Hakgala Botanical Garden
| Hakgala Botanical Garden | |
|---|---|
 Entrance of the garden | |
 | |
| Type | Botanical garden |
| Location | Hakgala, Nuwara Eliya |
| Coordinates | 6°55′00″N 80°46′00″E / 6.91667°N 80.76667°E |
| Area | badulla |
| Created | 1861 |
| Operated by | Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka |
| Visitors | 500 000 |
| Status | Open all year |
| Website | http://www.botanicgardens.gov.lk/?page_id=4380 |
Hakgala Botanical Garden is one of the five
Seetawaka Botanical Garden. It is the second largest botanical garden in Sri Lanka.[1] The garden is contiguous to Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve.[2]
| Part of a series on |
| Wildlife of Sri Lanka |
|---|
 |
Location and climate
Hakgala Botanical Garden is situated on the
cool temperate climate because of altitude is 5,400 feet above sea level. The mean annual temperature ranges between 16 °C to 30 °C during the course of a year.[3]
From December to February it has a cold climate, while the warm climate persists from April to August.
History
The garden was established in 1861, under George Henry Kendrick Thwaites as an experimental cultivation of Cinchona, a commercial crop thriving at the time. Once after the Tea replaced the Cinchona, it was turned into an experimental Tea cultivation. In 1884 it transformed into a garden. Since then many subtropical and some temperate plants were planted in the gardens.
Folklore
In the
Ashok Vatika.[citation needed] The area was named as "Sita Eliya" and "Sita Amman Temple
" was built on the site.
Visitor attraction
There are over 10,000Orchids and Roses present in this garden.
Notes
- ^ "History and Introduction". agridept.gov.lk. Archived from the original on 2009-03-28. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- ISBN 2-8317-0030-2. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
- ^ a b c Abeywardena 2004: pp. 344-45
References
- Abeywardena, H.A.P. (2004). Kandurata Praveniya (in Sinhala) (1st ed.). ISBN 9789555750929.