Hakgala Botanical Garden and Peradeniya Botanical Garden Sri Lanka
A visit to the two famous botanical gardens of Sri Lanka for the 14th-day of our family refreshment last December 2019. Whenever we are on a trip, we always woke up early and ate our breakfast at the hotel; the meal was not buffeted, but the hotel had a large serving for every order.
The Hakgala Botanical Garden
After checking out from the hotel, we started our drive and stopped by at one of the famous botanical gardens in Sri Lanka. The weather remains not cooperative by that time, as the rain was falling heavily. It was difficult to walk and tour the park among small children. Therefore we chose to wait in the car with our younger daughter. My husband and our son were confident enough to brace the angry rain by that time. Wore jackets and an umbrella, then they went to Hakgala Botanical Garden. Below are the pictures they got inside the garden.
They noticed a few flowers but seemed not to bloom by that time fully.
Entered the small glasshouse to check the plants inside.
A few orchids were present too inside the glasshouse.
The Hakgala Botanical Garden
They tried to walk to tour the garden, but the rain was too heavy, making the tour harder as it was so muddy and slippery.
They spotted a Japanese garden as well, but it was impossible to continue the tour, so my husband decided to halt and return to the car.
After around 15 minutes, they return to our car due to the bad weather. I asked my son if he enjoyed the tour, and despite the situation, he said yes, and my husband said it was fantastic seeing a garden even in typhoon like weather that day. It looks like they maintain the garden properly, he added. We continue our drive for the next garden we want to visit on the same day. Since the temperature is low, we first stop by at a cafe along the cliff to get warm and sip a hot tea or coffee. The restaurant has also offered a good view for the guests as it faces the mountain view and thick green bushes.
After spending some time at the tea by the cliff, we return to Kandy and stop by at the tourist buffet restaurant recommended by our driver.
The Peradeniya Royal Botanic Garden
The garden is located at the Kandy, Peradeniya Road Sri Lanka, known for a vast collection of orchids and many other plant species. The entrance fee is the same as Hakgala Garden, 2000 rupees for adults, and 1000 rupees.
The garden is well maintained noticeably; the path was properly mapped by the cement and can easily walk on it as it was in a flat form. We took a walk in the middle of the garden, but we can’t see any flowers in it. We feel like it’s more for a picnic-style recreation park or good for walking exercise around the garden.
Many orchids inside the glasshouse were in full bloom, and s staff is doing something inside to maintain the beautiful flowers inside the garden house.
Toured the garden for 2 hours by walking around its surrounding. Then head to our hotel located near the tooth temple. The hotel name we booked is the Sarvodaya Samma Vaasa Residence booked in my Agoda account. The hotel looks like a house run by some non-government organizations. The door going inside is small, yet it was huge with many rooms when you get in it. Our room itself was huge, with two double beds and two toilets with two shower rooms. In addition to it, the clean arrangement is a plus and a bonus to get a little view of the Kandy lake while we’re inside of our room.
The view from our room.
That day was the night we almost emptied our clean clothes in our luggage. My husband looked for a laundry shop nearby. Luckily he found one operating up to 9 pm.
While hubby is looking for a laundry shop, I prepare the kids for dinner outside. It was hard to find a restaurant near the hotel, so we went downtown searching for food. We tried hard to look for a decent restaurant, but some were fully booked. Some were not operated by that hour cause I think it’s 8 PM already. Since our hotel is a walking distance from the downtown, it’s scary to walk in some part of the road as there’s no street light, but glad we made it. We ended up ordering food and took it to the hotel. We ordered fried chicken in four kinds in a fast-food chain restaurant- SHAKEY’S. Some were spicy, and some were not. Then we learned that there was no rice in Shakeys restaurant, so we bought from a local restaurant nearby. Feel relief as our children loved every chicken’s taste (the not spicy one) and were able to put them to bed with a full stomach. It’s so hard to find the foods for kids in a country with meal new to them. Kudos also to my husband, who never get tired to walk to find the food that may suit our children’s taste while I took care of them.
That was the day we are all exhausted, but, of course, enjoyed every experience while we were in it. That day we slept early to prepare again for the adventure we are about to learn.