the largest centralized commercial and business nucleus of New Delhi and also its neighboring cities. Central Park was built with the efforts of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation; however it was demolished by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. in 2000 as they wanted to construct the Metro Station underground for public welfare. After the construction was over Central park was completely reconstructed following the International Standards. Almost 60 Million Dollars / Rs. 6 crores were spend to revive the park to its best. Central park today stands with elegance covering a vast area of 41,500 square metres. The park adjacently has a wide footpath border encompassing 7,700 square meters that joins the Rajeev Chowk Metro Station to the park.

Central park is called as “CP” in short by all the Delhiites, ever since it has been a home to various official and unofficial meets. Initially the idea of Central Park was envisioned by Lutyens and the main motive was to create a common arcade for all business deals and trades as the location was amidst the central business trade and deals. The creation and construction of Connaught Place began in the year 1929 and was completed in 1933. The luxuriant green Central Park was designed by Robert Tor Russell. Even today CP holds a time immemorial history of exchange of business and trade; however Sunday is a solitude time for Connaught Place and Central Park. Mondays to Saturdays are all busy hours for sales, trade and business in Connaught Place, while Central Park experiences some of the most informal and leisure moments of the people visiting the area.

Best Time to Visit

Visitors can go to the Central Park and enjoy its beauty on all days and no entry fees are needed.  On Sundays the park is officially open and you can visit if you wish. The surroundings have numerous eateries offering all kinds of cuisine; shopping places, bars, and coffee joints have also sprung up around this park.

How to Reach

The Central Park is located close to three metro stations that are well connected to the park. The stations are Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Barakhamba Road metro stations. The park is easily accessible by local and domestic transport. Rajiv Chowk Functional Metro Station is the closest to the park and can be reached by walking itself.