This historically globally renowned botanic garden became a UNESCO World heritage Site in 2015. It is the first tropical botanic garden to be awarded this prestigious award. Sir Stamford Raffles established the garden in 1822 at Fort Canning. In 1859 the present gardens were founded and laid out by the Agri Horticultural Society. In 1974 the gardens were handed to the British colonial government. Following on from this the gardens grew and developed with the great assistance of a few Kew trained botanists. Today the beautiful Gardens are owned and managed by the National Parks Board. SBG has been instrumental in the greening and transformation of Singapore into a garden city. The garden consists of 183 acres and has a visitor pull of 4.4 million people a year. It is very famous for its orchid collection which has more than 450 species. In the 1920s, it spearheaded new techniques in raising orchids in aseptic media and founded a regional orchid breeding industry. It is also a regional centre for plant science, research and conservation in South East Asia. It is well worth a visit and was named Asia’s top park by TripAdvisor in 2013.
