World Botanical Gardens, Botanical garden in Hakalau, Hawaii.

World Botanical Gardens covers 300 acres along the Umauma River and up the slope of Mauna Kea, 16 miles north of Hilo at Leopolino Road and Highway 19. Its grounds hold more than 5,000 plant species, an arboretum of over 10 acres, the Children's Maze, and Kamaʻeʻe Falls, a waterfall dropping 100 feet.

The Rainforest section opened in 1995 as the first part of this garden destination on Hawaii's Big Island. Since then, the grounds have been gradually expanded to grow the collection of tropical and Hawaiian plant species.

The gardens display plants native to Hawaii, creating a space where visitors encounter the diversity of Pacific plant life directly. Throughout the grounds, signs and guides explain how these species have shaped life on the island.

The gardens lie at the corner of Leopolino Road and Hawaii Belt Road (State Highway 19), about 16 miles north of Hilo, between Umauma and Hakalau. Admission is charged and the gardens open daily. The Rainforest Walk and lower gardens, including the Children's Maze and arboretum, are on foot; the Umauma Falls overlook and its 90 acres passed to Umauma Experience in 2008.

The area offers a zipline that crosses above the treetops, providing aerial views of waterfalls and plant collections. This activity gives a completely different perspective on the grounds than ground-based trails.