Haggala Gardens

On Monday the 23^rd we decided to visit the Haggala Gardens. We planned on stopping off at Lake Gregory on the way back from the Gardens. Everyone else in Nuwara Eliya seemed to have had a similar idea. The road was a mass of traffic, while hundreds of vans and vehicles were parked along the roads. Just outside the garden gates were strings of little petti kade’s selling everything from water to food to soft-drinks to film-rolls and fruit and vegetables. Most of the stalls extended out onto the roads causing further chaos.

We stood in line and bought tickets – Rs.20/- for citizens and Rs.300/- for foreigners. I LOVE that… finally we get the idea! Every other country I’ve visited has similar differences in charges, and having forked out large amounts of money to see their sights, I think they should pay more to visit our beauty as well. After all, such lovely gardens do need tremendous upkeep.

The parks are beautifully laid out in a large acreage of land giving ample opportunity to stretch one’s legs (and them some!). We visited the rose gardens, the herbarium, the rock gardens, the hot houses or glass houses as they had called them, the seed collection (which disappointingly turned out to be some seeds in a glass case in a building which housed a canteen, with its garbage bins left in plain sight). We saw their little summer huts with their varied hued pointed roofs. We decided not to climb up the mountain side, having walked till our legs ached. They looked so great and majestic and for once untouched by buildings. Then my sister and daddy both went crazy at the plant sales outlet and loaded themselves up with plants!! Of course I too admit the plants are cheap there, but the thought of lugging them around gave me pause.

We sat down for a little ‘fruit’ break on a grassy slope beyond one of the summer huts and had the most unusual treat. We were soon surrounded by a group of monkeys probably attracted by the food. We were eating some Jambola and I gave some to a rather large patriarch of a monkey who had a broken leg. He was so tame, he took it from my fingers – gently too. I was lying down on the grass and he actually put his paws on my hips and leaned over to see what else I had to give. That gave me quite a scare!!! I had my camera and handbag lying just there and visions of the fellow running off with them gave me an unpleasant jolt. We took off from our interrupted break and found another large bunch of monkeys on the trees. There was even one with her baby. I managed to get a couple of pictures of her.

We also saw a pond in the shape of Sri Lanka, into which some morons had thrown plastic bags and bottles. Will our people never learn to leave beauty untouched??

Haggala Gardens is a BEAUTIFUL spot and a must see for anyone visiting Nuwara Eliya. The rose gardens alone are well worth the visit!