Advertisement
Published: April 23rd 2021
Edit Blog Post
Do you believe still there are some hidden gems in the capital of Sri Lanka? You might think it is impossible to remain any 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 as well as many locals are still unaware about this lovely place. This is
Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden located in Avissawella, just 90 minute drive from Colombo
. If you like to spend a day out near to Colombo, this is an awesome place filled with all nature’s beautiful delights.
This is an ideal place for a fun-filled family day out in a serene and peaceful environment with a fresh air and cool breeze. You can leisurely walk along the paved pathways watching the beautiful blooms and flower beds.
Entrance of Garden The entering pathway from the main gate led to a platform with breathtaking scenery of the lovely garden in lush green surrounding. The cafeteria is located at this platform and you can buy a drink or snacks there. You won’t find any café inside
the garden. The security officials will check your back packs and all the visitors are requested to minimize the use of polythene wrappers. As well as, visitors are requested to adhere to the rules of keeping the garden in an environmental friendly atmosphere.
Scenic Lake The first sight on entering to 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 to for a fun-filled boat ride in the lake.
The paved pathway run along the lake is bordered with 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.
Japanese Garden Along the pebbled road flanked by beautifully laden flower beds we reached the Japanese Garden. Japanese Garden is a
lovely place which landscaped according to the Japanese style. It has a central lawn with neatly cut grass, trimmed bushes and plots of miniature flower patches and picturesque small bridge. We remembered the gardens and temples we visited in Japan, while we are staying in abroad and felt it is quite similar to the ones we saw in Japan.
Undoubtedly, this is the loveliest part of the garden and most picture-perfect sight of the garden. The bridge is an ideal place to capture the beautiful shots of the garden. The neatly trimmed bushes, flowers plots around the bridge offered an exciting view. It is so photogenic from every angle and whole surrounding is spectacular in the Japanese garden.
Ferns Garden Just close to the Japanese Garden, there is a Ferns Garden. It houses more than 1000 species of Ferns authentic to country’s wet zone. There is a lovely stream flowing through the Ferns garden and the whole area is cool and shady making 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. Since whole area is surrounded by tall
trees, it is so cool and breezy. With the cool breeze coming from the mountains, we didn’t feel the warm weather even though afternoon sun is strong when we are 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. There are many endemic trees and each tree carries a name board with its name and biological name. Here you can learn a lot about wet zone flora of Sri Lanka.
Summit Garden The hiking trial is gradually ascending up, until the summit of the garden. Herbal garden and Rose garden are among the best places to see in the summit. Herbal Garden is home to many herbal plants which have a medicinal value as traditional medicine in Sri Lanka.
Rose Garden The highlight of the Summit Garden is the beautiful Rose garden. It is a wonderful place you should not
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 are 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 beautiful roses.
View Point The view point is located at the peak of the long hiking trail. It gives the best panoramic view of the whole garden with the surrounding mountain range. Anybody wants to see the most beautiful panorama of the Seethawaka wet zone botanical gardens must visit this view point. The view point 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 the glimpse of the lovely garden along with scenic lake gives a magnificent picture-perfect sight.
Terminalia Grove
The forest of tall
Terminalia arjuna trees is a magnificent scenery in park. There is a vast area of
Terminalia cover made up of sky-high trees. These tall and straight trees roses high above the sky and spread as far as your eyes could see. Their deep yellow-colored barks make a beautiful contrast among the green foliage. Several ponds and natural water streams are flowing across the
Terminalia grove. The cool, shady area gave the best fresh air and cool breeze to keep us cool during the hot day time.
This garden is one of the best photogenic locations in Sri Lanka ideal for photo shoots and videos. It is a perfect place for a family day out and reachable within short time from Colombo. We invite nature lovers to go and explore this lovely paradise still in hiding. Enjoy the lovely sceneries of Seethawaka Botanical Garden and leave nothing but your footprints.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.122s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0627s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Kalum
non-member comment
Nice Article
Nice detailed article. Most of the foreigners don't know about this place. I guess it will be useful for Sri Lankan travelers.