Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya

The gardens at Peradeniya cover about sixty hectares inside a loop of the Mahaweli and were formally established in 1821 on ground that had been a royal garden long before. They hold an orchid house, an avenue of royal palms planted in the 1900s, a Javan fig whose crown spreads over sixteen hundred square metres, a cannonball tree planted by a visiting king, and a spice garden. A giant fruit bat colony roosts in the trees along the river, thousands of them hanging in the branches and audible from a long way off.

Background

Alexandar Moon laid the groundwork for a botanical garden here in 1821, and in 1843 it was stocked from Kew Garden, Slave Island in Colombo and the Kalutara Garden. George Gardner, superintendent from 1844, expanded it, and John Christopher Willis was director between 1898 and 1912. Spread over 147 acres, at an altitude of 460 meters above sea level, the grounds hold more than 4000 plant species, among them orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palms. The National Herbarium of Sri Lanka is attached to the garden. George V and Queen Mary planted the cannonball tree in 1901. In 2016 the garden drew 1.2 million local and 400,000 foreign visitors.

Source: Wikipedia, "Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya"

What's there

• The Javan fig - a single tree whose crown covers over 1,600 square metres.
• The orchid house - a large collection under glass.
• The royal palm avenue - planted in the early 1900s and now full grown.
• The bat colony - flying foxes roosting in the riverside trees.

When to go

January to April is the driest and most comfortable. Weekends and school holidays are crowded. Mornings are coolest.

Good to know

The gardens are large and covering them means several hours of walking. Weekend crowds are heavy. Labelling is inconsistent in places.

Nearby

Kandy is northeast, and Lankatilaka is southwest.

Key facts