My Unforgettable Visit to Minsk's Botanical Garden

I've always been on the lookout for local museums, zoos, and botanical gardens whenever I travel to a new city. There's something about taking walks, learning something new, and being surrounded by nature that really draws me in. And Belarus is a whole different world – it's a country I'd been wanting to explore for a long time, especially the capital, Minsk, which is home to one of the largest botanical gardens in Europe, spanning nearly 100 hectares.

Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk

Central Botanical Garden NAN Belarus, Minsk, Belarus Address: ul. Surganova, 2v, near metro station "Park Chelyuskintsev" in Minsk.Entrance fee: 12 Belarusian rubles (approximately 360 Russian rubles). You can pay with cash or the "Mir" card – no issues there.

Visit duration: mid-August, 2024

The Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is the country's largest center for plant conservation and research, with a focus on introducing and acclimating new plant species.

No guided tours, just a self-guided walk. My walk lasted several hours! And that was just a fraction of the garden. The botanical garden is indeed massive! Be prepared for a good hike, and you'll find cafes and free restrooms within the garden.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk I was blown away by this stunning bronze nymph at the entrance. Sorry, I'm no expert, but I have no idea who she is or if she's even from mythology, but she's gorgeous.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk The Minsk botanical garden is divided into alleys and sectors. The alleys are named after trees (birch, maple, cypress, ash, fir, cherry, linden, rowan, walnut, and rhododendron), while the sectors are named after geographical regions (Belarus, Far East, North America, Crimea and Caucasus, Europe and Siberia, and Central Asia). I have to give credit to the people who designed, built, and maintained this place – it's a true masterpiece. The garden is almost a century old, and it shows in the variety of plants and the attention to detail.You're unlikely to get lost, as there are signs at every intersection.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk I was excited to see that almost every tree has a little sign with the name in Russian and Latin. The Belarusian translation is missing, but I'm just noting it. I took a photo of this because I love laughing at the funny names of plants. And since my sense of humor is pretty low, I even laughed at 'Rastopyrennaya' – yeah, that's a real plant name.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk We skipped the hawthorn alley and just took a photo of the view, then headed straight to the flowers. We knew we couldn't see the whole botanical garden in one go, no matter how much we wanted to...

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk On the website of the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences in Minsk, you can find out the blooming periods of certain flowers. The rose garden was almost completely over in August, and I only saw a few rare buds. But these hydrangeas - Pink Diamond - stole my heart. They're almost entirely pink, and the flowers themselves look like tiny butterflies.

Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskBotanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskCheck it out, some of these specimens look like butterflies for real. Yeah, I've got to admit, it's pretty easy to impress me sometimes...Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskI even spotted a butterfly, like this admiral one, for instance. I don't see those often in my own Nizhny Novgorod region.Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskI just started snapping all the flowers that caught my eye and enjoying the lovely scent. Either the flowers themselves impressed me or the flower names (I'm guessing it's the variety names).Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskFor some reason, I was hoping to see blue cornflowers in Belarus, but all I found were white ones.Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskAnd then there's the Dove of Peace – my own backyard has a white dove, by the way.Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of BelarusBelarus, Minsk

The name of my hometown translates to 'Strawberry Field'.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskMy mom's cat is named Nochka.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskI'm sure you know about Golubka.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskAnd then there's just Katya.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskI was at the botanical garden and saw this tree with pods. You know, I've noticed that in every botanical garden I've been to, there's no sign next to the tree that interests me. I guess that's just the way it is.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskThe botanical garden in Minsk, Belarus, is a treasure trove of natural beauty.Ginkgo biloba - a relic tree - I can spot it from a mile away, even without the signs, its distinctive leaves are just too recognizable. Check out how the wooden framework shapes its crown.

The botanical garden in Minsk, Belarus. There's a bronze squirrel on a bench, or at least I think it's a squirrel.

The botanical garden in Minsk, Belarus. I snapped a few more flower stands, but only selectively, I must admit. Like this clematis called Dasha, because, well, I'm Dasha.

The botanical garden in Minsk, Belarus. And then there's this narcius, allegedly named 'Professor Einstein'. I snapped it because of the typo, or maybe there's some clever wordplay going on that I'm missing.

The botanical garden in Minsk, Belarus. Of course, the botanical garden in Minsk has more than just trees and flowers. Let me show you. I know some people might find them terrifying, but not me. These are giant insect sculptures (and not actually insects).But what really caught my eye was the materials used to build this thing - it's all metal, wood, and other stuff.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, MinskCheck out this wooden ant.

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk This is a cockroach. Sorry, I mean an earwig.

Suprematist beetle - what a beauty!

Spider

Dragonfly

Butterfly

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk

Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk Minsk - and probably the coolest sculpture I've seen - a mosquito with long legs. It reminded me of Salvador Dali's elephants.

Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, MinskThere are also these more classic figurines, but much smaller in size.

Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, Minsk Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, Minsk Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, Minsk Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, Minsk Botanical Garden MinskAnd of course, there's the frog.

Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, MinskBy walking through the garden and admiring the plants and sculptures, we get a great sense of the beauty and creativity that's on display here.

As I walked towards the lake I finally made it to the lake. Yep, this botanical garden has a lake. There are ice cream wagons, a kids' play area, benches, and you can sit and take a break after a long journey to one of the garden's farthest points.

Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, MinskThere was another stunning girl in metal - almost naked, which made her even more stunning.

Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, MinskBut what really caught my attention weren't the statues of naked girls, it was the swans, of course.

Botanical Garden Minsk Botanical Garden Minsk Botanical Garden of NAS of Belarus, MinskI could watch birds (any birds) forever. And especially the swans, which you don't see every day back home. I didn't want to leave that spot at all, but we decided to head to the greenhouse anyway.

Botanical Garden Minsk

The botanical garden's grounds are well-maintained and beautiful, with even benches that have solar-powered charging stations for your phone... what a nice touch!

Check out that glass pyramid - and there's the dome of the orangery.

Time for a quick selfie!

And right from the entrance, I'm seeing animals again. What a lovely place - the Belarusian botanical garden is a real gem!

Tortoises with bright red ears. Not a huge fan of theirs, but thanks for having them around)

Botanical Garden Minsk

Botanical Garden MinskThere were also some carnivorous plants... And yes, those are insectivorous plants. I've seen them before in Moscow, but in much smaller numbers.

Botanical Garden MinskAnd we hadn't even made it to the greenhouse yet - this is just the foyer, basically...

Botanical Garden MinskBut then things get really interesting. Like, have you ever seen a cacao plant?

Botanical Garden NANO Belarus, Minsk

Botanical Garden NANO Belarus, Minsk

Botanical Garden NANO Belarus, Minsk More ginkgo trees.

Botanical Garden NANO Belarus, Minsk

Botanical Garden Minsk

Botanical Garden NAN Belarus, Minsk

Botanical Garden NAN Belarus, Minsk And then the greenhouse blew me away. Parrots! Too bad they're in cages. We were told that there are a lot of poisonous plants in the greenhouse, so they can't be released. It's a bit sad. But the birds are adorable.

Botanical Garden Minsk

Botanical Garden NAN Belarus, Minsk A pair of lovebirds.

Botanical Garden NAN Belarus, Minsk

Botanical Garden NAN Belarus, Minsk They're incredibly funny and incredibly loud (they make this ultrasonic noise that's almost like a scream, if you didn't know).

National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk

National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk After the greenhouse, I was exhausted from further exploration and a walk, and it was pretty hot (especially in the greenhouse), so I had to leave this green oasis.

Botanical Garden Minsk If I lived in Minsk, I'd definitely visit the botanical garden at least twice a year. But I only had a week in the Belarusian capital, so I only spent a few hours in this amazing space.

National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk If you're a tourist in Minsk, I highly recommend checking out the botanical garden!