The Tweechol Botanical Garden in Chiang Mai
A Norwegian friend of mine and his Thai girlfriend visited Chiang Mai for the past fortnight. They took the plane there, rented a motorbike there, visited many sights and toured around Chiang Mai. He regularly posted photos of that visit on his Facebook page.
Some of those holiday snaps were taken in the Tweechol Botanical Garden, which is located just northeast of Chiang Mai. I wanted to know more about this garden and started looking on the Internet. The Tweechol botanical garden is mentioned on several websites and a lot of information can also be found on their own website.
In this large botanical garden you will find a variety of trees, shrubs and plants, which, placed together in different places, give the garden a beautiful view, good for an extensive walk or to ride through it with a rented bicycle.
One of the most interesting features is the four-domed centerpiece which displays orchids, wild orchids, bromeliads, ferns, anthuriums, philodendrons, cacti and succulents. There are artificial waterfalls, a palm garden with more than 100 species of palm trees from all over the world and another topiary, expertly crafted in countless animal shapes such as dinosaurs, rhinoceros, giraffes, camels, etc. The numerous lakes offer visitors an opportunity to do some game sailing with pedal boats.
petting zoo
There is also a petting zoo where you can expect to see ostriches, deer, camels, birds, ducks, pheasants, peacocks, iguanas, lizards, cassowary and water buffalo up close. A family with children can enjoy and relax here all day long.
Good idea?
Yesterday I spoke to my friend and asked him what he thought of the Tweechol botanical garden. He told me that they had visited the garden on the last day of their trip to Chiang Mai. They flew back to Bangkok late in the afternoon and to make good use of the time, they enjoyed themselves that morning in Tweechol. It was not busy, on the contrary, there was hardly anyone as a visitor. He thought it would be a nice opportunity to spend a few hours or half a day there, but added that he did not immediately consider it an important attraction of Chiang Mai. For that, the city and surroundings have much nicer places to go.
Finally
Are there any blog readers who know and have visited the Tweechol botanical garden and if so, what did they think of it?
For more information, visit the website: www.tweecholbotanicgarden.com
This botanical garden was created about 35 years ago by the owner of the adjacent Horizon Village and Resort. If you have booked a room there (beautifully landscaped resort with several swimming pools), the entrance to the botanical garden is free. Golf carts drive between hotel and garden. Definitely worth a visit, but not very special.
On Sundays (also perhaps Saturdays) you can enjoy the extensive lunch buffet in the Horizon. The price and quality ratio makes it very attractive. Then you can lower the meal by taking a walk in the garden or let a van drive you around. The garden is especially a nice touch.
Hot air balloon rides are also organized from tweechol/horizon. We regularly see these coming over from our house near Doi Saket.
That looks nice. We come to Changmai every year. We just came back. But had never heard of this. Is it far from Changmai city? Would it be nice to visit next time. BVD.
Direction Doi Saket, on the left side of the road, 14 km from the center of Chiang Mai.
These gardens are located about 5 km outside Chiangmai, on the 118 towards Chaingrai.