Gampaha: Henarathgoda Garden and Asia’s First Rubber Trees
Gampaha is a leafy town in the wet-zone lowlands north-east of Colombo. Its best-known attraction is the Henarathgoda Botanical Garden, a historic garden that played a quiet but important role in the region’s plantation history.
Henarathgoda Botanical Garden
Some of the first rubber trees in Asia were planted at Henarathgoda in the 1870s, grown from seeds brought via Kew Gardens, before rubber spread across the region. Today it is a calm garden of tall trees, lawns and a lake, good for a slow morning walk.
Around town
Gampaha is a handy, un-touristy base in the commuter belt, with easy links to Colombo and the airport and a scattering of temples and old walawwa houses in the surrounding villages.
Getting there
Gampaha is a short train ride from Colombo on the main line and close to the airport at Katunayake, making it an easy first or last stop on a trip.
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