Jibou is a small city somewhere in Transylvania. You might even think that there isn’t too much to say about a town of this size. But actually, it hides one of the most beautiful, well organized and maintained Botanical Gardens I have seen so far in Romania.

The Botanical Garden is situated in the north-east side of the town Jibou, on the second bank of the river Somes and has been arranged in the garden of the Wesselényi Castle beginning with the year 1968 by the biology teacher Vasile Fati. It is organized in compartments, each compartment groups the plants from one point of view, a complex of collection micro production and research greenhouses, an aquarium, a zoological park, a beautiful and modern Japanese garden.

I think we chose the best time to visit the Botanical Garden, in May, when all flowers bloom and everywhere you look you see beautiful colors full of life, announcing the spring and summer ahead.

The greenhouses offer you an amassing range of plants starting with orchids, ferns and ending with a great collections of cactus, Australian and Mediterranean plants. We were happy to see banana trees, papaya trees and fig tree.

The Aquarium area has 23 aquariums with sweet and salted water where you can see corals, sea stars and special ocean fish, but also the representative of the freshwater fauna and flora. Among the superstarts fish you will see the pirania, the water porcupine, the clown fish and the sweet water shark.

Outside, there is a lovely Japanese Garde. It is said that a Japanese Garden is the symbiosis of nature with art. The essential elements of a Japanese garden are water, plants, stones, waterfalls, trees and culverts.

Somewhere in the west part of the Botanical Garden, if you still have enough energy to wonder around, you will find the Zoological sector, a natural forest with secular trees, with wild boars and 14 deers.

The Jibou Botanical Garden is a multi-functional center of education, learning and research. It is a scientific and didactic base for the biologic learning, an institution of education of the respect for nature, for all that is beautiful and true.

To get to Jibou from Cluj, go on the road E81 in the direction of Zalau and then turn right on road DJ108A. In Jibou you will see signs guiding you to the Botanical Garden. The entrance fee is 5 LEI (1.2 EUR). For more info, please visit the official website here.