20 Things To See In Bogor Botanical Gardens

Tourists coming to The Famous Bogor Botanical Gardens often wonder what to see, experience and enjoy during their visit.

Yes, there are information tourist boards located in several points. The boards gives quite useful information about the location of each thematic part in The Big Gardens. Unfortunately, most of the information is general, too casual to give clues about things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens.

It is quite a huge garden with 87 Hectares area. Inside, the Gardens, there are 53 items listed on the information board.

Each of the item actually has their own story and to know the story behind, visitors must visit each of them and read another information board near the location.

It is like scrambling inside a jungle. Even though, actually, Bogor Botanical Gardens are a jungle due to 15,000 plant species inside, but it’s also a tourist destination. There should be more to let visitors choose what they want to see.

Therefore, this time, Lovely Bogor would like to give a bit information about things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens.

It will make a quite long list but it won’t be as long as the information board. It will contain some places inside Bogor Botanical Gardens with due to its high historical value or attractive landscape or both of them make them worth to be visited.

So, let’s see the below list.

20 Things To See In Bogor Botanical Gardens

1. Bogor Palace

25 Things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Bogor Palace seen from Gunting Lake

Yes, you can not come to this place without a special permission from Indonesian State Secretariat.

However, you can enjoy the beauty of a palace originally built almost 300 years ago and attached to many important things.

There is a spot near the Main Gate of Bogor Botanical Gardens, the Southern Gate called as Gunting Lake. It is just a small lake, so perhaps it is better to call it a pond.

The pond is located side by side with the fence of the Palace. Before, the administration of the Gardens were separated from the Palace, the Pond was the part of the Palace’s backyard.

So, from here the nice landscape of the Palace’s backyard can be seen easily. This is the favorite spot of tourists to take pictures and or to do selfie.

2. The Hand Of God Statue

Things To See in Bogor Botanical Gardens
The Hand of God Statue

Don’t move yet. Please scan the area of the Palace backyard.

Thing to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens
The zoomed view of the Hand of God Statue

Can you find something tall sitting in the yard. On top of it, there is a weird figure like a man screaming to the sky on a giant palm of hand.

It’s quite an amazing view, isn’t it? The statue was given by Sweden Government to Indonesia almost 50 years ago.

Anyway, you can see the full story of the statue in The Hand of God Statue – Bogor Botanical Garden

3. The Little Mermaid Statue

Things To See in Bogor Botanical Gardens
The Little Mermaid Statue

Please stay where you are. We haven’t finished yet with the backyard.

Just take a look of a small figure, a little lady. She looks so sad staring to the pond full of Lotus flowers.

It seems a little mermaid is waiting someone she has missed so long but will never come.

I do sound like trying to tell you about The Little Mermaid Story of Hans Christian Andersen. In fact, yes, I do.

The statue is a replica of the famous Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid Statue. It is smaller, indeed and she doesn’t look to the open sea but to the pond.

The statue was presented by Denmark Government as a friendly give to Indonesia. Please read the short story of this statue in The Little Mermaid Statue In Bogor Palace.

4. The Lotus / Nhympaea Alba and Rubra

Things To See In Bogor Botanical Gardens
Lotus on Gunting Pond

Now, move your eyes to the Gunting Pond. Don’t you see lots of pretty things floating on the water surface.

Things To See in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Lotus Flower

If you can not, even find a single blossom lotus flower, then it must be your unlucky day. The flowers are always there fulfilling the pond surface with their pinkish flowers.

In the dry season, it is not seldom almost 3/4 of the surface is filled with beautiful color.

This is the thing that you must see during your walking around the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

5. The Old Dutch Cemetery

Things To See In Bogor Botanical Gardens
The Old Dutch Cemetery

Oh, why should we see a cemetery during a vacation? Isn’t it spooky and can disturb our feeling?

No, it is not. Lonely feeling may be but not creepy. Just imagine that you are somewhere far away from your place. Facing death in the unknown country. Probably it was what they felt when their time came.

Besides, this place is one of the historical place in the Gardens. Even, some of the tombs are older than the Gardens.

To know who were buried under the soil in this complex, you can visit Old Dutch Graveyard in Bogor Botanicatl Gardens.

You can see a bit more detailed information and photos in the article.

6. The Melchior Treub and Treub Laboratory

Things To See In Bogor Botanical Gardens
Used To Be Melchior Treub House in Bogor Botanical Gardens

Both buildings are located at the western corner of the Gardens.

This is one spot that Indonesian film makers like to use. It doesn’t wonder me as the view of the landscape and also the buildings are fabulous, especially when the sky is blue with some white cloud hanging.

The house was used to be the mansion used by one of the Gardens’ director, Melchior Treub. He was a botanist and helped the place to grow.

Not too far from the mansion, with similar shape to the house, there is another building used for the firsth laboratory of phytochemical in Indonesia.

7. Zoology Museum

Things To See in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Zoology Museum

Tired of seeing trees during the trip, don’t be. However, you can take a relax from the green of Bogor Botanical Gardens by seeing animals.

Not really animals, they were. Now, their looks are still the same but they have been preserved.

You can go to Zoology Museum, near the Treub Laboratory in which there are thousands preserved species found in Indonesia. More than two thousands species are shown here. The collection is quite vast from a big rhino to the tiny insect.

They are placed inside glass cabinet, dioramas showing how they live in their actual environment.

The place is also categorized as one of Bogor’s historical place considering the building used was established more than a century ago.

8. Teijsman Garden

Teijsman Garden
Teijsman Monument in Teiksman Garden

Teijsman Garden, a place dedicated for a man who was during his service contributed a lot to the expansion and growth of the Gardens.

He was the longest serving director, more than 50 years.

Please take a look of the short story about the garden in Teijsman Garden – The Dedication.

The garden is very beautiful and will amaze the ones who see.

9. Lady Raffles Memorial Monument

Things To See in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Lady Raffles Memorial Monument

Among the thick of trees of Bogor Botanical Gardens, there is a place that differs itself. The place is not about the city, not about research or science, and not about preservation of nature.

Lady Raffles Memorial Monument. It lays not too far away from the Main Gate.

Probably, you may say I was silly to say that the monument is about love. However, I believe it so much.

Please just take a look at a poem written in an inscription inside the monument. It was about the love of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

He was a general, a strong man, an explorer and a governor general in Indonesia.

But.

He was still a human being who could suffer from the loss of his beloved one, his first wife, Olivia Mariamne Devenish, the first Lady Raffles. The poem and the history showed that the death of Olivia had affected a lot this guy, even though later on he was remarried.

What poem was written in the monument? please just read Lady Raffles Monument in Bogor Botanical Gardens. You will understand what I meant above.

10. Mexican Park

Mexican Park
Mexican Park

Do you want to enjoy a bit hot and dry environment during your trip in the Gardens? Just come to Mexican Park.

It is not too far away from the Lady Raffles Monument.

Mexican ParkHere, the environment is made to imitate the dryness of a desert. For sure, it can not be 100% but at least it feels similar.

This is the place where plant species that can live under dry and hot condition are gathered. Many succulent type species collected from all over the worlds can be found here.

The plants have been collected from many known desert in the world.

Please read  Mexican Park In Bogor Botanical Garden to know more about this thematic park.

11. Canary Street

Things to see in bogor botanical gardens
Canary Street

If the previous things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens are in the form of park or building, the eleventh differs itself.

It is only a street. Just a usual street.

What makes it different is the tree canopy on both side of the street. It makes the environment along the street to be green, so green and calm.

What do you think? Isn’t it soooo green? Don’t you think this is one of the best things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens.

12. Astrid Park

Astrid Park
Astrid Park

Women will always be one of inspiration in the world, especially a beautiful one.

It is not only happening now, but almost a century ago, in 1929, the beauty of a woman inspired the administrator of the Gardens to set up a beautiful park inside the Gardens.

It was named after the name of the woman.

Astrid Street
Canna Lily on the Astrid Street

It is Astrid Park located at the eastern wing of the Gardens.

The view of the Park is overwhelming. Green, Yellow, Red are the colors that can be found all over the place.

Green comes from the grass. The Yellow and Red represent the natural color of Canna Lilies planted along the street with the same name.

Astrid was the name of the Belgium Queen Consort, the wife of King Leopold III. She visited Bogor in 1929 and to welcome her, the Gardens administrator developed this beautiful park.

This is one of the nicest things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens.

13. Orchid House and Orchidarium

Orchid House, the things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Orchid Flower in Orchid House

If you want to see flower, flower, and flower. Paying a visit to one spot called as an Orchid House in the Gardens is a must.

The place is a greenhouse specialized for an orchid. Most of the orchid species here are collected from Indonesian forests. Some other are hybrids bred by Indonesian breeder.

Orchidarium is a place where Orchid are planted under similar condition and environment to their original habitat.

Please read Orchid House and Orchidarium for a bit more detailed writing.

14. Soedjana Kassan Park

Soedjana Kassan Park
Soedjana Kassan Park

You can find an eagle in Soedjana Kassan Park. Not a real one, indeed. It is just a figure made by plants in the center of the park.

If it’s seen from an angle from the garden edge, then the appearance of the eagle is quite remarkable.

Soedjana Kassan ParkThis park was made to honor the first Indonesian appointed as the director of The Gardens i.e. Soedjana Kassan. After having foreigners as directors for over 135 years, in the 1950’s finally, an Indonesian took over the control.

The look of the garden is awesome, especially with Bougainville Flowers blossoming almost all the time in a year.

15. Fern Collection

Things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Fern shoot

A centipede? A giant one? It makes you tickled, right?

Things to see in Bogor Botanical Garden
Fern shoots

No. It is not a giant centipede. I just played my camera zoom to get a picture of a fern shoot in the Fern Collection Section in Bogor Botanical Gardens.

This fern park is so thick with fern bushes. It was like walking under the tropical jungle. Dark and wet.

However, it is one of the things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens. Seeing the placard of each fern, I stop counting and writing a note. Too many.

16. Pandan (Screwpine Leaf) Collection

Things to see in Bogor Botanical Garden
Pandan Collection

Do you use screwpine leaves in your kitchen? Of course, to cook? For what else if not for cooking?

Probably, while you are here, in the Gardens, you can take some from the Pandan Collection section.

Unfortunately, you will need a ladder to do that. The pandan trees in this section are already very old. The trees can be older than you and the same as your grandfather.

So, they are very tall and the leaves are mostly at the top of the trees.

By the way, do you know that screwpine leaves are commonly used to make door mat, hat, bags in Indonesia? Anyway, just take a look at this section and you can imagine a bit about another function of the leaves besides for cooking.

17. Palm Oil Monument

Things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Palm Oil Monument

Still using palm oil to fry your dinner? Don’t worry I will encourage you to do it again and again. It will support our country and few other in South East Asia Region.

For sure, you already know that more than half of world palm oil production have been contributed by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

So, when you visit Bogor Botanical Gardens, perhaps you should see this monument. This is the place where the ancestor of palm oil tree in South Asia region came from.

Teijsman, (still remember the name, don’t you?) brought in 4 palm oil trees from South Africa and after that the descendants of the “mother” spread all over the continent.

So when you fry a fish for your dinner, please remember this monument because it’s likely the palm oil you use came from our country.

18. Nandi Cow Statue

Things To see in Bogor Botanical Gardens
Nandi Cow Statue

The Nandi Cow and the Shiva statue sit side by side near the Main Gate.

Their original place somewhere in Southern Bogor. These artifacts show that long time ago in the region now known as Bogor, there was Hinduism society.

It was believed that those artifacts came from at leash 8th century, or even older when there were several Hinduism kingdoms in Bogor.

The statues were brought in by either the founder of Bogor Botanical Gardens or a botanist named as Friederich.

Nandi Cow is a female cow used as a vehicle by Shiva, one of Hinduism God.

19. The tallest tree in South East Asia

Koompasia ExcelsaIt is tall. Definitely. It is the tallest tree in the Bogor Botanical Garden.

Its name is pretty. Koompasia Excelsa. The species is known to spread all over South East Asia in many different names.

It can reach more than 80 meters in height. However, I am so sorry that I can not measure the height of the one here.

The tree has large buttress in order to support its large trunk and canopy. It is also big root spread on the ground surface. The reason is because, as you may have known, the top soil contain more nutrients. By having a large root on the surface, it will be easier for Koompasia to absorb the nutrients for its growth.

Clever plant.

20. The Broken Heart Bridge

Things To see in Bogor Botanical Gardens
The Broken Heart Bridge

The last of the items in my list of things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens is actually something that provide nothing for our eyes.

In my eyes, and I believe in your eyes too, the bridge is just a common suspension bridge. Nothing is so special.

However, the myth surrounding the bridge has been known all over Indonesia. It is said that whenever a couple of lovers cross the bridge, no longer after that the relationship will be over. Ended.

Whether or not it is true? Nobody knows. No couples have reported to the current administrator about their broken heart. No survey has been made.

You, and your lover, may be safe to make a cross. May be. I can not guarantee as some persons said to me that their relationship is over after they cross the bridge.

This is not one of the things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens. It is something you should experience, at your own risk.

So, that’s it my friends. My readers. The list of 20 things to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens.

Of course. Of course my dear.

You will find a lot more whenever you visit at your own. However, at least by reading this short guidance, you should have something in your mind about what you would like to see in Bogor Botanical Gardens.

The thing, the information board can not provide (but a tour guide can)

Have a nice visit to Bogor Botanical Gardens then.

Mari Berbagi

8 thoughts on “20 Things To See In Bogor Botanical Gardens”

  1. Is it possible to walk my dog on leash in the gardens?

    Reply
  2. This is a very helpful and informative compilation. Thank you so much.

    Reply
  3. Thank you for these suggestions on what to see! I am going tomorrow and very excited to see the gardens. Your article is very helpful ☺️

    Reply
  4. what a beutiful thing to share…I hope it will help many people who will visit bogor botanical garden.personally,I’ve been visiting this garden so many times(cause I am a tour guide in java island),I never be bored to be here.It’s a beutiful and historical garden ever.Thanks to the writer…from me:fuadjava

    Reply

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