Orchid house
In full colour.
Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hish anu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexey Komarov — CC BY 3.0 · Cherubino — CC BY-SA 3.0 · McKay Savage from London, UK — CC BY 2.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Z thomas — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AntanO — CC BY 4.0
Sri Lanka's best-known botanic garden, about five and a half kilometres west of Kandy, wrapped by a bend of the Mahaweli, the country's longest river. It covers some 59 hectares and holds more than 4,000 species of plants. Its groundwork was laid in 1821, and it was formally established as a botanic garden in 1843 with plants brought from Kew Gardens and from Colombo. During the Second World War Lord Mountbatten used it as the headquarters of South East Asia Command. Highlights include the orchid house in dazzling colour, long avenues of palms, a giant Java fig whose branches spread like an umbrella over the lawn, and the cannonball tree planted in 1901 by Prince George, later King George V, and his wife Mary, along with spice and medicinal plant gardens. Tickets are LKR 3,540 for foreign adults and LKR 1,770 for children aged 5 to 12, open daily 07:30–18:00, per the Department of National Botanic Gardens. The grounds are big, so allow at least two hours, and bring an umbrella for afternoon showers.
In full colour.
A giant canopy.
Long and grand.
Peradeniya, about 5.5 km west of Kandy
LKR 3,540 for foreign adults and LKR 1,770 for children aged 5 to 12, per the Department of National Botanic Gardens.