Hakgala is the second largest Botanic Garden in Sri Lanka set in 28 ha and shares space with the Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve. At 1,745 meters above mean sea level it is the highest botanic gardens in the country and sports a cool sub tropical climate with temperatures ranging between 3 to 15 degrees Centigrade. Right in the middle of town Jetwing Hotels, one of prominent hotels in Nuwara Eliya exudes a cozy ambience, old world charm and offers a great location.
Hakgala was established in the 19th century and as with many other botanic gardens started off as a medicinal garden for the experimental cultivation and study of the healing properties of the cinchona plant prior to being converted to a botanic and pleasure garden in the latter part of the century. The garden is set out as a series of terraces at the foot of the Hakgala rock that looms over it. This setting allows magnificent views of the Uva Valley from many vantage points including some of the highest mountain peaks in the country.
Anyone who has visited Hakgala gardens will testify to the beauty of the place. Its current collection comprises of several thousand varieties of flora including subtropical and temperate plants, orchids and roses. Nearly a million visitors come here annually during the April holidays to enjoy its collection of modern rose varieties, orchids, annual temperate flowers, manicured lawns, picturesque picnic spots, ponds full of water lilies and to savour its fresh and sweet smelling air. A glass house with an exceptional collection of flowering plants and succulents, a rock garden, a Japanese garden, a scented garden and an arboretum with many of the original plants from the time when the gardens were established provide added interest. While the aesthetic appeal of the Hakgala gardens is undeniable, walking along the paths shaded by many varieties of giant ferns, indigenous and montane flora and plants from other sub tropical regions one is strongly reminded that the gardens is also a place of scientific research and conservation and a place of education for the people who come to see them.
Thanuja Silva is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Auburn Silver. She has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world. Google+
