Description of the attraction
The Royal Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya are one of the most beautiful places on the island. It is located about 5.5 km west of the city of Kandy in the central province of Sri Lanka and attracts 1.2 million visitors annually. The garden is famous for its diverse collection of plants, which includes over 300 species of orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palms. The total area of the botanical garden is 147 acres (0.59 square kilometers). It is administered by the National Botanic Gardens Division of the Sri Lanka Department of Agriculture.
The origins of the creation of the botanical garden go back to the distant 1371, when King Vikramabahu III ascended the throne and moved his court to Peradeniya near the Mahaveli River. He was followed by King Kirti Shri and King Rajadhi Rajavinje. The temple on this site was built by King Vimala Dharma, but it was destroyed by the British after they gained control of the kingdom of Kandy. After that, the foundation for the botanical garden was laid by Alexandar Luna in 1821. The Peradeniya Botanical Garden was formally established in 1843 with plants brought from Kew Garden, Slave Island, Colombo, and Kalutara Garden in Kalutara. In 1844, under George Gardner, the garden grew greatly and became very famous. In 1912, the garden was taken over by the Department of Agriculture of Sri Lanka.
There is also an avenue of palm trees in the garden. An amazing tree grows there, planted by King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary in 1901. The branches of the tree are bent downward under the weight of fruits that look like cannonballs.
During World War II, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in South Asia, used the Botanical Garden as the headquarters of the Southeast Asia High Command.
