BOTANICAL GARDEN

The area open to visitors covers approximately 2,353 m². It consists of an indoor area with three pavilions that are located near the entrance, and an outdoor area with a pond for aquatic plants and ornamental plant collections.

The pavilions are 9 meters high and display plants of approximately 600 species belonging to 90 families. These metal-framed pavilions, one roofed with glass and two with shade mesh, in which plants that inhabit the world's arid regions, arranged geographically, and plants from tropical rainforests are displayed in aesthetic arrangements based on ecology.

The Glass House Pavilion is dedicated to representing plants from tropical and subtropical arid zones. It is also a place where scientific collection is stored.

The High Humidity and 50% Lighting Pavilion houses plants that inhabit tropical rainforests.

The High Humidity and 25% Lighting Pavilion displays plants from tropical rainforests and some economically valuable plants such as cocoa, coffee, black pepper, and vanilla.

In these pavilions, it is possible to see beautiful examples of bonsai, the art of growing artificially dwarfed trees and shrubs in pots for ornamental purposes.

An artificial lake in the complex houses the Aquatic Plants Collection which, as its name suggests, brings together species that inhabit freshwater bodies. There you will see the cork palm (microcycas calocoma), considered a living fossil and a collection of aquatic and terrestrial ornamental plants, with a section dedicated to plants with thickened trunks used to store water.

The outdoor area that once housed cattle farms, occupies the largest portion of the land. The National Botanical Garden is divided into 25 zones, each dedicated to a specific geographic region with rigorous scientific planning and landscape design of 350,000 trees of more than 3,000 species. The exhibition pavilions, the outdoor collections, and the Japanese Garden complete an interesting and informative tour for the visitor. These zones are the Cuban Phytogeographic Zone, the World Phytogeographic Zone, the Systematic Zone, the Japanese Garden, the Palmetum, the Ornamental Zone and the Cultivated Plants Zone.

The Cuban Phytogeographic Zone comprises the following collections of Cuban phytogeography, such as semi-deciduous forest, dry mountain, mogotes, júcaros and Palmas savannas, pinewood, cuabal and coastal jungle.

Semi-deciduous forest is a forest that predominated in the flat and hilly areas throughout the country. It suffered indiscriminate felling of almost its entire area. It is characterized by valuable hardwood trees, such as the Royal Palm.

Dry mountain is a forest that predominates in coastal areas, characterized by hardwood trees and shrubby cacti.

Mogotes are a vegetation complex found on karst elevations. The best known and richest in flora are the mogotes of the Sierra de los Órganos in Pinar del Río, with high, almost vertical cliffs and "dog-tooth" peaks. They are home to highly specialized species exhibiting a high degree of endemism. Generally a semi-deciduous forest grows at their base.

Júcaro and Palm Savannah are areas where the ground floods during the rainy season, with scattered trees and palms, among which the júcaro, the cana palm, and the palms of the Copernicia genus predominate.

The pine forest is the only type of coniferous forest in the country, where the pines Pinus caribaea and P. tropicalis predominate in Pinar del Río and Isla de la Juventud, Pinus cubensis in the mountains of the Nipe Sagua Baracoa Massif, and Pinus occidentalis in some localities of the Sierra Maestra. The understory of these pine forests is generally very rich of endemic species.

Cuabal is a scrubland found on poorly developed soils derived from serpentine rock, forming a nearly central axis on the island of Cuba. Its flora is highly endemistic.

The coastal bushland is a scrubland present on the high coasts, with little soil development and the presence of cacti and very xerophilous plants.

The World Phytogeographic Zone consists of the plant formations from the regions, such as Australia, Oceania, Asia, Africa, South America, Central America, Antilles and Mexico.

The highlight of the Botanical Garden is the Japanese Garden (El Jardín Japonés). Designed by the late Osaka-based Japanese landscape architect Yoshikuni Araki, the Japanese Garden is a "Kaiyu-Shiki-teien" garden, literally meaning "Walking Garden." Covering an area of five hectares, the garden is arranged around an artificial oval lake, 300 meters long and 750 meters in circumference. Of particular interest are the presence of a waterfall, two meditation pavilions, and a hexagonal wooden pavilion perched on stilts within the lake. It is called "Ukimi-dou," meaning "Pavilion on the Waters."

The plants we can see here are from the Asian region in general, as well as from different countries whose shape, texture, or flowering qualities meet the design requirements.

On one side of the path, a natural stone pool, or "tsukubai," where water flows through bamboo canes, invites visitors to wash their hands. Further along, also by the roadside, stands a stone lantern of great significance in Japanese culture. To the right of the grand waterfall, a stone tower composed of 13 horizontal segments stacked on top of each other is a replica of a traditional Buddhist pagoda.

El Bambú Eco-Restaurant, nestled in the beautiful setting of the Japanese Garden, is a must-see. In addition to its stunning views, the restaurant actively promotes new plant-based eating habits, using approximately 300 species and varieties.