One of the greatest botanic gardens in the world, Kirstenbosch is a magical mix of the wild and the cultivated and a must-see for anyone with a love of flowers. Allow at least half a day, wear comfy shoes, take a hat and water and be prepared for plenty of walking. There's a huge amount of see and a lot of it is very steep.
First founded in 1913, the formal gardens cover 36 hectares (90 acres) of a 528 hectare (1,304 acre) estate that climbs up the eastern flank of Table Mountain. The first botanic garden in the world to be devoted to a country's indigenous flora, it has an astonishing 7,000 species, many of them rare. The rest of the estate is natural fynbos and forest. The whole garden is within the Table Mountain National Park and the Cape Floral Kingdom UNESCO World Heritage Site. The setting alone is superb, but then in Cape Town you get used to extravagantly beautiful views.
The Gardens
The Botanical Society Conservatory is a vast glasshouse that provides artificial environments from hot dry deserts to mountain peaks, bringing unlikely bedfellows such as mountain alpines and a baobab under one roof. There's even a Gondwanaland garden, going back some 3.2 billion years to the super-continent.
Outside, the Water-wise Garden shows you how to garden in drought-stricken lands while the Fragrance Garden does what it says on the tin. Various different gardens showcase families of specialist plants, such as ancient Cycads, some of the oldest living species on the planet, dating back some 200-million years. Others include Restios, the many reeds found within the Cape fynbos, and Proteas, the shape-shifting flowers that have become the national symbol of South Africa. The Medicinal Garden and the Useful Plants Garden showcase plants that are vitally important as local sources of food and medicine, for making arrows and clothes. The Dell is the oldest part of the formal gardens. The single oldest item in the park is Van Riebeeck's hedge, planted in 1660 as a way to protect the colonists' cattle from Khoi Khoi raiders.
If you still have some energy left, there are various walking trails up through the natural fynbos on Table Mountain. Two of the most popular are Skeleton Gorge and Nursery Ravine, each of them a good day's hike.
Tours
If you want to go round on your own, pick up a map and a MyGuide self-guiding audio handset from the Information Desk, Visitors' Centre (Gate 1). They are available in English and German and there is an additional fee.
There are free guided walking tours Mon-Sat 10.00 (not on Sun). They last about 90 mins and are limited to 15 people, with places allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, so get there in plenty of time to secure a place. Groups of 5 or more people must pre-book.
By far the easiest way of seeing the gardens is on a shuttle car tour. These leave the Visitors' Centre (Gate 1) on the hour, daily, from 09.00-15.00, on fair-weather days. Each tour takes a maximum of 7 passengers. To book, tel: +27 21 799 8782.
Facilities and Events
There is a full service restaurant, the Silver Tree, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are also three other eateries - the Fynbos Deli, Kirstenbosch Tea Room and Caffé Botanica.
Between November and April, there are open-air concerts in the gardens every Sunday evening. The music starts at 17.30, but the gates open at 16.00 and most people take a picnic to enjoy the sunset on the grass. There is a craft market at the Stone Cottages opposite Kirstenbosch on the last Sunday of every month (except June, July and August). There are also regular talks, flower shows and other events from fashion shows to art exhibitions. Keep an eye on the website for details.
13 km from Cape Town's city centre, well signposted off the M3 (direction Muizenberg.
Golden Arrow and CitySightseeing busses stop here.
Tel: Information: +27 21 799 8783 Ticket Office: +27 21 799 8782 Concerts: (+27 21) 761 2866
Web: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens