The Bogor Botanical Gardens

            The famous public gardens is the Bogor Botanical Gardens. It lies 60 kilometres south of Jakarta. It was built at the order of the British Governor Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, but the Dutch Governor Van Der Cappellen opened it in 1817.

            The large park covers an area of 87 hectares and has more than 15.000 kinds of trees and plants. There are 400 different types of palms, more than 5.000 kinds of orchids from Indonesia and abroad, and the giant Rafflesia which blooms only once a year. During the 19th century,this garden was famous for the study of tea, cassava, tobacco, cinchona, and other plants. There is also botanical library where students can find a lot of books on botany. In 1856, at the north part of the Garden the Dutch built a palace for their governors-general. It open daily from 09.00 to 17.00 for visitors.

            Three branches of the Bogor Botanical Gardens are the Cibodas Botanical Gardens, the Purwodadi  Botanical Gardens, and the Eka Karya Botanical Gardens. The Cibodas Botanical Gardens was built in 1826 for study of the flora and fauna on the mountain. It covers an area of about 80 hectares on the slope of Gede volcano, 1200 metres above sea level. The purwodadi Botanical Gardens was built on the lower slope of Mt. Arjuna, East Java in 1914. It is about 3000 metres above sea level. It covers an area of 85 hectares. Here people study plants of dry area. The Eka Karya Botanical Gardens was built in 1959 for the study of the flora on the mountains in West Nusa Tenggara. It covers an area of 50 hectares on the slope of Mt. Pohen in Bai. It is between 1250 and 1450 metres above sea level.