Managed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch became the first botanic garden in the world to devote itself to indigenous plants in 1913 and is located in the heart of the Cape Floral Region, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2004.
The garden was built with massive stonework, using local Table Mountain sandstone to tame the slopes of the mountain. Areas were carved out of the large property to feature different types of plants, including the Cycad Ampitheatre (left), which is filled with cycads, some of the oldest surviving seed plants in the world.
