Jardín Botánico de Medellín

The Jardín Botánico de Medellín, officially the Jardín Botánico Joaquín Antonio Uribe after the Antioquian naturalist, is a 13.2 hectare garden in the north of the city that receives more than two million visitors a year. It describes itself as a living museum and a centre for scientific research, and holds more than 1,000 living species. For visitors it is an easy, green break from the traffic.

The site has a long history as a place of leisure. In the late 19th century it was the El Edén bathing house, and in 1913 it became the Bosque Centenario de la Independencia, known locally as El Bosque. Its transformation came when Medellín won the right to host the seventh World Orchid Conference, and the botanical garden opened during that conference on 19 April 1972, with delegations from 16 countries.

The best-known structure is the Orquideorama, inaugurated in 2006 and named after the botanist José Jerónimo Triana. Designed by Alejandro Bernal, Felipe Mesa, J. Paul Restrepo and Camilo Restrepo of Plan B and JPRCR, who won a competition in 2005, its timber canopy rests on ten hexagonal "flower-tree" structures and shelters orchids, bromeliads, carnivorous plants and ferns. Elsewhere you will find a tropical forest with a wheelchair-accessible wooden walkway, a palm garden with 120 species, a desert garden of cacti, a medicinal garden, a butterfly house, a hedge maze and the Francisco José de Caldas lagoon, where egrets and iguanas are often seen.

The garden suits families, couples and anyone who wants a slower half day; allow about two hours. Food and drink are not allowed inside the tropical forest section. Events through the year include the Orquídeas, Pájaros y Flores show in August, run by the Colombian Orchid Society, and Expoheliconias in early December. Check the website for the current timetable before you go.

In Situ, the garden's restaurant, and Café del Bosque cover lunch and coffee. The garden is on Calle 73 in the north of the city, close to Universidad station on Metro Line A, and Parque Explora is right next door, so the two combine easily in one day.