Description of the attraction
In 1951, Pascual Baburiza donated his Salitra park, built in 1918, to the municipality of Viña del Mar. The Viña del Mar National Botanical Garden was established on its territory.
The Botanical Gardens are a great place to relax and connect with nature, and they also carry out painstaking daily work to preserve the vegetation of the south-central part of Chile. It has established itself as a place to educate and enhance the civic culture of the inhabitants of the province of Valparaiso to preserve the heritage of the surrounding nature.
The garden, with a total area of 395 hectares, invites its visitors to admire a park of 32 hectares, in which more than 280 species of trees, including the almost exterminated Sophora Toromiro from Easter Island, have been practically exterminated from the face of the earth. The garden also features a large collection of plants, including 37 endemic species from the Juan Fernandez archipelago. The richest collection of Chilean cacti - more than 60 species, a collection of Chilean myrtle medicinal plants and fuchsia. In total, the National Botanical Garden has more than 1170 plant species growing on its natural hills with an area of 363 hectares, including more than 270 native plant species.
The Botanical Garden runs an environmental education program as part of basic outdoor education for children from March to December, with over 7,000 children annually. There are also guided tours for specialized groups.
The recreation area for visitors has equipped picnic areas. There is an ecological path: imitation of roads, meadows, naturally estuary, small waterfalls, a Japanese bridge, an artificial lagoon with an old gazebo. The Botanical Garden is home to 50 species of birds, some of which are almost impossible to find in their natural habitats.
The Viña del Mar Botanical Garden is a great place for weddings, outdoor concerts, birthdays and relaxation from a hectic day. At the end of 2004, an excursion to the “dome of the forest” became possible in the park area of the garden. This is a project of the South America company for the development of extreme sports. Here a suspension trail system was created at the top of the myrtle forest. It has become a popular pastime for visitors.
