Victoria Park, with its beautiful flowers and gardens is a must-visit when in Nuwara Eliya. Even if you aren’t particularly interested in flowers, it’s still a great place to go for a walk and relax. The sad part, however, is that people still seem to be littering.
The Park
Victoria Park is old, as in extremely old. It was initially the research field for the Hakgala Botanical Garden, but was renamed after Queen Victoria in 1897. It covers a pretty large area spanning over 25 acres. The park is open year-round but the best times to visit it is during the flowering seasons from March to May and August to September.
The management have done a great job of maintaining the park, but we were disappointed to see quite a bit of empty bottles and plastic bags being thrown around by the visitors. When we asked the officers about this they said that with the number of personnel they have, there’s only so much they can do, which we can understand.
Even the foliage is lush and expansive with tall trees marking the boundaries of the park. It’s just green as far the eye can see.
Most of the pathways inside the park are paved, but you can also find natural pathways which walk you right through the trees.
Victoria Park is home to arguably the widest array flowers in the country, with just the Peradeniya botanical gardens for competition. We were in N’Eliya at the end of the flowering season so we didn’t get to experience the park in full bloom but it was still beautiful.
Flowers that you’ll most likely come across are roses, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, Peruvian lilies as well as rarer flowers like rhododendrons and snapdragons.
Conclusion
Nuwara Eliya is one of the best vacation destinations to get away from the city and relax, and taking a walk through the Victoria Park is one of the best ways to do just that.
