Page 36 - Demo

About Cayman
florA AnD FAuNA
If you have never visited us before, you will be amazed by the unique flora and fauna that inhabits our three islands, a result of nature being allowed to develop undisturbed until the first settlers came here hundreds of years ago.
Cayman’s landscape is lush and green with trees that you may be familiar with, such as coconut, mango and banana. But also look out for the perhaps less well known and interestingly named Sweetwood, Snake Wood, Pickle Wood, Fiddlewood, Headache Bush, Snake Hand trees and Duppy Bush!
Orchids have always grown well in our tropical climate and, promoted by entities such as the Orchid Society of Grand Cayman, we enjoy incredible displays, mainly found in back gardens, although you may be lucky to find them in the wild. Our Wild Banana Orchid is Cayman’s national flower and is
an endemic species (only found here). Our national tree is the Silver Thatch Palm, from which sturdy rope was made decades ago that helped sustain the economy of islanders.
No visit to Cayman would be complete without a wander around our stunning queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, opened by the HM The queen in 1994. The park spreads overs 54 acres and is located in the picturesque district of North Side, about 40 minutes’ drive from George Town. Enjoy a riot of colour, flora and fauna that will really open up your eyes to the beauty of this location.
Most impressive is the Floral Colour Garden. When it’s fully in bloom you can enjoy walking through a series of gardens each with its own beautiful colour theme and a lake with adjacent wetlands. Look out for native birds here, too. Walk the Woodland Trail, a loop that takes you through a variety
of landscapes to help you appreciate the varying topography of these three islands, taking in wetland, a cactus thicket, a logwood swamp and an epiphyte woodland, as well as an area full of huge Mahogany trees. There’s also a magnificent Orchid Board Walk that leads you through all sorts of orchid varieties.
The Blue Iguana Habitat is a very important part of the trail and serves to highlight the work carried out by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands under its Blue Iguana Recovery Programme, which is helping to save this precious but endangered species.
Stunning orchids on display Flora and fauna at the Botanic Park 34 | destination Cayman 2019
The Blue Iguana is protected by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands under its Blue Iguana Recovery Programme
A scenic spot at the Botanic Park