La Concepción Jardín Botánico-Historico de Málaga. The historic botanical gardens of Malaga. © Michelle Chaplow |
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Jardines de la concepcion
Just outside Malaga,"Jardín Botánico-Historico La Concepción" is a magnificent botanical garden. There are regular guided tours of the gardens which pass through exotic trees and plants, Roman sculptures and a waterfall. There is also a beautiful mansion that once belonged to the creators of the gardens, the Marquis Loring and his wife, and it boasts several panoramic view points.
Highlights
The gardens are immense and it would take over a day to see everything. So it is a good idea, if you only have a few hours, to decide which places you are most interested in.
Popular hightlights include:
The Ninfa statue
The Waterfall
The Stately Home
The Wisteria tressle (late March / early April)
Loring Museum
Avenue of Palms
Cactus and succulent gardens
The Sensory garden with aromatic herbs and flowers.
The lakes and ponds<
Interest walking routes
The amigos of the gardens have published a useful guide which details the different interest routes that can be taken. These routes include:
Water tanks and greenhouses route.br> Historical Garden route.
Lake and orchard route.
Viewpoint route.
Perimeter route.
Round the world in 80 trees and Mapamundi of Palms route.
The Plants
The plants are also devided into collections; Palm Trees, Orchids and Bromeliads, Aquatics plants, Primitive plants, Bamboos, Fruits trees, Cacti and succulents, Mediterranean flora, Ancient Malaga Vines, Round the World in 80 trees, Baobabs.
Historics plants consist of the hackberry, the Himalayan cedar, the date palm, the olive tree, the Oriental plane, the umbrella pine, the cypress, the Norfolk Island pine, the Chilean wine palm and the Magnolia leaf fig tree.
Buildings in the gardens include the Stately Home, the Loring Museum, the Historical Viewpoint, the old Gardener's Shed, The Administrator's House, the Cypress Cottage, the Old Schoolhouse and the Old Greenhouses.
History of the gardens
The gardens were created by the Malaga Marquis Jorge Loring Oyarzabal influential businessman and member of parliament and wife Marchioness Amalia Heredia Livermore who was daughter of Malaga aand Marbella iron foundry magnate Manuel Agustín Heredia. Amelia was cultured and interested in plans so founded the gardens in the grounds of their stately home in 1855. They commisionsed the French gardener Jacinto Chamoussent who was skilled in the aclimitasion of tropical plants. They were also known for their magnificent collection of Roman pieces on display in the Museo Loringiano (Loring Museum) located in the grounds. These artefacts can now be seen in Malaga Archeological Museum.
In 1911, La Concepcion estate was sold to Rafael Echevarria and Amalia Echevarrieta from Bilboa, who expanded the garden, adding the Nymph's Stream, the Palm Tree Avenue and the Echevarría Viewpoint. After the death of Amalia's brother, Horacio Echevarrieta, in 1963 the gardens declined and the house was abandoned. Malaga city council purchased the estate in 1990 for 3.6m € and opened the gardens to the public in 1994.
Practical into
The gardens have Wifi, the password for which is located on a board at the entrance. Near the entrance you will find a pleasant cafe and gift shop which sells all kinds of souvenirs including fragrances made from the Wisteria plants in the garden. There are toilet facilities here and at a couple of other locations in the gardens.
There is also an active Asociacion de Amigos del Jardin Botanico - Historica la Concepcion (Friends of the garden).
Download PDF calendar of flowering calendar for 150 plants.
Getting there
You can reach the gardens by catching the Malaga hop on hop off Tour bus (red double deckers seen around the city) from either the Bus Station or the Malaga Car Museum, a single ticket costs €1.30.
The Gardens are a 15-minute (uphill) walk from the last stop on the municipal number 2 bus route. EMT Bus routes which starts from city centre near La Alameda, or a 15 minute downhill walk from La Redonda on the M-151, M-152; M-251 Metropolitan bus service. Download pdf timtables for M-151, M-152, M-251.
By car, take the A-45 motorway north from the city in the direction of Antequera and come off at Exit 140, head west 200m on the MA-3101 and follow the signs which take you back in the direction of the city. Ample free parking just after the visitor entrance.
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| Mirador Historico in Jardines de la Concepcion with a magnificent view over the city of Malaga. |
Opening hours
1st April - 30th September 09:30 to 20:30 hrs
1st October - 31st March 09:30 to 17:30
24th and 31st December 09.30 to 15.00
Closed on Mondays, Christmas Day and New Year's Day
Visitors may remain in the garden for up to half an hour after closing time.
Admission prices
€5.20 (€3.10 concessions)
Includes printed plan and route suggestions
Dogs are admitted in the garden as long as they are on a lead. Owners are required to sign a form.
Contact
Address: Camino del Jardín Botánico, 3, 29014 Málaga
Tel: 951 926 180
email: [email protected]
To see the beautiful dome of the Echevarría Viewpoint in the picture below, and a view over the city, follow signs from the Historic Garden onto the Ruta de los Miradores. You will go past "Mirador de los Amigos" and "Mirador de Castilla y León" keep going along the path and on your left you should be able to spot the tall Cypress trees which surround the pool. If you look closely you'll see a few terrapins in the water!
 La Concepción Jardín Botánico-Historico de Málaga. The historic botanical gardens of Malaga |
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