Málaga´s Botanical Gardens in La Concepción are located 8km north of Málaga city. As you start climbing away from the coast heading towards Córdoba/Granada it´s possible to see a green and white-tiled dome roof of La Concepcion´s famous mirador glinting under the Mediterranean sunshine.
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| Pond in Malaga´s Botanical Gardens |
The gardens and house were built in 1855 when two wealthy, local families united through the marriage of Amalia de Heredia Livermore and Jorge Enrique Loring Oyarzabal which meant the joining of several small estates into one larger estate. They created wonderful gardens around their house, buying and ordering plants and trees from around the world.
Their love of plants was, unbeknownst to them, the beginning of Malaga´s Botanical Gardens as we know it today, It has become a gorgeous oasis of nature over the 23hectares that is now the visitable Botanical Gardens site.
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| House in Malaga´s Botanical Gardens |
Another wealthy family took over the gardens in 1911 and enlarged them adding the fabulous architectural mirador or viewpoint at the southern end of the gardens. This bandstand-like structure looks down towards the Mediterranean Sea. They also added other features like the charming, water feature and plantings of the Nymph Pond.
Málaga´s Botanical Gardens were declared a National Treasure in 1943 but a slow decline took place after the death of the family and the gardens fell into disrepair until Málaga city council bought the estate in 1990 and after a lot of restoration it was opened to the public in 1994
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| Botanial Garden´s Malaga |
The Botanical Gardens have different areas to stroll about in, get a map with your ticket and discover the Forest Pathway through pine woods, the mirador with its plane tree-lined approach and the Around the World in 80 Trees section and the vast array of Palm trees. Another section of the gardens is the Black Bamboo Forest, the biggest in Spain, there are several bamboo sections, the black bamboo is my favourite.
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| Malaga´s Botanical Gardens, Wisteria Flowering |
The real star, if you can get there in spring, and what the Botanical Gardens is famous for, is the Wisteria Arbour next to the house which, when flowering, is a tunnel of beauty, colour and sensuous aroma. If you don´t manage to get there while the Wisteria is flowering, you will certainly be imaging the vibrant flowers and scent of this walk-through arbour, a walkway of beauty that happens annually since its first planning in 1857.
La Concepción Botanical Gardens aren´t enormous but it´s easy to lose yourself in this special setting and spend the best part of the morning or afternoon drifting from sun to shade and one section to another. If possible, choose an afternoon visit, late enough to catch the setting sun over the Mediterranean Sea from the mirador. It´s worth knowing that visitors can remain in the gardens up to 90 minutes after closing time, so no need to rush.
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| Mirador, Malaga Botanical Gardens |
The house itself isn´t part of the visit and isn´t very often open to the public, but the architecture can still be admired and the windows looked through. Admire some of its original feature such as the gorgeous, colourful, original hydraulic tiled floors.
Make time to out of your stay in Málaga to visit the Gardens or put it on your travel itinerary if you are travelling on elsewhere after a stay in the city. All will enjoy the visit, garden lovers like me and even non- garden fans, like my husband, who admitted he would willingly return at Wisteria time and children, who may not appreciate the plants in particular but, will enjoy the freedom to run around in nature.
