Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town, South Africa 

Location and unique flora combine to make these 5.28-sq-km botanical gardens among the most beautiful in the world. Gate 1, the main entrance at the Newlands end of the gardens, is where you’ll find the information centre, an excellent souvenir shop and the conservatory.

Added for the garden’s centenary in 2013, the popular Tree Canopy Walkway (informally known as the ‘Boomslang’, meaning tree snake) is a curvaceous steel and timber bridge that rises through the trees and provides amazing views.

The gardens run free guided walks, or you can hire the MyGuide electronic gizmo (R40) to receive recorded information about the various plants you’ll pass on the signposted circular walks.

More than 7000 of Southern Africa’s 22,000 plant species are grown here, including the Cape Floral Kingdom’s famous fynbos. You’ll find a fragrance garden that has been elevated so you can more easily sample the scents of the plants; a Braille trail; a kopje planted with pelargoniums; a sculpture garden; a section devoted to ‘useful’ medicinal plants; two hiking trails up Table Mountain; and the significant remains of Van Riebeeck’s Hedge, the wild almond hedge planted by Jan van Riebeeck in 1660 to form the boundary of the Dutch outpost.

Epic South Africa Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound