The Hakgala Botanical Garden located in the central highlands of Sri Lanka and 10km from the beautiful town of Nuwera Eliya. Just beneath the Hakgala Rock at about 450 metres, you will find the majestic garden which is known to be the one of the five botanical gardens found on the little island. Towering to about 450 metres above the gardens, legend has it that this is one of the places where King Rawana held Princess Sita and their love in the great Indian epic Ramayana. The gardens are quite popular with tourists and throngs of locals, therefore; looking for a hotel in Nuwara Eliya isn’t a hard task, with many such as Heritance Tea Factory established in the area.
The Gardens which covers a massive area of 27 hectares were established in 1860 and orginially made to carry out experiments related to acclimatizing various flora to a tropical life. You’ll be able to find a blossoming garden of roses, ferns, shrubs and montane woodland, complete with wooden bridges and small streams running across the gardens. The gardens are an ideal place for a lovely and quiet stroll as the climate here is generally cold, and covered by a blanket of trees; you’ll get plenty of shade and sceneries to breathe in.
The Hakgala Botanical Gardens have created a variety of smaller gardens within dedicated to specific flora, such as the Rose Garden, the Orchid House, Small Plant House, the Spice Garden, the Cactus house and the Flower Garden, the fernery, the arboretum, Rock garden and the Bulb garden. The gardens also attract a variety of birds, both endemic and migratory such as the Yellow eared Bulbul, Pintail snipe, Indian Tailor bird, Ceylon jungle fowl, Tickell’s flower pecker, Green willow warbler, Black winged kite and so many more! If you’re an avid bird enthusiast, definitely get a pair of binoculars and spend the day here trying to spot the various birds.
Auburn Silver is a travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
