Visit the Botanical garden – Jardin Botanico in Quito, Ecuador

Want to explore exotic plants and spot a hummingbird? The Botanical garden – Jardin Botanico de Quito is definitely a place to visit when exploring Ecuador.

Read more about:

• what to do and what to eat in Quito
• the different areas of Quito

How to get to the botanical garden

Where is it

The botanical garden is located in the area La Candelaria in the south of the Parque La Candelaria. This area is located north of the touristy Mariscal area. The address is Passage # 34, Rumipamba E6-264 en Av de los Shyris Interieur Parque La Carolina.

Walk to the botanical garden

The botanical garden is about 30 minutes walk from Plaza Foch. So if your hotel is in Mariscal and you like to walk, just get going. This area is safe to walk 👍 Check it at Google Maps or at the offline map maps.me and you will be alright, it’s almost only straight ahead.

When you are located in the historical centre / old town of Quito, the walk will be over an hour, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. If safe and fun to walk here, so if you want to stretch your legs, go for it.

Get to the botanical garden by taxi

Taxi’s in Quito are very cheap – like 3$. If you don’t like to walk or are located too far from the botanical gardens it’s better to take a taxi. You can hail one or you can use Uber. We use Uber most of the time, it works fine in Quito. I like it because you don’t have to bargain over a price and there can be no misunderstanding in where you would like to go.

Entrance fee and opening times for the botanical garden

The entrance fee is 3,50 US$ per adult. That is about €3,10 per person.

Opening times are monday to friday from 8am 🕗 to 16:45 / 4:45pm. At weekends and holidays they are open from 9am 🕘 to 16:45 / 4:45pm.

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What to see at the botanical garden

After paying the entrance fee you will get a map, also big maps are located throughout the park. The park is not that big, so you definitely won’t get lost 😊

In the park you walk over a path and you will encounter different kinds of flora. You will walk through a forest, and you will see different vegetation. Every tree or plant is indicated with a sign, that is very useful. When you walk through the park you will see so many beautiful flowers.

There are a couple of gardens with a specific kind of flowers or plants. You will really like the orchids, these are located in a big glass house. I never knew there were so many! There is also a big area dedicated to cacti. Next to this, there is a big rose field with roses in all colours.

The museum of the bonsai trees is very impressive. They really look like mini trees, they are só great. And they grow really old. Every bonsai has a sign with it that shows the age of the bonsai tree. They are well secured too!

There is a Japanse garden located close to the bonsai trees.

There are also a couple of ponds that have big fish in them and have water plants.

The hummingbird!

We were the lucky ones to spot a beautiful hummingbird with a very long tail. It’s really difficult to catch on camera. Scroll down for pictures.

Pictures of the botanical garden

A blog about plants and flowers is only complete with pictures! Please take a look at the pictures that I took at the botanical garden. You can click on the pictures to enlarge.

As in every big city, you have to be cautious with regard to your stuff. Don’t take a lot of money with you at the streets. Leave your passport at the hotel. Preferably locked 🔐. Take extra care in public transport and at busy places.

👙 Girls, use your bra as a storage space.

👖 And men, always use your front pockets instead of your back pockets.

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