Dry Zone Botanic Gardens, Hambantota

A truly amazing place to stroll around with your family or friends. The garden is expansive, requiring a few hours for a leisurely walk. They offer a shuttle bus, but make sure to book in advance. The place is wheelchair accessible, well-maintained, and the staff is friendly. Inside the garden, you'll find a drinking water fountain for added convenience.

Went December.. Rainy period for garden. My 3rd visit. Lack of flowers due to rainy period. We hired electrical vehicle. Its one hour journey.(LKR 1000 for 2 seats vehicle). Fair price.
But its comfortable for 2 Adults & 2 children.
Driver is very friendly.

They need to add more electric cars. They have, But not working due to battery problem.

200 Rupees for adult ticket .
Below 12 years 30 Rupees .

The park is huge, so plan for over 3 hours to explore everything. Despite being in a dry zone, the climate and environment feel cool. The workers also are friendly.

One of the best botanical gardens in the country. Some areas are still under construction, but you can explore a plenty of things here.
Better to get an electric cart to explore the park. You can book it from the tickets counter.

Staff is very friendly and doing a great job.

A wonderful place to visit. The garden was nicely organized and well maintained. The ticket was Rs. 200 per an adult, and can have nearly 1hr trip via a buggy or else it takes much longer time to walk everywhere. 20 seater buggy cost Rs. 5400 which is worth going. Staff was very friendly and supportive.

Well maintained garden. There are areas under construction. Currently all electric carts are not working except for the 20 seats bus. We managed to share it with another group. Recommend to travel by the bus / cart as they come with a guide and relaxing rather than walking in the scorching sun. A must visit if traveling to Hambantota

This is the largest botanical garden in Sri Lanka. It has more than three hundred acres. Best place to have fun.

This place is really beautiful and well taken care of. You have to buy a ticket to enter, and you can walk around or rent a golf cart for a reasonable price. If you choose the golf cart, the tour takes about an hour.

There are different areas for different types of plants and trees, and the guides are friendly and helpful. They give you a good introduction to each area during the cart tour and you'll have plenty of time to look around.

The best times to visit are in the morning or evening because it can get hot during the day.

Very beautiful land scape at dryzone .staff also helpfullbetter to take electric car for tour. The driver explain everything in one hour trip.

Book your tickets
Get on to the cart
And enjoy the nature

Amazing place. You should visit in the morning or in the evening. The ticket price is 150. You can get electric carts starting from 2000. Better to take a cart. Because it is an area of 300 acres u will not be able to cover the whole area on foot. Friendly staff. Clean restrooms and ample parking.

Extremely beautiful garden. Many photogenic places to capture. You can hire their vehicle to visit the 300 acres.
There are wet zone gardens as well.
Ticket was Rs.100/= for local adult.

It was another different and a great experience in a botanical garden. Do you expect this kind of greenery in a dry zone? Had a nice ride in the whole garden with a guide which we could gather a lot of information.

A best place for those who enjoy the beauty of nature. Different types of flowers and trees can be seen. There are many beautiful places for taking pictures.

Well maintained, beautiful place. The only dry zone botanic garden in Sri Lanka. You can walk in the park or you can have golf cart for reasonable rate. it take about 1 hour to visit the park by a Golf cart. Staff is friendly. There is a circuit bungalow inside the garden.

This is the only botanic garden in dry zone of Sri Lanka spreads over 300 acres.

Not only large varieties of dry zone plants, there are wet zone and intermediate zone plants under stabilized growing environments too. Nicely laid out but need to improve the maintenance.

Electric golf carts service (from Rs. 1000 onwards) including free guidance is facilitated to cover the entire park within one hour (approximately 8km). However, there may be a waiting time, coz some of the carts were not in working condition.

Though the garden is very large, could not see much crowds like in other botanical gardens such as Hakgala and Peradeniya.
Recommend to visit.

Beautiful! Absolute gem in hambanthota! Take a book and a snack n just spend the day ❤

Best and Largest Dry zone botanic garden 🌵🪴 in the country. Worth the visit if you ever going to the Southern province. Place is situated just beside the Hambantota Highway road. Development of the place is being very very poor, but they always manage to keep the place maintained in good condition. Neat and Clean.
You have to buy tickets to the entrance. Vast area of the garden little bit harder to cover if you are going on foot. And it takes a lot of time. So better to hire a cart tour 🚎 for the job. It'll cost some extra Rs.1000 or so, 1 hour tour around the whole park. There are separate areas for different kind of plants and trees. Guides will give you a good introduction about every place if you travel with them on cart tour. Also they are very friendly and helpful. Gives you a plenty of time to travel around the place.
Best time for the tour is morning or evening or else you have to make arrangements with the sun ☀ Before the tour for the garden, You can use Washrooms 🚻 and there are several shops to buy foods and stuff. But they are not always reliable.
For the latest information i received you can reserve and stay on the park accommodation. There are also different rooms with facilities. Bungalow, Rooms, Halls like thing. Better to contact the place and get the info. Place is also rent for the Photoshoots.

Nice overall experience. Since the Garden is dedicated for the plants that grow in the dry zone, it's quite different than other Botanical gardens in Sri Lanka. We visited during September, hence fewer flowers and dry landscapes.. As informed by the staff, better to visit during the rainy seasons (November/December) where it would be much greener and full of butterflies.
If you take the electric cart, they will show you around and explain all the important areas, but you will have to pay for it in addition to the entrance tickets. The ride is only for 1 hour and will be charged extra if exceeded. However, you can stay in the garden and walk around all day long.
Parking is available free of charge inside the premises. At the entrance you have to buy tickets for everyone if you enter the premises. We had to buy a ticket for our driver even he didn't join the tour and stayed with the vehicle in the parking area.
Our guide was quite nice and friendly.

Entrance Tickets 100 LKR for Locals
Buggy Cart for 1 Hour 2000 LKR (I recommend you to use one)

Dry Zone Botanic Garden Hambantota is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the natural beauty and biodiversity of Sri Lanka. The garden is located in a stunning area surrounded by arid forests, and it showcases the incredible plant life that thrives in this unique environment.

The garden is vast, with over 8 acres of carefully curated exhibits that showcase plants from all over the world. Walking through the garden is like taking a journey through different ecosystems, from the lush rainforest to the dry savannah.

One of the highlights of the garden is the diversity of plant life on display. There are over 200 species of plants, many of which are rare or endangered. The garden also boasts an impressive collection of cacti and succulents, as well as a variety of medicinal plants.

The garden is well-maintained and beautifully landscaped, with walking paths that wind through the different exhibits. There are also several ponds and streams, which add to the natural beauty of the area.

Overall, Dry Zone Botanic Garden Hambantota is a wonderful place to spend a day exploring the natural world. Whether you are a nature enthusiast, a botany buff, or simply looking for a peaceful and beautiful place to relax, this garden is sure to impress. Highly recommended!