Behind the Scenes in Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town has been appointed world’s most biodiverse city, and its outstanding Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens are the perfect place to discover its ecosystems. This is probably what makes them one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world, attracting more than a million visitor a year.

The backdrop of the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden with the green Nursery Ravine and Skeleton Gorge leading to the top of Table Mountain is majestic. Amidst a lush vegetation watered by a high rain catchment on the back side of the mountain plant collections are showcased in the perfectly curated garden where endemic species star. Actually since its creation back in 1913, indigenous species have always starred here – a very progressive vision back then making it world’s first garden of the sort. If a few exotic species offered by other gardens are showcased, the bulk of the rich collection really focuses on African plants.

Beyond the collections, Kirstenbosch has become a central point for Capetonians thanks to the many cultural events set up there: movie nights, concerts in the park, or picnics. On summer nights, locals flock to the main lawn with picnic blankets, food, and a few bottles of alcohol to enjoy the show. On concert night adults chitchat between songs, kids play on the lawn, the mixed crowd dances to the beat of the music… Whether it is for the cultural events, the hikes going up Table Mountain, or to admire the beauty of the precious plant collections, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden attracts over a million visitors a year, making it one of the few botanical gardens in the world that are self-sustainable, and can even help support some of the other 9 botanical gardens of South Africa as well as the critical and much-needed conservation efforts. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).