- Location: Namibia, Windhoek
- Website: nbri.org.na
- Date of foundation: 1969.
- Area: 12 hectares
- Opening hours: 8:00 to 17:00
In the eastern part of the capital of Namibia, in the second half of the 20th century the National Botanical Garden was opened. It belongs to the National Research Center. There is a botanical garden in Namibia at an altitude of 1200 m above sea level.
History of the garden
In 1969, the City Council of Windhoek, a 12 hectare plot of land was transferred to create a natural park. The construction of the infrastructures of the botanical garden began in 1970. Here, paved paths for walking, brought water and sewerage. However, the finances are over and the work has stopped. They were continued only in 1990, when a research center moved to a nearby building. The garden is financed by the ministries of tourism and agriculture, as well as the Botanical Community of Namibia.
Features of the Namibia Botanical Garden
The main task of creating the Botanical Garden is to study and preserve the flora of the country. It has some specific features:
- At the entrance to the garden is the Desert Plant House with a typical flora for desert.
- The park has a special place for picnics.
- The main part of the garden remains in a wild state, due to which the guests of the park can observe the life of plants in the highland savannah of Namibia.
- In addition to representatives of the local flora in the botanical garden grow plants brought here from other regions, for example, from the Namib Desert , the province of Cunene.
- In addition to the diverse flora in the botanical garden of Namibia, there are many exotic fauna: animals, birds, fish, mammals.
Plants in the garden
The National Botanical Garden is interesting for many exotic plants:
- a variety of types of aloe , which is a symbol of Namibia;
- quiver tree - its branches in the past used bushmen to make arrows' cases;
- bottle trees - their juice has medicinal properties;
- "Stone" plant Lithops karasmontana , which is very cleverly disguised as shingle;
- Pachypodium namaquanum has a high pointed stem, topped with a leaf cap - from a distance the plant resembles a human figure;
- caudexo-forming plant Cyphostemma juttae belongs to the family of grape and has beautiful fruits very similar to ordinary grape brushes, but, unfortunately, inedible;
- Euphorbia virosa is a white latex juice of this succulent family of echinodamous and can cause irritation and even blindness.
How to get to the botanical garden?
If you are planning to spend a few days in Windhoek , then, arriving Windhoek by plane, settle, most likely, in a hotel . All of them are located in the center of the city. Stopping, for example, at the Windhoek Hilton, you can walk to the botanical garden for a walking walk in about 10 minutes. Protea Hotel Furstenhof can be reached in just 2 minutes.