“During World War II, this peaceful garden was the secret South East Asia headquarters of the Allied commander Lord Mountbatten.”
About Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya
The gardens evolved from a pleasure garden of Kandyan royalty into a formal botanical institution under British rule in 1821, becoming a centre of tropical plant science. In the 1940s they served as the wartime headquarters of Lord Mountbatten's South East Asia Command. Famous visitors have planted commemorative trees here over the decades, adding to the historic collection.
Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, just outside Kandy, are the largest and finest botanical gardens in Sri Lanka, spread over around 60 hectares in a loop of the Mahaweli River. Once a royal pleasure garden, they are famous for a magnificent orchid house, grand avenues of palms and towering specimen trees from around the world.
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, just outside Kandy, are the largest and finest botanical gardens in Sri Lanka, spread over around 60 hectares in a loop of the Mahaweli River.
A Royal Garden and a War Headquarters
The site began as a royal garden of the Kandyan kings before the British formally established the botanical gardens in 1821. During the Second World War the gardens took on an unexpected role when they was the headquarters of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Allied Supreme Commander for South East Asia, who ran the regional war effort from this peaceful setting. Today the gardens are again purely a place of botanical splendour.
The Experience
You wander grand avenues of royal and cabbage palms, an avenue of trees planted by visiting dignitaries, sweeping lawns and a celebrated orchid house bursting with colour. A vast Javan fig tree spreads its canopy over a great circle of lawn, and the river loops around the gardens. It is a relaxed half-day of greenery, shade and horticultural spectacle near Kandy.
Why It Matters
Peradeniya is the premier botanical garden in Sri Lanka and a treasured part of the country's scientific and colonial heritage. Its role as Mountbatten's wartime headquarters gives it a surprising place in global history, while its collections make it a centre for tropical botany and a beloved day out.
Peradeniya is the premier botanical garden in Sri Lanka and a treasured part of the country's scientific and colonial heritage.
Why Visit
Sri Lanka's grandest botanical gardens, with a stunning orchid house, palm avenues and giant trees, plus a surprising history as a wartime Allied command centre.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Allow a half day; the gardens are large and best explored slowly.
- 2
Do not miss the orchid house and the giant Javan fig tree.
- 3
It is an easy trip from Kandy, often combined with the city.
- 4
Mornings are coolest for walking the grounds.
