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A glass and green-framed conservatory standing in a lawn with flower beds and tall conifers behind it at the Darjeeling botanical garden
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Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0
monument4 min from Darjeeling

Lloyd's Botanical Garden, Darjeeling — the Himalayan plants below the town

Lloyd's Botanical Garden in Darjeeling, founded in 1878: about 16 hectares of native Himalayan trees and orchids, a cactus conservatory and its four gates.

What it is

Lloyd's Botanical Garden, also called the Darjeeling Botanical Garden, covers about 16 hectares of slope below the Eden Sanatorium in Darjeeling. Wikipedia says it was established in 1878, when 40 acres were acquired to make a far-off branch of the Calcutta Botanical Garden, on land provided by William Lloyd, whose name it carries.

Photos: Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.

What you see

Native Himalayan plants: bamboo, oak, magnolia, cotoneaster, wild geranium and rhododendron, with patches of tall forest of Cryptomeria, Bucklandia and Alnus tangled with lianas. A conservatory shows a collection of about 150 species of cacti and succulents, and the garden keeps orchids native to the Singalila ridge. Wikipedia calls it a favourite spot for recreation, and a place from which plants and seeds go to other gardens.

The gates

There are four. Gate 1, the Iron or Loachnagar gate, is reached from the taxi stand by a steep road, and vehicles can arrive but there is no parking. Gate 2, the staff gate, is a footpath and stairs from the Sadar police station. Gate 3, the Chandmari gate, is off Hari Ghose Road through the bazaar, and Gate 4, the Victoria gate, opens on Victoria Road on the western side.

Getting there

Our measured road time to the town edge is in the quick facts; the gates are a short steep walk from the roads. We have no verified opening hours or entry fee.

Combine it with

The two-day plan and the zoo and mountaineering half-day both include it, and St Andrew's Church is in town. Read things to do in Darjeeling.

Plans that include this

All 2 plans that stop here →
A red panda with russet fur curled asleep on a mossy tree branch among leaves at the Darjeeling zoo
A Darjeeling half-day — the zoo, the mountaineering institute and the botanical garden
Day plan · Family · leisure
A Darjeeling half-day for families: the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and Lloyd's Botanical Garden.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
See the plan →
A blue Darjeeling Himalayan Railway train with blue carriages running beside a road between green forest and a stone drain
Two days in Darjeeling — the old town, the tea estate and the toy train
1 night · 2 days · First visit · Temples & heritage
A two-day Darjeeling plan: Chowrasta, the Mahakal temple, St Andrew's Church, the botanical garden and tea, then the toy train to Ghum, the loop and pagoda.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
See the plan →

Nearby places

All of Darjeeling →
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway — the toy train and its loops
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway — the toy train and its loops
monument · 430 m away
Chowrasta, Darjeeling — the town square on the Mall
Chowrasta, Darjeeling — the town square on the Mall
area · 447 m away
St Andrew's Church, Darjeeling — the town's oldest church
St Andrew's Church, Darjeeling — the town's oldest church
monument · 525 m away
Mahakal Temple, Darjeeling — the Shiva shrine on Observatory Hill
Mahakal Temple, Darjeeling — the Shiva shrine on Observatory Hill
temple · 612 m away
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling — the high-altitude zoo
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling — the high-altitude zoo
park · 1.8 km away
Peace Pagoda, Darjeeling — the white Japanese stupa on Jalapahar
Peace Pagoda, Darjeeling — the white Japanese stupa on Jalapahar
temple · 1.8 km away
Batasia Loop, Darjeeling — the spiral of the toy train and the Gorkha memorial
Batasia Loop, Darjeeling — the spiral of the toy train and the Gorkha memorial
monument · 3.5 km away
Yiga Choeling Monastery, Ghum — the Old Ghoom Monastery and its Maitreya statue
Yiga Choeling Monastery, Ghum — the Old Ghoom Monastery and its Maitreya statue
temple · 3.9 km away

Nearby destinations

All destinations →
Pastel-coloured buildings of Gangtok climbing a steep, forested hillside, seen from a viewpoint across the valley
Gangtok
47 km away · 4 itineraries · 11 places
A wide view over the houses of Shillong spread across forested hills under a sky of towering white clouds
Shillong
396 km away · 3 itineraries · 6 places
A deep, steep-sided green valley filled with low grey cloud seen from the Mawkdok Dympep viewpoint near Cherrapunji
Cherrapunji
397 km away · 1 itineraries · 2 places
The town of Almora spread across a terraced ridge under a blue sky with clouds
Almora
889 km away · 2 itineraries · 4 places
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Questions people ask

What is Lloyd's Botanical Garden?

A botanical garden of about 16 hectares in Darjeeling, also called the Darjeeling Botanical Garden. Wikipedia says it was founded in 1878 on 40 acres of land given by William Lloyd, as a far-off branch of the Calcutta Botanical Garden. It lies below the Eden Sanatorium, between Cart Road and Victoria Road.

What can you see at Lloyd's Botanical Garden?

Wikipedia lists native Himalayan plants such as bamboo, oak, magnolia, cotoneaster and rhododendron, patches of tall forest of Cryptomeria and Alnus, native orchids from the Singalila ridge, and a conservatory with a collection of about 150 species of cacti and succulents. We have no verified bloom calendar, so ask locally what is in flower.

How do you enter Lloyd's Botanical Garden?

Wikipedia says the garden has four gates: an iron gate near the taxi stand, a staff gate reached on foot from the Sadar police station, the Chandmari gate off Hari Ghose Road, and the Victoria gate on Victoria Road. Vehicles can reach some gates but with no parking. We have no verified fees or opening hours.