- Located in Lonavala town, Maharashtra.
- The place derived its name after an English forest officer named Mr. Rye.
- Major attractions of the park are the in house Mahadeo Temple of ancient times and the famous lakes and waterfalls of Lonavala in its environs.
- The park is popular as a great picnic spot.
- Timings: 08:00 am – 07:00 pm
- Time required to visit: 02:00 Hrs (approx)
- Ideal time to visit Lonavala – the months from July to September.
- Getting down at Lonavala railway station, taking a bus or cab to the Ryewood Park, one can reach here.
Ryewood Park, Lonavala – Welcome!
Lonavala is the paradise of Maharashtra, they say. It is the most beautiful town and the only place in the heart of the state where you can find your eyes go green. The town is circumvented by greenery and waterfalls. Widely extending green walls on the laterals of the mountains, and emerging through them, plunges of smoky waterfalls – splendid. It seems like the imagination of a desperate painter and it becomes hard to believe that such a place of panorama can actually exist. Among the scenic waterfalls and the greens, there stands, rather lays, an amazing coppice of wonderful vegetation and colorful bliss – the Ryewood Park in Lonavala.
The Ryewood Park is situated in the heart of the Lonavala town. It spans an area of about 25 acres of green lands that are the bequest of Mother Nature to the city of Lonavala. A distance of half a kilometer from the Lonavala railway station and you find yourself into the welcoming arms of the Ryewood Park.
Long Long Ago
I know what you wonder of – why Ryewood? Well, there’s a short history about this name Ryewood. Ages ago, when the park area was as good as a vast patch of wild vegetation, an English forest officer named Mr. Rye had arrived to have a spectacle of the forest. He also stayed in these woods for a couple of months, before he left. Since then, the name of this place was reserved as Ryewood; the park joining several years later. But the localities had some totally different story to tell. They say the place was named so because in the regional language of Lonavala, i.e. Marathi, ‘Rai’ means thick.
And hence, the place was named Ryewood, to indicate a thick forest, like how it had actually been. The park, when it was more like a wood, was under Civil Department. In 1959, it got transferred, through legal procedures, to the Forest Department of the State Government of Maharashtra.
The Make Up
The Ryewood Park in Lonavala is not less than a picturesque in the frame of the green city – yeah, that’s what I would like to call Lonavala. There are grounds in abundance of green lawns that are like sleep to the eyes. Blessed with a hodgepodge of trees, the garden shoots out flowers of vibrant colors that bejewel almost every tree of the place. Initially, it had been a botanical garden, which was later transformed into this lovely park.
What Magnetizes You Here?
The main magnets of the garden are the greenery that suits the eyes and the flowery scene that suits the mind. But there are several other merry recreational facilities that make the Ryewood Park in Lonavala a perfect spot for picnic. Children have a vast play area for themselves in the garden, and the park is just the place for weekend family outings. The flowers fill the place that is already home to pure air and blissful views with sweet mellow scents.
Though you can arrive in Lonavala at anytime of the year, but the ideal time for visiting this city, and to have a glance at its true form is from July to September, when the entire town is covered under the blanket of green; as if nature has taken Lonavala in its lap. The true magnetism of the Ryewood Park in Lonavala can be felt during this duration of the year.
The Vicinity
The Ryewood Park is located close to the Lonavala Lake and the Lonavala market, both of which are exotic to visit. The Lonavala Chikki and fudge are two famous desserts of this place, without which you cannot afford to leave the town. There are other waterfalls and the valleys, into which they plunge, to enhance your trip to Lonavala and make it an experience full of grandeur and splendor.
- Suggested Read: Famous Parks and Gardens of Maharashtra
