Do you believe still there are some hidden gems in the capital of Sri Lanka? You might think it is impossible to remain an unexplored corner in the capital of the country. However, today we are going to show you a wonderful place with charming beauty, still well hidden in the vicinity of Colombo. Since it doesn’t include in many tour guide books, tourists and many locals are still unaware of this lovely Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden.
This garden locates in Avissawella, just a 90-minute drive from Colombo. If you like to spend a day out near Colombo, this is an awesome place filled with all nature’s beautiful delights. Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden is very well landscaped with minimum modifications to the natural setup of the land.
It surrounds by the lush green Sabaragamuwa mountain range and the sceneries in the garden are simply stunning. The vast lake at the entrance, the beautifully arranged flower beds, and perfectly cut grasses along the lake are the unique features of the Seethawaka Botanical Garden. A crystal clear stream flows through the garden sustaining the life of various wet zone plants.
Due to its exquisite beauty and pleasant climate, Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden is called the “Little Nuwara Eliya” in the capital. This is an ideal place for a fun-filled family day out in a serene and peaceful environment with fresh air and a cool breeze. You can leisurely walk along the paved pathways watching the beautiful blooms and flower beds.
History of the Garden
The land of Seethawaka Botanical Garden was previously used as a plantation for Rubber and Tea. Later, it took over by the government to develop as a botanical garden. First, it served as a research and conservation area for threatened and vulnerable endemic plant species in the Sinharaja Rain Forest. It helped to conserve a majority of rare and endemic flora which is highly sensitive and very difficult to grow elsewhere in the country. The construction of the Botanical garden commenced in 2008 and the garden was opened to the public in 2014. It is the most recently constructed botanical garden in Sri Lanka.
Access to the Garden
Seethawaka Botanical Garden situates at Illukowita, in Avissawella between Puwakpitiya and Thunmodara. You’ll find this garden 6 km distance away from the main town of Avissawella. previously, the road leading to the park was in a poor condition, but now the road developed to a carpeted one making your journey much easier. On the way to the garden, you’ll see many lovely sights including a cascading stream flowing parallel to the road. There is a large parking space in the garden and it opens from 7.30 am till 6 pm.
Area of the Garden
The garden spreads in a total land area of 106 acres. The entrance of the garden is beautifully decorated with flower beds and manicured grass lawns. There is a 3.5 km long hiking trail along the forested hills to reach the summit of the garden. The viewing deck is located at the summit of the garden and it is visible as a small triangle even from the entrance.
Although this hiking trail isn’t quite hard, if you think it’s difficult to walk a long distance, you can hire the electric buggy to explore it conveniently for a 2000 LKR (7 seats) at the entrance. Here we are going to explain the main attractions that you’ll see during your visit to the garden.
Entrance of Garden
We started our journey from Kandy and reached the entrance of the garden in the late morning. It was a nice day with fine weather to enjoy the best sceneries in the garden. The entrance pathway from the main gate led to a platform with breathtaking scenery of the lovely garden in lush green surroundings. The cafeteria is located on this platform and you can buy a drink or snacks there. You won’t find any cafe inside the garden.
The security officials will check your backpacks and all the visitors should minimize the use of polythene wrappers. As well as, visitors need to adhere to the rules of keeping the garden in an environmentally friendly atmosphere.
Scenic Lake
The first sight on entering the garden is the picturesque lake with a serene reflection of the trees at the far reaches. This scenic lake is one of the most photogenic sights and the centerpiece of the garden. It is home to schools of colorful fish which are swimming freely in the water. Swan paddle boats are available for a fun-filled boat ride in the lake.
The paved pathway that runs along the lake is bordered by beautiful flower patches. These flower beds are laden with blooms of vibrant hues. They are margined by colorful coleus varieties from bright red, and yellow. It makes marvelous scenery with the mirror reflections on the lake while colorful ribbons of Coleus plants are bordering the path on either side.
This scenery was wonderful through the lens and we captured many shots of the lake with its reflections. The blue sky, white clouds, tall trees, and surrounding greenery reflected in the clear waters looking like a picture postcard. Although swan paddle boats in the lake are waiting on the water, this service was temporarily stopped due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and we couldn’t enjoy a boat ride in the lake.
Japanese Garden
Along the pebbled road flanked by beautifully laden flower beds, we reached the Japanese Garden. Japanese Garden is a lovely place landscaped according to the Japanese style. It has a central lawn with neatly cut grass, trimmed bushes, a sand garden, and plots of miniature flower patches with a picturesque small bridge. We remembered the Japanese gardens we visited in Kyoto, while we were staying in Japan and felt arranging is quite similar to the ones we saw in Japan.
Undoubtedly, this is the loveliest part of the garden and we could not believe such a picture-perfect sight existed in the garden. The bridge was an ideal place to capture the beautiful shots and many visitors tried to get the best angle for their poses.
The neatly trimmed bushes, flowers plots around the bridge offered an exciting view of the Gardens. It was so photogenic from every angle and we captured lots of lovely sceneries including flower beds in the spectacular surroundings in the Japanese garden. Below is the short video of the Japanese Garden film by us.
Ferns Garden
Just close to the Japanese Garden, we found the Ferns Garden. It houses more than 1000 species of Ferns authentic to the country’s wet zone. There is a lovely stream flowing through the Ferns garden and the whole area was cool and shady making an ideal environment for the growth of wet zone ferns. Since the environment is dark and cool, ferns are growing in abundance under the shadows of giant trees. It was so cool with the breeze coming from the mountains. We didn’t feel the warm weather even though the afternoon sun was strong when we were walking in the Ferns garden.
Hiking Trail
The hiking trail is the most amazing and adventurous part of the trip to Seethawaka Botanical Gardens. The pathway will take you along the scenic hillside to the summit of the garden. The complete trail is 3.5 km long, but it is all worth hiking it for anyone who likes the beautiful nature. We walked passing different types of vegetation including endemic trees to the country. Each tree carries a name board with its name and biological name and you can learn a lot about the wet zone flora of Sri Lanka.
Although there is a gentle elevation gain in the trail, the climb isn’t challenging or strenuous. We felt the cool fresh air and the breeze coming from the mountains, which makes our hike more comfortable. As well, the sight of jumping toque macaques in the treetops and chirping birds fascinated us.
We saw many rare plants and trees in the garden during this hiking trail. One of the interesting trees was Bombax ceiba, calls as “Katu Imbul” in Sinhalese. It has sharp thorns on its whole trunk and nobody might be daring to touch the trunk of this tree. It was a marvelous creation of nature for the protection of the tree.
Bombax trees have beautiful red flowers during the flowering season in January and February. The flowers appear after all the leaves are fallen and red flowers will cover all branches of the tree. We couldn’t see them because the flowering season was already passed, but these pictures give you an idea about what it looks like during the flowering season.
Summit Garden
The hiking trail was gradually ascending up until we reached the summit of the garden. The herbal garden and Rose garden are among the best places to see on the summit. Herbal Garden is home to many herbal plants which have medicinal value as a traditional medicine in Sri Lanka.
Rose Garden
The highlight of the Summit Garden is the beautiful Rose Garden. It is a wonderful place at the summit you shouldn’t miss during your visit. Rose Garden has more than 75 varieties of different colored Roses. We saw many beautiful Roses, with their colors varying to many shades of each color. There were red velvets to hybrid Rose varieties with yellow, orange, pink, purple, and many more.
The sweet scent of lovely Roses will easily steal your heart with their exquisite colors and fragrance. Be sure to take your camera ready with you, as there will be endless opportunities to capture the snaps of eye-catching voluminous bunches of Roses.
ViewPoint
The viewpoint is located at the peak of the hiking trail. It gives the best panoramic view of the whole garden with the surrounding mountain range. Anybody who wants to see the most beautiful panorama of the Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Gardens must visit this viewpoint. It is an enchanting spot to view the unique features of the botanical garden.
It affords the scenery looks like a picture out of a postcard. Green hills touched the blue sky in the distance, and a glimpse of the lovely garden along with the scenic lake gave magnificent picture-perfect shots.
Kumbuk Grove
The returning pathway from the trek went passing through the forest of tall Terminalia arjuna or Kumbuk trees. This Kumbuk grove is one of the distinct features of the Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden. There is a vast area of Kumbuk tree cover made up of sky-high Kumbuk trees. These tall and straight Kumbuk trees plantation roses high above the sky and spread as far as our eyes could see.
Their deep yellow colored barks make a beautiful contrast among the green foliage. Several ponds and natural water streams were flowing across the Kumbuk grove. The cool, shady area gave the best fresh air and a cool breeze to keep us cool during the hot daytime.
At the end of our journey, it was a pleasant surprise that such a lovely place with splendid beauty existed well hidden in the capital of Sri Lanka. This garden is one of the best photogenic locations in the country ideal for photoshoots and videos. We said goodbye to this lovely place thinking to come back and enjoy the wonderful sceneries again someday.
Now it is time for all of the nature lovers to go and explore this lovely paradise still in hiding. Enjoy the lovely sceneries of Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden and have a wonderful picnic under the cool, shady trees. Leave nothing but your footprints. Happy journey for everybody!
