The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya (109 km. from Colombo) near Kandy was laid out in 1821 by the British colonial rulers. Prior to that it was the Royal Pleasure Garden of the Kandyan Kings. It is located in a beautiful setting with the longest river of Sri Lanka, Mahaveli bordering on one side. This attractively laid out garden displays many varieties of floral and green plants. Special features are the Orchid House which displays a fine collection of Sri Lankan orchids, the fernery, spice garden, and the trees planted by distinguished visitors to the Island.


the Botanic Garden was the operational headquarters of Lord Mountbatten, who was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces of the South East Asia Command, during the Second world War.

The Peradeniya Garden is easily one of the best ofits kind in the world. The many beautiful avenues will lead one to sections which provide a burst of tropical colour. The great lawns highligth huge tropical trees, while you will be surprised at the variety of bamboo that can be found in one place.


The best known attraction of the Gardens is the Orchid House, which house more than 300 varieties of exquisite orchids from the rare indigenous Foxtail and Vesak orchids, to many natural and hybrid species which have made this one of the best known orchid centres of the world.


A spice garden gives you a first hand introduction to the trees, plants and creepers that produce the special spices of Sri Lanka. The Herbarium grows many of the plants used for the traditional Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia.


Kandy has good accommodation in several hotels and guest houses located in and around the city. There is traditional entertainment in the way of performances of Kandyan Dancing, and traditional drumming. Plenty of gem shops offer good quality gems, while the silver craftmanship is of the highest quality. Your travel agent or hotel could arrange special performances of Kandyan Dancing, as well as, take you to places where you can see the Kandyan craftsmen demonstrate their traditional skills.

Then again, the history of the park wouldn't take a backseat to its geography. Conceived originally in 1371 as the Queen's pleasure garden, it was developed by King Kirti Sri Rajasinhe (1747-1778) where royal visitors were entertained. It was converted into Botanical Gardens in 1821, by the British, six years after fall of the last Kandyan King. That was during enterprising governorship of Sir Edward Barnes, who had Sri Lanka's first tea trees planted here in 1824, though the full commercial potential wasn't to be realized for another half a century. All prime imported crops - Coffee, tea, nutmeg, rubber & cinchona - were tested in these gardens. Imported crops Tea & Rubber together with the local crop of Coconut became mainstay of the economy of the island.