Seetawaka Botanical Garden, or Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in Sri Lanka which mainly serves as a research area and a conservation area for threatened and vulnerable endemic plant species in the Sinharaja Rain Forest region. Improving export floriculture, ex-situ conservation of wet lowland plants, and bamboo cultivation are also promoted in this garden. The garden was opened to the public in late October 2014 and it is the most recently constructed botanical garden in Sri Lanka.
The garden was established in 20th century as a plantation for Rubber and Tea, which was owned by a garden known as "Pannaagula". But most of the land area was abandoned on that time, which was overtaken by Land Renew Commission. The construction of the Botanical garden commenced on 2008. The total land area of the garden is 79.07 acres (32.00 ha).
Seetawaka Botanical Garden is situated on the Puwakpitiya-Thummodara main road, at Illukowita, adjacent to the Indikada Mukalana Forest Reserve at Avissawella. The 32 ha (79 acres) garden has a cool temperate climate.
A beautiful stream flows through the garden, which sustains the existence of various wet zone plants. The tree cover is made up of large Terminalia arjuna trees.
When it comes to Botanical Gardens of Sri Lanka, the Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden is a lesser-known place and the most recently added to the list. Illukovita, an area closer to Avissawella is the home for this 106 acres Botanical Garden that is projected in 2008 and opened to the public in 2014.
* Entrance ticket - LKR 50.00 for a local
* Entrance ticket - LKR 1100.00 for a foreigner
It’s about a 1 1/2 hrs. of driving time from Colombo and the roads are fairly decent. There are a few rough areas here and there but it’s basically easy to travel in a car or van. As for the buses such as Tourist Coaches, it would not be that easy but with precision driving, it’s doable.
7 сен 2024
