Limbe Botanic Garden

About this place

Limbe Botanic Garden is Cameroon's principal botanic garden, in the coastal town of Limbe between the ocean and Mount Cameroon. It lies at the mouth of the Limbe River, which flows through it. It began as an agricultural trial garden and became one of the main places for leisure and tourism in the South-West Region. A German team led by Paul Rudolph Preuss created it in 1892, when the town was called Victoria. Useful tropical crops were tested here, such as rubber, coffee, cocoa, oil palm, banana, teak and sugar cane. At its height it was one of the most important tropical gardens in the world, and the British took it over in 1920. You enter through a green gate with a welcome sign and walk red paths between tall trees and many kinds of palm. The garden has a nursery under wide shades where seedlings grow, lawns and giant trees. The small river runs among the trees towards the sea. It is about 2 km from central Limbe in a straight line and about 23 km from Mount Cameroon. The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Limbe, so read the current advice before you plan.