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Kirstenbosch Gardens

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is world renowned for the beauty and diversity of the Cape flora including the unique fynbos it displays and for the magnificance of its setting against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. As well as offering tours of the gardens, this magical Eden also has a Visitor's centre which includes an information desk, the Kirstenbosch gift shop, a Botanical Society bookshop as well as Coffee Shop for refreshments.

Botanical gardens are living museums. They contain collections of plants which are used for display, scientific research and education, and play a vital role in the conservation of plant biodiversity.

Kirstenbosch is the largest of a country-wide network of eight botanical gardens administered by the National Botanical Institute. The National Botanical Institute, with its head office at Kirstenbosch, also maintains plant reference collections at three national herbaria, and is actively involved in research and environmental education.

Kirstenbosch - flagship of National Botanical Institute - was established in 1913 to conserve and promote the indigenous flora of southern Africa. Kirstenbosch is internationally acclaimed as one of the great botanical gardens of the world.

Situated on eastern slopes of Table Mountain, the estate covering 528 hectares includes a cultivated Garden and a nature reserve. The developed Garden (36 hectares) displays collections of sounthern African plants including many rare and endangered species. Theme gardens include the Fynbos Garden, Braille Trail and Fragrance GArden, Useful Plants Garden and a Waterwise Demonstration Garden. The Botanical Society Conservatory is a desert house which displays the succulent treasures of southern Africa, as well as collections of bulbs, ferns and indigenous alpine plants.

The Kirstenbosch Visitors' Centre houses the Kirstenbosch Shop and Botanical Society Bookshop, a coffee shop, Information Desk and the Old Mutual Conference and Exhibition Centre - a popular venue for botanical art exhibitions and environmental events. There is a fine restaurant situated in the Garden.

Kirstenbosch also houses the headquarters of the National Botanical Institute, the Gold Fields Environmental Education Centre, the Kirstenbosch Research Centre, Compton Herbarium and Harry Molteno Library.

Hours: The Garden is open every day of the year from 8 am to 6 pm (April to August) and 8 am to 7 pm (September to March). The Conservatory is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily.

History of Kirstenbosch Gardens

Contact:
The Curator, Kirstenbosch NBG.
Private Bag X7, Claremont, 7735.
Tel.: 021-799-8899, Fax: 021-797-6570
Web: www.nbi.ac.za