Botanic Gardens

it seems is something that generally needs hiding and seeking. Take Tallinn's garden - it's somewhere in the woods about 10 km outside the city center, and I think easy to miss if you ride on an older bus that doesn't display the names of the stops. San Juan's Jardín Botánico is actually in the middle of the town and you can ride the train to Cupey station, no problem. But when above ground, the neighborhood might scare you off even at the very beginning of the 2 km walk.

Founders' Mansion (Winter)

Malaga's Jardín Botánico-Histórico is actually outside the city. You take a bus to the northern end of town and walk back and forth, under and over highways on deserted roads for a kilometer if, again, those roads seeming to go nowhere don't frighten you to turn back.

According to La Concepción website the gardens were started by a wealthy family almost 260 years ago. The City bought the gardens in 1990 and opened it to the public four years later. The gardens are said to have more than two thousand species of plants growing. It seems that most of them have been planted to the center of the gardens as a cute little subtropical forest. It has numerous winding pathways, some runnels, and cascades. This forest part is very compact.

View from Jardín Botánico

For walkers, and especially those that would like to walk the Andalusian hills without the fear of getting lost or being attacked by local goats, I would recommend the 3/4-mile Forest Trail. It is labeled as moderately difficult and runs along the perimeter of the Gardens on a higher altitude, allowing good views of both the garden grounds and the city.

Next time, I would pack a food basket with lunch to nibble at any of the nice picnic tables and find out when the wisterias are in full bloom to sit in the shade next to the mansion. I wouldn't also mind scheduling my visit to coincide with the Malaga Tour minibus timetable to skip the aforementioned walk.