Our Gardens

Established in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens played an important historical role in the introduction and promotion of many plants of economic value to Southeast Asia, including the Para rubber tree. Over the years, our Gardens has continued to introduce and rejuvenate our horticultural attractions while continuing our mission of connecting plants, people and place.

Today, the 82-hectare Gardens is a key civic and community space, and an international tourist destination. It is also an important institution for tropical botanical and horticultural research, education and conservation. Our living and preserved collections serve as an important reference for botanists around the world studying the region’s flora.

The Gardens showcases the best and most spectacular of tropical flora, including more than 10,000 types of plants and the region’s most significant living collection of documented palms, orchids, cycads and gingers. Our historic 19th century garden landscape is well preserved and includes the earliest ornamental designed lake in Singapore. Home to numerous heritage trees and a tract of primary rainforest, the Gardens is less than a 10-minute walk from the shopping belt in Orchard Road.

Singapore’s First UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Singapore Botanic Gardens was inscribed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site on 4 July 2015. It is the first and only tropical botanic garden on the UNESCO World Heritage List; the first in Asia; and the third botanic garden inscribed in the world.

A site nominated for World Heritage listing must meet at least one out of ten outstanding universal value criteria. The Gardens meets two criteria:

Site of exchange of important values

Exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design.

As a key node in the network of British colonial gardens, the Singapore Botanic Gardens was at the forefront of the interchange of botanic research and information. In particular, the Gardens’ pioneering work on rubber cultivation and extraction set in place the foundation of the worldwide rubber boom. The Gardens continues to play a leading role in the interchange of ideas, knowledge and expertise in tropical botany and represents an important reference centre for botanists from around the world.

Historical landscapes

Be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history.

The Gardens is an outstanding example of a British tropical colonial botanic garden. The Gardens has a well-defined cultural landscape, demonstrating different stages of development through our layout, extant historical landscape and built features.

Learn more about the UNESCO World Heritage inscription, including the nomination dossier and related documents, on the UNESCO website. ↗ (opens in new tab)

The boundaries of the Gardens’ Inscribed Property and Buffer Zone.