Haggala Botanic Gardens

Description

Haggala Botanic Gardens were established in 1861 to experiment and improve Cinchona cultivation in Sri Lanka. The fields in the hill country among Sri Lanka’s tea plantations in the Nuwara Eliya district are placed along Badulla Road, 9.5 km southeast of Nuwara Eliya.
Abode at an elevation of about 1745 m above means sea level; Hakgala Botanic Gardens, about 28 hectares in area, lie under the darkness of the Hakgala Rock. This large rock towers to a height of about 2,200m behind the gardens and the neighbouring forest reserve like a lonely giant. The gardens take the shape of several platforms upon the lower slopes of the rock and meet the Uva Valley, across which some majestic views of the Madulsima and the Namunukula range of hills are seen in the different landscapes. The environment of the Gardens is subtropical, cool, fresh, and slightly similar to an alpine environment. The temperature changes from 3°C to 15° C. The lowest reported was 3° C. The gardens receive rainfall from two monsoons. In the South West from May to August and the North East from October to December, the yearly average rainfall is about 2300 mm.