Chandra Shekhar Azad Park, Prayagraj: The Martyr's Park, Timings and Visit Guide

ॐEssential info at a glance

ॐAzad Park timings and entry

The park is open every day from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and entry is a nominal fee of about Rs 5 to 10, generally free for the early-morning walkers. The best times are the early morning, from about 6:00 to 8:00 AM, lovely for a walk among the joggers and the greenery, and the cool of the evening, from about 5:00 to 7:00 PM, when families gather and the musical fountain plays. The Allahabad Museum within the park keeps its own hours, 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM, and is closed on Mondays, with its own ticket.

ॐChandra Shekhar Azad Park: the city's great green heritage

In the heart of Prayagraj, in the Civil Lines and George Town quarter, spreads the Chandra Shekhar Azad Park, the largest and greenest public space in the city, some hundred and thirty-three acres of lawns and trees and monuments. It was laid out by the British in 1870, to mark the visit of Prince Alfred, the son of Queen Victoria, and named Alfred Park; through the colonial years it was known too as the Company Bagh, the Company garden, the recreation ground of the British quarter. But after independence, this ground was given a new and far greater name, for it had become sacred to the nation: it was renamed the Amar Shaheed, the Immortal Martyr, Chandra Shekhar Azad Park, in honour of the young revolutionary who gave his life here for the freedom of India. Today it is a place where nature, heritage and national history meet, beloved of the people of the city, and a place of homage.

ॐChandra Shekhar Azad: the heroic last stand

This park is hallowed above all as the place of the martyrdom of Chandra Shekhar Azad, one of the bravest and most beloved of all the heroes of India's freedom struggle. Born in 1906, he was a leader of the revolutionaries, a comrade and mentor of Bhagat Singh, and a man of an unbending will; and he had taken the name Azad, which means the Free, and had vowed that the British would never take him alive. And here, in this park, on the morning of the 27th of February, 1931, that vow was kept. Betrayed and surrounded by the British police, the young Azad took cover and fought a long and fierce gun battle, holding them off alone. And at the last, at just twenty-four years of age, when his ammunition was all but spent and he was down to a single bullet, and he would not be taken alive, he turned that last bullet upon himself and died, free to the end, as he had vowed. It was an act of supreme courage and self-sacrifice, and it made this ground forever sacred to the freedom of India. To stand at the spot of his final stand is to stand on hallowed earth.

ॐThe memorial and the museum

Two places in the park hold the memory of the martyr and the heritage of the region. The Chandra Shekhar Azad Memorial stands at the very spot of his sacrifice: a statue of the young revolutionary, before which the people of the city and visitors from across India come to bow their heads and lay their flowers, a place of quiet homage to a hero. And within the park stands the Allahabad Museum, one of the great museums of North India, with its rich collections of ancient stone sculptures, terracottas and artifacts of the region's long history; and there, most movingly of all, is kept the very Colt pistol of Chandra Shekhar Azad, the weapon of his last stand, a relic of the freedom struggle. The museum is open from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM and closed on Mondays, and well worth a visit within the day.

ॐThe colonial heritage and the park today

The park keeps, too, some graceful relics of the colonial age, standing in quiet contrast to its revolutionary spirit. The most elegant is the Victoria Memorial Canopy, a fine domed pavilion of Italian limestone, opened in 1906, which once sheltered a great statue of Queen Victoria, long since removed, so that the beautiful canopy now stands empty, a silent witness to a vanished era. And there is the handsome old Thornhill Mayne Memorial, which houses the Public Library, among the largest in the state, rich in rare old books in many languages. Beyond its monuments, the park is a much-loved green retreat: there is a musical fountain and a central lake, beloved of families in the cool of the evening, and broad lawns and shaded paths where the people of Prayagraj walk and jog and gather, morning and evening, in the heart of their busy city.

ॐThe martyr's ground, in my own words

By Rajeev Sharma, guide with Experience My India

I always bring my visitors to Azad Park with a feeling of pride and reverence, for this is hallowed ground. I tell them the story of the great Chandra Shekhar Azad, how he took the name Azad, the Free, and vowed the British would never take him alive; and how, right here in this park, in 1931, at just twenty-four, surrounded by the police, he fought them to his last bullet and then, keeping his vow, gave his own life rather than be captured. People fall silent when they hear it, and we go to the memorial, the spot of his sacrifice, to pay our respects. And in the museum I show them his very pistol, which moves them deeply.

Then I show them the other face of the park, the graceful old Victoria canopy from the British days, now standing empty, and the beautiful old library; I explain how the park went from Alfred Park to the martyr's name, the whole sweep of our history in one green place. And I always pair it with Anand Bhawan nearby, so my visitors see the two great freedom-struggle sites of Prayag together, the revolutionaries and the Congress. It is a beautiful, green, dignified place, deeply meaningful, and lovely too just for a morning walk. I never let a visitor who cares for our freedom heroes miss it.

In more than forty years of guiding, standing with visitors on the ground where Azad gave his life for freedom is among the most moving things I do.

ॐWhat to see and do

• Pay homage at the Chandra Shekhar Azad Memorial, at the spot of his martyrdom.
• Visit the Allahabad Museum, and see Azad's own Colt pistol and the region's ancient artifacts.
• See the elegant 1906 Victoria Memorial Canopy, now standing empty, of Italian limestone.
• Admire the Thornhill Mayne building and the great Public Library within.
• Enjoy the musical fountain and the greenery, and pair it with Anand Bhawan.

ॐHow to reach Azad Park

Chandra Shekhar Azad Park is in George Town and Civil Lines, in the heart of the city, near the University of Allahabad and the Civil Lines commercial area, easily reached by road.

It sits in the Civil Lines heart of the city, near Anand Bhawan.

ॐBest time to visit and how to plan it

• Pair it with Anand Bhawan and the Allahabad Museum for the city's heritage.
• Allow 1 to 2 hours for the park and the memorial; longer with the museum.

For Prayagraj, or a combined Kashi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj visit, planned end to end, see our tour packages.

ॐAccessibility for elderly and mobility limited visitors

• The park is large but level, with broad, easy paths, pleasant for a gentle walk.
• The memorial, the canopy and the fountain are easily reached across the grounds.
• There are lawns, benches and shade to rest in; come in the cool of morning or evening.
• We arrange transport and plan a comfortable, well-paced heritage visit.

ॐEtiquette for visiting

• The memorial is a place of national homage; be respectful and quiet before it.
• Treat the museum exhibits and the old monuments with care; follow any photography rules.
• Keep the park clean and green, and do not damage the lawns, trees or monuments.
• Mind children at the fountain and the lake, and keep to the paths.

ॐOur guided heritage visits and Prayagraj tours

We are a Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj based operator, a unit of Experience My India, with more than forty years of guiding visitors across all three cities, and our own local guide in Prayagraj. The park charges only a nominal fee, so what we offer is the story and the planning: a guide who tells the heroic story of Chandra Shekhar Azad and the freedom struggle, and the layered heritage of the park, the visit paired with Anand Bhawan and the Allahabad Museum, and the whole heritage of the city, woven into a full Prayag day.

Inclusions and exclusions are stated up front, with any taxes and conditions, and no charge appears later that was not named. The park and museum tickets are separate; our charge is only for guiding and services. See all our tour packages for the full range.

Experience My India is a travel operator, not the park or museum administration. The park and museum charge nominal tickets; our charge is only for our guiding and services. Timings and rules are set by the authorities and can change.

ॐNearby sites in Prayagraj

Azad Park is in the Civil Lines heart of Prayagraj, among its heritage sites.

For the other great freedom-struggle site nearby, see our Anand Bhawan guide.