BOTANICAL

The start of the 2.5-km-long road up to Bali's sprawling botanical gardens, arboretum, and mountain orchid collection lies just 200 meters south of the Candikuning market. Founded in 1959, the park is dedicated to the study of the mountain flora of eastern Indonesia.

A branch of the Bogor Botanical Gardens in West Java, this extensive 130-hectare park is situated on the hilly lower slopes of 2,065-meter-high Gunung Pohon ('tree mountain') to the west at 1,200-1,450 meters elevation.

The tallest tree in the garden's collection is the Geseng pine tree (Casuarina junghuniana Miq).

Featured are a collection of 500 varieties of orchids and 668 species of local and imported trees. Also expect to see lilies, poinsettias, bougainvillea, bamboo, palms, and such rare species as Podocarpus imbricatus and Pinanga Javana. The plants are meticulously arranged in family and species order, specimens are labeled in Latin.

Like a huge, beautifully landscaped, cool, green, inviting country estate, this is a superb place for a picnic or shady stroll. If you're looking for peace and solitude, avoid the weekends. An excellent eight-km undulating footpath at the garden's north side leads through the foothills of Gunung Tapak at the north end of the valley. The path comes out on the main road in Pancasari.while park signs are in Indonesian.