Botanical Gardens, Hakgala

History and introduction

Botanic garden at Hakgala is the second largest gardens in Sri Lanka situated in salubrious environment near the capital city of the hill country. It provides charm and cold atmosphere with picturesque beauty by its own landscape and many blooms seen in various sections in garden. It enhances natural beauty by small water steams run across the garden and wooden bridges built over them. The main reason caused to establish the garden at Hakgala was cultivation and promotion of Cinchona, a tree of commerce in Sri Lanka. The garden was established in 1861 with the auspices of Mr G.H.W. Thawaites then director of Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya and M.R. W. MacNichholl was the pioneer curator of the gardens. Later, the garden was used for experimentation of tea cultivation in up country and then garden was developed to a botanical direction since Mr William Nock was appointed as a curator in 1884. Many sub tropical and some temperate plants were introduced and planted in the gardens.

It was recorded in the legend of Sri Lanka, Many thousands years ago, a famous king of Ceylon Ravana whose name is remembered in connection with the epic love story with Sita, a beautiful queen of India, made a pleasure gardens in the region where the Hakgala gerden spreads today. The king Ravana brought queen Sita, a famous female character descried in eastern here and kept hidden in the area vicinity to the botanic.

Seeds of several kinds of Cinchona meinding C. Micrantha, C. Nitida were received Through Sir clements markham from south Amarica. These were followed later by seeds of Cinchona Succirubra seeds of other speaen including Cinchona officinalis were planted in 1868 gerdens Hakgala. The area was named as Sita Eliya in Queen Sita and a Hindu temple was built near she was hidden.

Curators

1861 - 1866 W. Mac Nico
1868 - 1881 E.J Thwaites
1882 - 1904 W. Nock (supt)
1904 - 1909 J.K Nock (Lamonted deatn ocured on 13.12.1900).
1911 - 1940 J.J. Nock.
1940 - 1956 Ranasingha.
1956 - 1960 D.T Ekanayaka (Asst.Supt).
1961 - 1972 S.B. Tennakoon