A Tree Heaven Just Minutes from Downtown Buenos Aires

Spring time has come to Buenos Aires, and what better way to enjoy the season but writing about one of nature´s gifts: “trees”. Located in the beautiful barrio de Palermo you will find the Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays (the city´s Botanical Garden)(map).

It opened in September of 1898 and was named after its designer and creator. It covers 15 acres of lush ground in Buenos Aires, not too far from the Zoo and the Palermo Woods. The entire site is enclosed by a high wrought-iron fence and there is no entrance fee, no doubt due to the on-going rehabilitation effort.

In addition to its more than 7000 species of plants from all over the world, the garden offers a number of interesting statues (mostly of nudes) and fountains. Probably because it was neglected for a period of time, the grounds were overrun with hundreds of feral cats. They are everywhere and seem quite contented on the whole.

Other attractions include the five winter-houses, the biggest of which is in Art Nouveau style and received recognition in the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889. Contains over 2500 tropical plants it is considered to be the only winter-house in that style still conserved in the world.

There is also a monument entitled Indicador Meteorológico (Weather Indicator), designed by José Markovich, and presented by the Austro-Hungarian Empire community for the Exposición Internacional del Centenario (1910).

I really like trees, so every time I visit the garden I wander around randomly enjoying the Oriental Ginkgo biloba and especially the Acacias, Eucalyptus and Casuarinas trees which bring back great memories of my childhood. There are also Acers, Palms, Figs, Oaks and even huge Sequoia trees. But the one that I really like the most is the huge Araucaria Bidwillii (Australiana), also known as a Monkey Puzzle tree, whose massive trunk is covered with needle sharp thorns.

The single large building in the garden is a beautiful Art Noveau style brick structure (undergoing repairs) which used to hold gardening lessons, a library, a  museum and an adjoining greenhouse. The Botanic Library has 1,000 books and 10,000 publications from all parts of the world, which are freely available to visitors.

El Botánico, as everyone calls it, is a great place to get away from it all. You can easily get there by train, colectivo, subte or taxi from downtown. Check the Guia T.

Photo credit: aylamillerntor on Flickr.