La Laguna Botanical Garden, Botanical garden in Antiguo Cuscatlán, El Salvador
La Laguna Botanical Garden is a garden inside a volcanic crater in Antiguo Cuscatlán, El Salvador, covering 46 hectares. The collection holds more than 3,500 plant species arranged in 32 thematic zones, each with signage explaining botanical details and origin.
German immigrants established the garden in the early 20th century as a private collection, bringing trees and plants from different continents. The family later opened the site to the public, transforming it into an institution focused on environmental education.
The name honors the Deininger immigrant family, who opened their private botanical collection for educational purposes. Today, school groups from across the country use the grounds for outdoor lessons, with pathways between plant zones becoming living classrooms.
The site operates self-sufficiently through entrance fees, memberships, gardening courses, and plant sales without government funding. Visitors should bring comfortable shoes and plan time to explore the different zones along marked pathways.
Some areas remain as protected native forest, where local plants like bananas, grasses, spurges, and bromeliads grow in their natural state. These zones show what the land looked like before human settlement.
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