Lanka Excursions Holidays - Kandy
Sri Lanka travels with Nuwan
  • Tours
    • tailor-made tours
    • ready-made tours
    • your-price-choice
    • Outdoor Anuradhapura
    • Sri Lanka Transport Service
    • 1 day excursions
    • 7 days tour
    • 8 days tour
    • Terms
    • по-русски
  • About
  • Services
  • Info
    • Tea
    • Ayurveda
  • Mihintale
    • Mihintale attractions
    • Guesthouse Rooms
    • Rent my Villa
    • Activities around Mihintale
    • Hiking in Mihintale
    • Mihintale-sightseeing
    • Picnic at Kaludiya Pokuna
    • car
    • Day trips by car
  • Destinations
    • World Heritage Sites >
      • Anuradhapura
      • Polonnaruwa
      • Sigiriya
      • Dambulla
      • Kandy Sacred City
      • Galle Fort
    • Cities >
      • Colombo
      • Nuwara Eliya
      • Trincomalee
      • Ratnapura
      • Batticaloa
      • Kurunegala
      • Matale
      • Kalutara
      • Tangalle
      • Hambantota
      • Puttalam
      • Chilaw
      • Matara
      • Avissawella
      • Badulla
      • Tissamaharama
      • Kalmunai
      • Embilipitiya
      • Habarana
      • Kilinochchi
      • Pottuvil
      • Giritale
    • Sacred Places >
      • Kataragama
      • Mahiyangana
      • Seruwila
      • Somawathiya
      • Sita Eliya
      • Maha Saman Devale
      • Kelaniya
      • Munneshvaram
      • Kanniyai
      • Manavari
      • Adisham Hall
      • Karagahagedara
      • Madampe
      • Seenigama
      • Divurumpola
    • Ancient Temples >
      • Haththikuchchi
      • Ritigala
      • Yapahuwa
      • Wilandagoda
      • Thiriyai
      • Velgam Vehera
      • Medirigiriya
      • Sithulpahuwa
      • Pidurangala
      • Nalanda
      • Mulkirigala
      • Panduwasnuwara
      • Padeniya
      • Padavigampola
      • Namal Uyana
      • Arankale
      • Menikdena
      • Manakanda
      • Nillakgama
      • Panavitiya
      • Gadaladeniya
      • Lankatilaka
      • Embekke
      • Lahugala
      • Kudumbigala
      • Dambadeniya
      • Kiralagala
      • Kalupokuna
      • Degaldoruwa
      • Ramba Vihara
      • Danthure
      • Dadagamuwa
      • Buddhangala
      • Dematamal Viharaya
      • Pilikuttuwa
      • Dodanwela
      • Dimbulagala
      • Beligala
      • Bogoda
      • Barandiya Kovil
      • Kokabe
      • Divulwewa
      • Madagama
      • Pettagangala
      • Isenbessagala
      • Kuruwita
      • Koskandawala
      • Attanagalla
      • Alawwa
      • Awariyawala
      • Hanguranketa
    • Historical Caves >
      • Ridigama
      • Salgala
      • Veheragala
      • Wavulpone
      • Sankapala
      • Varana
      • Aluvihara
      • Anamaduwa
      • Aluthepola
      • Maligatenna
      • Divaguhawa
      • Batadomba Lena
      • Beli Lena
      • Pahiyangala
      • Maradankadawala
    • Giant Stupas >
      • Yudaganawa
      • Dedigama
      • Dighavapi
    • Rock Buddha statues >
      • Gal Vihara
      • Aukana Buddha
      • Sasseruwa Buddha
      • Buduruwagala
      • Dowa
      • Maligawila
      • Kushtaraja Statue
      • Thanthirimale
      • Bakamuna
      • Maboda Temple
    • Mountains >
      • Adam's Peak
      • Horton Plains
      • Pidurutalagala
      • Knuckles Range
      • Sinharaja
      • Haputale
      • Ella
      • Namunukula
      • Deanston
      • Ramboda
      • Ambuluwawa
      • Bible Rock
      • Medamahanuwara
      • Hunnasgiriya
      • Hakgala
      • Kadugannawa
      • Uda Pussellawa
      • Passara
      • Victoria Lake
      • Retiyagama
    • Waterfalls >
      • Bambarakanda Falls
      • Diyaluma Falls
      • Dunhinda Falls
      • St. Clair's Falls
      • Devon Falls
      • Bopath Falls
      • Dodam Falls
      • Mannakethi Falls
      • Aberdeen Falls
      • Lakshapana
      • Kirindi Falls
      • Bambarakiri Falls
      • Ravana Falls
      • Hunas Falls
    • National Parks >
      • Yala NP
      • Wilpattu NP
      • Maduru Oya NP
      • Gal Oya NP
      • Udawalawe NP
      • Minneriya NP
      • Kaudulla NP
      • Kumana NP
      • Bundala NP
      • Ussangoda
      • leopards
    • Activity Attractions >
      • Kandy Perahera 2019
      • Kithulgala
      • Pinnawela
      • Madu Ganga
      • Muthurajawela
      • Meetiyagoda
      • Rekawa
      • Induruwa
      • Brief Garden
      • Lunuganga
      • Gampaha
      • Kanneliya
      • Bodhinagala
      • Mahapalessa Hot Springs
      • Thoppigala
      • Rufus Kulam
      • Wewurukannala
      • Kalawewa
      • Kandalama
    • Beaches >
      • Beruwela
      • Bentota Beach
      • Ambalangoda
      • Hikkaduwa
      • Unawatuna
      • Weligama
      • Mirissa
      • Dondra
      • Hoomaniya Blowhole
      • Kirinda
      • Okanda
      • Arugam Bay
      • Thirukkovil
      • Pasikuda
      • Thennadi Bay
      • Nilaveli Beach
      • Pulmoddai
      • Mannar Island
      • Kaplitiya Peninsula
      • Marawila
      • Negombo
    • Jaffna Peninsula >
      • Jaffna
      • Nallur
      • Kandarodai
      • Nilavarai
      • Point Pedro
      • Manalkadu
      • Naguleshvaram
      • Jambukola
      • Nainativu
      • Delft Island
      • Elephant Pass
    • top 20 attractions >
      • top 20 in Colombo
      • top 20 in Kandy
  • Blog
  • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Home

Gampaha - Henerathgoda Botanical Garden in Sri Lanka's wetzone

Banyan Tree in Gampaha Botanical GardenBanyan Tree in Gampaha Botanical Garden
Though only second in size to Negombo and much smaller, Gampaha is the capital of the district of the same name, which comprises the Western Province territories to the north of the Kelani River. Gampaha District was once a part of Colombo District, which had to be divided due to the overproportional population size. Still, the remaining Colombo District and the new Gampaha District are by far the two largest in Sri Lanka, with a population of about 2.3 million each.

Gampaha town has only 10.000 inhabitants, but the urban area is much larger and also includes the neighbouring town of Yakkala at the Colombo-Kandy mainroad (A1). The key factor of urban development in this area was the establishment of the island’s main railway line in the 1860s. The town was finally completed according to a systematic scheme in the 1920.

Gampaha’s main attraction is the Botanical Garden, which is also known as Henarathgoda Botanical Garden. It’s situated 2 km north of Gampaha Railway Station. The garden area covers 17 hectare.

The garden, home to several palm tree species, also consists of a lawns, alleys and stretches of secondary forest as well as small flower gardens, a Japanese garden, an educational garden and a medicinal garden and several greenhouses, one orchid house in particular. Gampaha Botanical Garden is home of about 80 bird species including 10 endemic species.

The playground is a popular weekend holiday destination of local families.

Several trees grown experimentally for commercial purposes in the 19th century can still be seen in Gampaha Botanical Garden.

Gampaha Botanical Garden was established by the British in 1876. It played a crucial role in their successful attempt to undermine the Brazilian rubber monopoly.

Henry Alexander Wickham (1846 –1928) had stolen seeds from the the rubber-bearing tree, Hevea brasiliensis, in the Santarem area of Brazil in 1876. He brought those seeds to the world-famous Kew Botanic Gardens near London, where the trees could not be grown. Therefore, rubber seeds were send to Britain’s tropical oversea territories in Africa and Asia. Due to failures of their rubber trials in India, the British attempts to grow a rubber tree were focused on the wetlands of Ceylon, the climate of which resembled that of the Amazon bassin. The cultivation turned out well in Gampaha, which had received 2,000 of the 70,000 seeds Wickham had stolen.

The roots of the first rubber tree grown outside Brazil, blooming in 1881 for the first time, can still be seen in situ in the Botanical Gardens. From Gampaha, new seeds were exported to Malaysia, which became the most important rubber cltivation area of the British Empire. In a way, the sparse remnants of the first rubber tree in Gampaha, now protected as a national monument, are a memorial of some historical and international significance, since the rubber tree grown in the Gampaha marked the end of the rubber boom of the Amazon valley. Rubber plantations in South and Southeast Asia turned out much more efficient than traditional rubber tapping in Brazil. The reason was that Asian rubber was grown in plantations, whereas in Brazil it had to be gathered from forest trees of much lower rubber tree density. Cultivating rubber in plantations turned out to be highly probemlatic in Brazil due to a tree leaf fungus and other diseases. Many of today’s commercial rubber trees are descended from the seeds that were stolen by Wickham, who is therefore rembered as a “bio-pirate” in Brazil.  

The best period to visit Gampaha Botanical Garden is in northern autumns months, which is the main blooming period is Sri Lanka’s tropical wetlands after the end of the southwest monsoon rain period.


Our ambition is to provide high-quality information in preparation of your Sri Lanka holidays ... and even more superb travel experiences
What guests write about our services...

Home

About

Tours

Places

Contact

Sri Lanka destinations A-Z
famous attractions are marked bold, highly recommendable hidden treasures in bold italic letters
Aberdeen Falls
Activity Attractions
Adam's Peak
Adisham Hall
Alawwa
Aluthepola
Aluvihara
Ambalangoda
Ambuluwawa
Anamaduwa
Ancient Temples
Anuradhapura
Arankale
Arugam Bay
Attanagalla
Aukana
Avissawella
Awariyawala

Badulla
Bakamuna
Bambarakanda Falls
Bambarakiri Falls
Barandiya Kovil
Batadomba Lena
Batticaloa
Beaches
Beli Lena
Beligala
Bentota
Beruwela
Bible Rock
Blowhole
Bodhinagala
Bogoda Bridge
Bopath Ella
Brief Garden
Buddhangala
Buduruwagala 
Bundala NP

Cave Temples
Chilaw
Cities
Colombo
Colombo top 12
Dadagamuwa
Dambadeniya
Dambulla
Danthure
Deanston
Dedigama
Degaldoruwa
Delft Island
Dematamal Viharaya
Devon Falls
Dighavapi
Dimbulagala
Divaguhawa
Divulwewa
Divurumpola
Diyaluma Falls
Dodan Falls
Dodanwela
Dondra Head
Dowa
Dunhinda Falls

Elephant Pass
Ella
Embekke
Embilipitiya

Gadaladeniya
Gampaha
Gal Oya NP
Gal Vihara
Galle Fort
Giritale

Habarana
Hakgala
Hambantota
Hanguranketa
Haputale
Hatthikucchi
Highlands
Hikkaduwa
Horton Plains
Hunas Falls
Hunnasgiriya

Induruwa
Isenbessagala

Jaffna Peninsula
Jaffna town
Jambukola
Kadugannawa Pass
Kalawewa
Kalmunai
Kalpitiya Peninsula
Kalupokuna
Kalutara
Kandalama
Kandarodai stupas
Kandy Festival
Kandy Sacred City
Kandy top 12
Kanneliya Forest
Kanniyai Hot Wells
Karagahagedara
Kataragama
Kaudulla NP
Keerimalai
Kelaniya
Kilinochchi
Kiralagala
Kirinda
Kirindi Falls
Kitulgala
Knuckles Range
Kokabe
Koskandawala
Kudumbigala
Kumana NP
Kurunegala
Kuruwita
Kushtaraja statue

Lahugala
Lakshapana Falls
Lankatilaka
Leopards
Lunuganga Gardens

Maboda
Madagama
Madampe
Madu Ganga
Maduru Oya NP
Mahapalessa Hot Wells
Mahiyangana
Maligatenna
Maligawila
Manakanda
Manalkadu
Manavari
Mannakethi Falls
Mannar Island
Maradankadawala
Marawila
Matale
Matara
Medamahanuwara
Medirigiriya
Menikdena
Mihintale
Minneriya NP
Mirissa
Moonstone Mine
Mulkirigala
Munneshvaram
Muthurajawela
Nainativu Island
Nalanda Gedige
Nallur
Namal Uyana
Namunukula
National Parks
Negombo
Nilavarai Well
Nilaveli Beach
Nillakgama
Nuwara Eliya

Okanda Beach

Padavigampola
Padeniya
Pahiyangala
Panavitiya
Panduwasnuwara
Pasikuda
Passara
Pettagangala
Pidurangala
Pidurutalagala
Pilgrimage Places
Pilikuttuwa
Pinnawela
Point Pedro
Polonnaruwa
Pulmoddai
Pottuvil
Puttalam

Ramba Vihara
Ramboda
Rasvehera
Ratnapura
Ravana Falls
Rekawa
Retiyagama
Ridigama
Ritigala
Rock-cut Buddhas
Rufus Kulam
Salgala
Saman Devale
Sankapala
Seenigama
Seruwila
Sigiriya
Sinharaja Forest
Sita Eliya
Sithulpahuwa
Somawathiya
St. Clair's Falls
Stupas

Tangalle
Tantirimale
Thennadi Bay
Thiriyai
Thirukkovil
Thoppigala
Tissamaharama
Trincomalee

Uda Pussellawa
Udawalawe NP
Unawatuna
Ussangoda

Varana
Veheragala
Velgam Vehera
Victoria Lake

Waterfalls
Weligama
Wewurukannala
Wilandagoda
Wilpattu NP
World Heritage

Yala NP
Yapahuwa
Yudaganawa

Why travel with Lanka Excursions Holidays?

+ We are a local agency owned and run by Sri Lankans, not part of international holdings
+ We are well known for our direct and personal relationships with travellers 
+ We facilitate authentic meetings with locals who are not from the tourism sector 
  + We follow a strict policy not to push guests to visit shops and shops and shops
+ We have an unrivalled expertise to show you places off the beaten path
+ We provide genuine information instead of clichés and tourism industry slogans

How to plan your travels with Lanka Excursions Holidays?

We offer various ways to work out or find a suitable tour programme. Select one of the following methods:
# tailor-made: let’s work out your personal itinerary according to your own specifications
# ready-made: enjoy travel experts’ elaborate tours, we offer a wide range
# your-price: Tell us how much you want to spend. We tell you what you can get.


Lanka Excursions Holidays office hours 8.00 to 9.30 p.m. daily (except from June Fullmoon Day)
at
First House Mihintale
First House Mihintale
87, Missaka Mawatha, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka.
0094 71 6097795
AIRBNB SUPERHOST
nuwan.gajanayaka@gmail.com

Lanka Excursions Holidays

921/A Peradeniya Road, Kandy 20000, Sri Lanka
Tel 0094 71 6097795
lankaexcursionsholidays@gmail.com
all rights reserved
Copyright © 2016
Picture