Hakgala Botanical Garden - History, Timings & Entry Fee

At a distance of 6 km from Nuwara Eliya Bus Stand, Hakgala Botanical Garden is a well-maintained garden in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. Situated on the Nuwara Eliya-Badulla main road, it is the second-largest botanical garden in Sri Lanka and among the top places to visit in Nuwara Eliya as part of Sri Lanka Tour.

Hakgala Botanical Garden is one of the five botanical gardens in Sri Lanka while the other four are Peradeniya Botanical Garden, Henarathgoda Botanical Garden, Mirijjawila Botanical Garden, and Seetawaka Botanical Garden. The garden is contiguous to Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve. It was established in 1861 by Dr. G.H.K. Thwaites, for experimenting with the growth of Cinchona. Later, it was used for Tea cultivation and then changed into a garden with many subtropical and tropical plants in 1884.

Situated at an altitude is 5,400 feet, the Hakgala Botanical Garden is believed to be the highest altitude botanical gardens in the world. The legendary Indian epic 'Ramayana' states that Sita, the wife of Rama, was abducted and imprisoned in this area by the Demon King Ravana who ruled Sri Lanka. The Hakgala garden was supposed to have been a pleasure garden gifted to Sita by the Demon King in an attempt to lessen her sorrow and is supposed to have been called Ashok Vatika.

Spread over an area of 28 hectares, the garden has a huge variety of flowers and exotic plants that are divided into various sub gardens. The Rose Garden has more than 100 varieties of roses like Saintpaulia, Primula, Begonia, etc. while the Spice Garden contains different kinds of trees bearing Spices like Cinnamon, Nutmeg, etc. One can also see some rare and pretty flowers like Arachnis, Cattleya, and the largest orchid in the world - Grammatophyllum in the Orchid house. The Botanical Garden also has a Cactus house with different types of cacti and a Fernery with a wide variety of ferns and old tea bushes that are grown for experimental purposes. There is a Rock Garden that houses many herbaceous plants, an Arboretum, and a Bulb garden that has bulbous plants like Watsonia, Amaryllis, etc.

The garden also houses some rare and exotic species of animals like sloth bear, the purple-faced leaf monkeys, the sambar, etc. One can also witness some birds like Ceylon Jungle Fowl, the Black-Winged Kite, the Brown Shrike, etc here. The best time to visit the Hakgala Botanical Gardens is in April when the plants put on their best display of roses, colorful foliage, and temperate annual flowers.

Timings: 8 AM - 5.30 PM

Entry: LKR. 60 for Locals, LKR. 1500 for Foreign Adults & LKR. 750 for Child