Lloyd Botanical Garden

Darjeeling, West Bengal, India

---

Lloyd Botanical Garden in Darjeeling, West Bengal, is one of the oldest and most important botanical gardens in the Eastern Himalayas, established in 1878 on about 40 acres of hillside land donated by William Lloyd as a distant annex of the Calcutta Botanical Garden.

Located just below the town at around 1,800 meters above sea level, it is designed in three main sections: an upper area dedicated to indigenous Himalayan flora such as rhododendrons, magnolias, and wild geraniums; a middle zone with ferns, conifers, alpine plants, and a greenhouse housing some 150 cactus species; and a lower section displaying colorful exotic species brought from Europe, China, Japan, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

The garden also features a large orchidarium with around 2,500 orchids and some 50 varieties, plus bonsai, a rock garden, a herbal garden, and plant‑evolution displays, and it serves as both a peaceful retreat for visitors and a research and conservation site that preserves many rare and endangered plants of the region.