Living on the costa

The Botanical-Orchid Park of Estepona has established itself as one of the main tourist attractions in the city after exceed 200,000 visits since its opening in March 2015, highlighting the presence of a national public, which represents 63% compared to 37% of visitors of foreign origin, as they have indicated from the City Council of the town.

The municipal space is characterized by housing one of the most important collections of orchids on the European continent, with more than 3,000 types of plants and the flowering of more than 150 species during the spring period, and whose facilities reproduce the natural ecosystem of these flowers of Asian, American or African origin, among others.

Thus, this living museum has become one of the main tourist attractions of the Costa del Sol town, as well as it has aroused the interest of the local population in discovering this type of species, for which the Consistory has promoted the revitalization of the space with the celebration of numerous events cultural events such as leisure shows, markets at different times of the year or orchid fairs where those interested have been able to purchase specimens and attend specialized courses or talks by experts, as they have pointed out.

The Botanical-Orchid Park has registered since its inauguration in March 2015 a total of 214,867 visitorsan amount that could have been increased in periods of normality without the restrictions imposed by the outbreak of the pandemic of Covid-19 for two years, as assessed by the local Administration.

In this sense, the City Council has highlighted the presence of a national public, which represents 63 percent of visits in front of 37 percent foreign public which has passed through the facilities of the natural museum throughout its seven years of existence, which highlights the interest in botany among tourists.

Throughout these seven years, the space has welcomed the flowering of singular specimens that are unique in Spain, such as the species known as ‘the ant lover‘, a plant that causes an important attraction or effect call in this type of insects or the ‘elephant ear’classified as a rare species and that has large leaves that make it unique due to its shapes.

Another of the outstanding blooms has been that of a specimen of ‘Stanhopea nigrovilacea‘, an orchid that is characterized by emitting a perceptible fragrance several meters away; or the space for a new species of flower that has been discovered in Guatemala and called ‘Stanhopea esteponae’among other.