This exotic and beautiful botanical garden in Sri Lanka is situated in the Hill capital, Kandy. Located 4 miles off Kandy and 68 miles off-Colombo, Peradeniya is well know for its large variety of plants ornaments, a variety of other creepers that produce the special spices in Sri Lanka. The great lawns highlight huge tropical trees and various species of bamboo can be found in some places.

This beautiful Botanical Garden is just 10 kms away from Nuwara Eliya City and 180 Km from Colombo. It is the place where flora from far and wide are seen at home. The site has a mythical connotation with many believing that it was once the pleasure garden of the demon king Ravana of the epic Ramayana and the very place where the beautiful Sitha was hidden. It was only in 1860 that the present botanical garden was founded by the British botanist Dr. G.H.K. Thwaites, who was the Superintendent of the more famous gardens at Peradeniya.

The exotic plants found in Hakgala include conifers and cedars from Australia, Bermuda and Japan, and cypresses from the Himalayas, China and as far flung places as Persia, Mexico and California. A special variety of pine was introduced from New Calendonia and there are specimens of this genus from the Canary Island as well. Another interesting tree that adorns this garden is an English oak, planted around 1890, in memory of the famous "hearts of oak" of Britain's naval power.

In addition, there are, for the tourists’ delight, the rose garden and the fernery. The garden will surely send a visitor into reverie.Plants and trees from around the world could be seen at home in the Hakgala Botanical Gardens, just 10km away from Nuwara Eliya City. Hakgala is one of the places one visits as an essential part of a pleasant journey in the famous hill resort of Nuwara Eliya. The site is legendary.