Bogor Botanical gardens

The Bogor Botanical Gardens are located in the heart of the city of Bogor, 60km south of Jakarta. The gardens cover over 80 hectares and on its ground is also the Presidential Palace (Istana Bogor), the summer retreat of the Indonesian President.

The founder of the Bogor Botanical Gardens was Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt who was appointed in 1817 to Director of Agricultal business. As a botanist he was very interested in investigating plants used by the Javanese for domestic and medical purposes. Reinwardt, with permission of the Governor, decided to transform the gardens around the Governors residence, Buitenzorg, to a botanical garden where he could bring plant species from all over the archipelago. He became the first director of this new "'s Lands Plantentuin" and introduced 900 living plants species to the garden in the next few years.

But besides being only a garden it became a research center where till the present day major botanical research is carried out and was a major factor in the development of cassava as an alternative food source, the introduction of quinine (used for treating malaria) and several cures for plant diseases.

At present day the Gardens contain over 15,000 species of plants and trees and 50 species of birds and bats. The orchid house has some 3000 different species of orchids. But you do not need to be a botanist to enjoy and wonder around in the very beautifully landscaped park.