Lalbagh, literally the red garden, is the famous botanical garden of Bangalore. It was laid down by Hyder Ali in the 1760's. Spread out over an area of 240 acres (about 100 hectares) this garden boasts of 800 genera, 2,100 species of plants and nearly 8,500 trees. Some other highlights of Lalbagh are - a 3 billion year rock; a 20-million year old fossil; the iconic Glass House modelled on the Crystal Palace in London; a mango tree planted by Hyder Ali himself; a British-era band stand; a tree branch which appears like the face of Ganesh; a 200-year old and most ominous-looking White Silk Cotton tree; a 300-ft tall Cook Pine tree named after the famous Captain Cook; trees planted by famous visitors to the Park over the years such as Queen Victoria, Khan Abdul Gafar Khan, Nikita Krushchev, Dag Hammerskjold, etc; and so on. A walk through the park is not only refreshing but also informative and invigorating.