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Lodhi Colony, already known for being one of the capital’s more walkable neighbourhoods, has a new claim to fame: a recently inaugurated Miyawaki forest. The New Delhi Municipal Council has begun developing Bharat Vann, a one-acre urban forest inside Lodhi Colony Park, using the dense-planting Japanese technique.
Over 10,000 saplings across 76 native and climate-adapted species – fruit trees, shrubs, flowering plants and shade-givers – are going into the ground, with growth projected to hit 10-12 feet within a year.
Once established, the forest’s expected to have walking tracks and dedicated space for yoga, pranayama and open-air meditation.
What is a Miyawaki forest?
A Miyawaki forest is a method for growing dense, native forest in a small footprint… fast. Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki developed it in the 1970s. You plant a mix of local tree, shrub and plant species very close together, which forces the saplings to grow upward and compete for light. The result is a mini-forest that can pack in dozens of species per plot and mature in years rather than decades, making it especially useful for greening small or degraded urban patches like the one now going in at Lodhi Colony Park.
Is this Delhi’s first Miyawaki forest?
Delhi's Miyawaki experiments actually go back further. Grassroots groups got there first: EcoSikh planted the Guru Nanak Sacred Forest in Tilak Nagar in 2019, and volunteers used the method for Dwarka Sector 7's ‘first urban forest’ the following year.
In 2020, then environment minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated one of Delhi's earliest official Miyawaki plantations. It was a 12,000-seedling urban forest of 59 native species beside the CAG office near ITO, as reported by The Tribune. By 2022, the NDMC itself was testing the method around the city, when Mumbai's BMC-led Miyawaki boom was pulling other civic bodies, Delhi included, into the method.
The push has since scaled up: PTI reported in October 2025 that the Delhi government planned 17 ‘Namo Van’ urban forests city-wide to fight air pollution, and later two forests near Kharkhari Jatmal and Jainpur. It faced pushback from ecologists who were sceptical of the Miyawaki forest’s long-term value.
Lodhi’s Bharat Vann, though, seems to be the spotlight-stealer.
What else to do in Lodhi Colony
Well, once you’re there, there's no excuse not to make a day of Lodhi Colony.
The obvious move’s a wander through the Lodhi Art District, India's first open-air gallery, where 50-odd murals by artists from 25-plus countries cover the government-quarter walls. Go in the morning. The annual Lodhi Art Festival adds fresh murals and workshops to the mix. Grab coffee from one of several cafes on offer in Lodhi’s lanes, like Roastery Coffee House or Common Time.
Round it off at Lodhi Garden next door, 90 acres of 15th- and 16th-century tombs, running tracks and picnic spots, or a visit to The Bookshop Inc or CMYK Bookstore if you’d rather sit for your exploring.
How to reach
The nearest metro to Lodhi Colony is Jor Bagh on the yellow line or JLN Stadium on the violet line.