Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens

The beauty of Thailand is equaled by few and nothing exemplifies this point more than Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens.

In 1954 Mr.Pisit and Mrs. Nongnooch Tansacha bought 1500 rais (approximately 600 acres) of beautiful land in Chonburi province. By all accounts the land was to be used as a fruit plantation growing mangoes, coconuts and oranges as well as many other local fruits. Fortunately during a trip abroad Mrs Nongnooch viewed many world renowned gardens and decided to turn the land into tropical gardens of ornamental flowers and plants. Originally intended for botanical conservation the gardens were later turned into a tourist attraction.

The gardens themselves are some of the most beautiful gardens in the world showcasing everything from French provincial gardens to English gardens as well as Topiary gardens and an awesome orchid garden housing well over 23 species of orchids that they also sell.

My first trip to Nong Nooch Gardens was in May of 2007 and I recently returned in January of 2008. The gardens are in a constant state of flux with new attractions being built all the time. Plants and flowers change with the seasons so no matter when you go you’ll be guaranteed to see new sights and new colors.

Both of my trips to Nong Nooch Gardens have been all day affairs. Even though there were 30-40 tour buses in the parking lot I was amazed that I didn’t run into a lot of tourists just due to the sheer size of the 600 acre gardens. Although I found the entire site to be beautiful my favorite part of the gardens was the orchid area. It was a dream for me as an amateur photographer and I spent a considerable amount of time there.

One of the nicest things for me about my trips to Nong Nooch was the very relaxed atmosphere where I didn’t feel pushed in any one direction. I was free to wander the gardens at my own pace and in any order I wanted. All the different garden areas really flowed together so well that I found myself taking pictures constantly. In fact on both trips I took over 1500 pictures.

Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens also have a beautiful cultural show and elephant shows as well as housing exotic birds, tigers and orangutans that the public can feed and hang out with. Among all the beautiful attractions you’ll also find two restaurants serving western and Thai food, trinket shops, concessions and accommodation for an overnight stay if you so choose.

The exotic animals that I found outside the orchid area were a real treat and an unexpected bonus. I hand fed a tiger cub, played with orangutans and talked to the most colorful exotic birds. I also ran into a few elephants while wandering the grounds that were very happy to make new friends.

The cultural show was really an amazing part of the trip for me. Seeing all the beautiful costumes and hearing the traditional Thai music made for a wonderful experience that I’ll never forget. The shows are about 40 minutes long and have many viewing times which lends itself well to keeping your own pace. When the show is over you can take pictures with some of the participants as well as the very large war elephants from one of the cultural reanactments.

Getting to the gardens and back was very easy from where I was staying in Pattaya. You can get in with a tour group or rent a baht bus for the day.

Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens is a must see while in Thailand and makes for a wonderful day trip. Due to it’s ever changing nature it’s a Thailand treasure that can be seen again and again.