The National Botanical Garden (NBG) was established on October 28, 1962 (Kartik 12, 2019) and inaugurated by King Mahendra. The landscape of this exquisite botanical garden was designed by two British architects: Geoffrey Herklots and Tony Schilling. It is well-known as a center of plant conservation, education, research, display and recreation. It covers an area of 82 hectares with variable topography, 40 hectares of which have been transformed into various garden units. It is surrounded by a natural evergreen forest with Schima-Castanospsis and Alnus as the dominant species. It is located at the foothill of Mt. Phulchowki (2765 m), the highest peak of the Kathmandu valley, and lies about 16 km south east of Kathmandu. A natural stream, Godawari, runs through the middle of the garden.
It comprises a natural plant landscape with various thematic gardens like arboretum, biodiversity education garden, conservation and education garden, coronation pond, ethno-botanical garden, fern garden, Japanese style garden, lily garden, physic garden, rock garden, rose garden, sand Garden, special garden, taxonomic family garden, terrace garden, tropical garden, VVIP plantation garden, and wetland garden. About 1087 plant species, including angiosperms, gymnosperms and ferns, are conserved in this botanical garden.
This is the oldest and largest botanical garden of the nation. It is also an internationally recognized botanical garden and a member of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) since 2015 AD.
More than 400 thousand visitors, including about 70 thousand students, visit this botanical garden every year. Generally, students come here on their educational tours, plant researchers come here for observing living plants, family and friends come here for peace and relaxation, far away from the humdrum of city life to spend holidays, naturalists come here for bird watching and enjoy greenery, and shooting crews for the shooting of videos and films.
The garden opens daily from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm during the months of 16 Kartik to 15 Magh (November to January) and from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm for the rest of the year. Visitors can enter this garden by paying entrance fee at the main gate of the garden.