Bali is a great place to find some exotic flora. If you have doubts about that then just go for a wander around your hotel gardens and you'll find things like these.

During this holiday we decided to do our searching the easy way by visiting the Botanical Gardens, which is on the left hand side of the road as you enter Bedugul proper from the south, and by visiting the Bali Orchid Gardens which is just a few kilometres north of Sanur.

The Bali Orchid gardens were the easiest to get to and to get around, and if you're interested in flowers rather than the wider range of flora they would be our recommendation for a great day or half day trip. The toilets there are absolutely friendly by the way.

The address of the Bali Orchid Gardens ('Bali Taman Anggrek' - Anggrek being the Bahasa Indonesia word for orchid) is Jalan By Pass 1/9X, Tohpati-Kusamba, Bali. 

From Sanur head out north towards Denpasar or Ubud on the main road and after about 5 Km you will come to the village of Tohpati at a significant intersection on a sweeping right bend. The Gardens are just on the left hand side and there is a broad car park at the front.

Any driver will be able to find it from the address above.

They are open daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Their phone number is (62-361) 466 010 and you can visit their web site at www.baliorchidgarden.com.

The colour is amazing and the texture is like velvet.

The variety of plants and flowers is incredible (over 5000 different species if my memory is accurate) covering mainly orchids, helonicas and fungi.

Guides are available to show you through the Gardens and explain the daily operations.

To my mind the most beautiful are those with creamy soft white petals, like the local frangipanis, but they are really impossible to photograph decently.

You can buy sealed bottles of about 40-50 little plants growing in sterilised medium that won't even raise an eyebrow when you go through Customs on your way home. A great way to start a Bali Garden in your own back yard.

For more information about Bali, and more photos, visit our Filo's Home Page. and make another selection from the list of contents.