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Hakgala Botanical Gardens
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The second largest botanical garden in Sri Lanka with the highest altitude of 5,400 feet above sea level, situated on the Badulla -Welimada main road, 10 km away from the Nuwara Eliya town.
The Hakgala Gardens was established in 1861 on a 28-hectare stretch of land near the Hakgala Mountain under the curatorship of three British nationals - William Nock, J. K. Nock and J. J. Nock.
The garden was set up initially as an experimental cultivation of Cinchona, a commercial crop thriving at the time. After Tea replaced Cinchona, it was turned into an experimental Tea cultivation.
In 1884 it was transformed to a garden. Since then many sub-tropical and some temperate plants were planted in the gardens. Among the most noted are an over-100-years-old Monastery Cypress tree from Canada, Japanese Cedars, Himalayan Pines, and English Oak, enormous tree ferns, and bark-shedding Australian Melaleucas.
Hakgala Gardens is a paradise of flowering plants including great many varieties of roses and orchids. They blossom throughout the year, most colorful in March and April. Endemic bird species frequenting the gardens include Dull-blue Flycatcher, Sri Lankan Whistling Rush and Sri Lankan Bush Warbler.
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