Mirijjawila Botanical Gardens - South Gate

Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka

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Mirijjawila Botanical Garden (often called Mirijjawila Dry Zone Botanic Gardens) is Sri Lanka’s largest botanical garden, located near Hambantota in the southern dry zone, between Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Hambantota Port along the Colombo–Kataragama road.

Opened in November 2013 and covering about 300 acres, it is the country’s first botanical garden specifically designed for the dry and arid zone, created on former scrub and chena land that was reshaped with reservoirs and lakes to retain moisture and support planting.

Its main purpose is to conserve and display dry-zone plants ex situ, improve dry-zone landscaping, promote ecotourism and provide education and training in botany, floriculture and medicinal plants, with themed areas such as avenues of native and exotic trees, medicinal and aromatic herb gardens, cactus and succulent sections, plant nurseries and extensive lawns and water features.

Visitors entering via the South Gate experience long, tree-lined drives, open grassy vistas and diverse plantings that together create a spacious, tranquil landscape where they can learn about Sri Lanka’s dry-zone biodiversity while enjoying a large, well-planned garden in a typically hot, sunny climate.