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Jungle Gardens

4.4 (72 reviews)
Open 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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Van D.

Have you seen Jumanji?? Well if you want to experience the thrill of Jumanji, you can just come here and experience the Jungle Gardens. I felt absolute fear and wonder all at the same time while exploring. It's probably the same feeling as a modern day Jurassic parks experience. This is a 3 mile experience created by Edward Avery McIlhenny who brought his love as a naturalist and conservationist into building this attraction. He converted his natural estate into Jungle Gardens by decorating it with exotic botanical specimens from all over the world. It was opened to the public in 1935 and since then it has been a tourist destination, wildlife refuge and botanical marvel. Our admission to the Jungle Garden was included with our entrance to the Tabasco Factory Tour. This consists of 14 stops within the 3 mile loop in which you have the option to walk, bike, hike or drive. Honestly I would be too scared to walk, bike or hike. Driving is the way to go! Stop 1: Giant Oak Trees Stop 2: Bayou Petit Anne/Marsh Trail Stop 3: Alligators Stop 4: Boat House Stop 5: Venetian Gardens Stop 6: Cleveland Oak Stop 7: Holly Hedge Stop 8: Buddha Temple Stop 9: Wisteria Arch Stop 10: Palm Gardens Stop 11: Bird City Stop 12: Timber Bamboo Stop 13: Sunken Gardens Stop 14: Camellia Nursery The only stop we made an exception for was Stop 8 where the Buddha was not too visible from the street. My boyfriend convinced me to get off cause he knows I wanted a close view of Buddha. I didn't get too close since the geography was sketch... and need I remind you Stop 3 was just Alligators. Yikes! The air was also swampy and muggy. I was seriously afraid of getting mosquito bites. The experience is about 40 minutes if you took a quick drive through but I noticed the other folks visiting took their time to enjoy this place so prepare at least an hour for your visit or more time if you plan on getting out of the car and exploring further. Definitely a neat experience unlike any other. If you are already on Avery Island visiting the Tabasco museum, you should also set aside time for this attraction.

Flowers in the beginning

The experience is overall great, it's a lovely family trip/activity. The employee giving cards at the window is sometimes kind of hostile and picky. I would recommend going in the spring or early fall, it's the perfect temperature. The land is beautiful and covered with flowers, nice alligators and many more things to find. The gift shop has many things that anyone would love, like stuffed animals, handmade gifts etc. It is a great place to teach history and have a little fun at the same time.

Quinney H.

The Jungle Gardens are an absolute must if you happen to be in the vicinity of Avery Island, LA or you're already touring other parts of the Tabasco property. It turned out to be another highlight of my road trip through Louisiana and Mississippi last summer. Sadly, there's only one true National Park in the Deep South: Congaree in South Carolina, which I found absolutely baffling after seeing so many national treasures on this trip such as this. Meanwhile, I'm completely surrounded by National Parks in Las Vegas. I digress. Note 1: I was born and raised in the South. The reference to the Deep South in my comment includes the following areas: Alabama, East Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Florida, and South Carolina. Note 2: The Deep South contains multiple NPS sites (e.g, national monuments, national seashores, military parks, national heritage areas, etc.), but only one true National Park.

Snowy Egrets
Mayra D.

Incredible way to spend the day after you tour the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island. It is a network of stops that you can easily do with a car. Every stop had something unique to offer. We saw wildlife, a Buddhist temple, and beautiful blooms, just to name a few.

Lolo A.

The admission price to the TABASCO® Factory Tours is actually a 2 for 1 deal. It also includes admission to the Jungle Gardens - a 170 acre botanical garden and bird sanctuary. Jungle Gardens was created by the son (Edward Avery "Ned" McIlhenny) of the Tabasco sauce inventor (Edmund McIlhenny). It began as a Snowy Egret refuge, then as a nursery that featured exotic plants. The McIlhenny home is also on this estate, but is closed off to the public. Visitors have the option to walk, hike, bike or drive the 3 mile garden trail. We stopped by the Jungle Gardens gift shop to present our tickets before driving in and starting our self-guided tour. The drive through the park reminds me of the Jeep tour in the Jurassic Park movie. There's no track, but we were able to make stops along the way to see the wildlife and attractions. The dinosaurs are replaced by alligators. Some areas of the park would be so nice to picnic, but not very safe. We didn't see any egrets due to this time of year.

Scenes around Jungle Gardens taken March '25

Always beautiful, definitely a place to check out when azaleas are in bloom. Recommend leaving your car at the check-in and enjoy a self guided tour.

Alligator
Jasmine S.

The Jungle Garden allows you to walk through the area with a map or you can drive. It was nice to do a self pave activity.

Nelson A.

I was hoping for something more majestic and inspiring. My family love to hike and walk in nature. Having cars drive by as you are walking through the park was really disturbing and took away from they idea of nature. We did happen to see an alligator with babies and that helped make it a little better. The love oaks were amazing and beautiful but it wasn't enough to offset the vehicle disturbance. I would also highly recommend wearing bug spray. My wife and daughter were pretty tasty for mosquitoes.

The nasty bug bite that popped up.
McKinleigh A.

We came on a hot day. The ticketing system is awful. You have to go in the gift shop to get your tickets. They tell you that it is three miles you can walk or drive. The signs are not marked well at all. Also there is alligators which is a nice touch. Driving would have been better, there is a lot of mosquitoes. Buy bug spray if you do not already have it. I would have skipped coming here if I could. It was kind of a waste of time.

Andi F.

I came in November. I had a wild hair to visit the Tabasco Factory and was not aware there was this joyful place attached to it. The flowers were not in bloom this time of year, but everything was so peaceful, green and lush. I did see several alligators in the waters. You pay for admission to the Tabasco Factory Tour, and this is included. The gardens were created by the owners of the Tabasco Factory. There is a gift shop here and the clerk there will give you a map of the driving tour. There are several spots to get out and walk around. There is the boat house along one strip of water. Several out buildings and a very large Buddha inside of a building. There are spots on the tour that the road becomes very narrow and other spots where the trees and other shrubbery are very low hanging and grow close to the road. I would not recommend coming in a large vehicle. I am most certainly glad I came and very grateful that this is here in Louisiana. What an amazing place. Truly a gem. I do look forward to coming back in the spring to see the flowers in bloom.

Andrea H.

Jungle Gardens is located on Avery Island which is owned by the McIlhennry family. They also own and operate the Tabasco Plant. This particular section of the island was set aside as a conservation area back in the 1930s. Jungle Gardens is not really a jungle, but the animals, i.e. alligators and snakes, that you may encounter here are wild and could cause you harm. It's not quite a botanical garden either, but it does have a variety of flowers like camellias and plants cultivated like the holly archway. It's not quite a park in the traditional sense; for instance you won't see anyone playing frisbee with their kids here, but it does have some designated walking paths, offer informative placards about points of interests and provide a gravel driving loop to cruise through the area. It's got a little bit of everything for everyone, and makes an ideal family outing. If you find yourself on the southern tip of Louisiana, then by all means make time to drive the Jungle Gardens loop. You can pay a discounted price for admission to both Jungle Gardens and the Tabasco Factory tour. The road is loose gravel and dirt. It is wide enough for one car. The road is one way. You can't get lost because the road loops through the entire area. There are about 15 placards throughout detailing what you might see and enjoy. If you stop at the Cabin at the entrance, the staff will give you a map that also highlights the different park features. Several of the placards are at small parking lots where you can get out and walk a short distance to see a point of interest. You can expect to spend and hour or two if you take your time. This place is worth visiting at various times of the year and at different times of the day. At the beginning of the year (January and February), you are likely to see large numbers of the snowy egret at "Bird City". In the spring, you can expect to see the large variety of camellias in bloom. In August and September, alligators have their babies, so smaller ones might be seen. Although, you are likely to see alligators no matter the time a year in the shallow alligator ponds at the entrance of the park. I probably would not make the long drive across Louisiana to visit just this place, but if you are into bird watching, you just might. It is definitely worth a gamder if you are already in the

I spy with my little eye a tiny gator
Angie T.

Louisiana is a beautiful place..all over our great state you'll be in for a treat. Eye candy aplenty. There are quite a few pretty places but Jungle Gardens on Avery Island has to be among the very best here. I grew up near Avery Island. I spent many days crabbing off of the dock here and watching alligators swimming and deer walking around like it was just a normal day with no target on their backs. It is the integral reason why I love nature and our earth so very much. I was lucky enough to visit again recently. Coming home feels very good. Where else do you get wonderful southern hospitality, beautiful algae topped swamps housing gators, sunken gardens, a bad ass Budda, the coolest stone bridge and camellia trees (yep...camellia TREES, y'all)? Right here in your very back yard, Nola. Oh and the home of Tabasco hot sauce. Nectar of the gods.. Yes. Yes. Yes.

The House that holds Buddah
Mike H.

The Jungle Gardens are located on Avery island and are apart of the land owned by the Tabasco family. For 8.00 per person you can do a self guided part car-part walking tour of the Gardens. There is no time line and you can park and walk as much as you desire. The landscape of this place is gorgeous. There are tons of plants from around the world, swampy landscape where gators are lying around( I never saw any) and even a big ass buddah statue that was stolen from China according to the little plaque. Really not sure how it's still here if that is true. Anyway it's a very peaceful , naturific place to just chill and frolic. I would say that spring time would be the best time to go when all the flowers are in bloom. I would stay the hell away in the summer as I'm sure it's Africa hot out and the mosqitoes would be torture. Definitely worth the detour if you are in the area.

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I had a wild hair to visit the Tabasco Factory and was not aware there was this joyful place attached to it.

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Burden Museum & Gardens

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The LSU Rural Life Center and Burden Museum and Gardens are a hidden gem in Baton Rouge. They are…read morelocated right by I-10 on Essen, so they are easy to find. It's a very large property, and serves many purposes and hosts many events. It's a great resource that our city is very lucky to have. There are gardens and research facilities here associated with LSU, there are historical buildings and artifacts from Louisiana, then there are forests and wetlands, these are linked by roads and hiking trails. There's lots to see, and there are various events to participate in. One of these events is the new Louisiana Lights Festival which is a holiday-themed light show. It's impressive already and it's just getting started. Each year will bring more to this event! Another great event is the fall festival with its corn mazes, petting zoos, hay rides, and other fall fun activities. There are different events throughout the year, one need only check the website to be informed. There's really something for everyone here, from agriculture, horticulture, children's playgrounds, hiking, history, or just a place to have a picnic, this facility is there to meet the needs of the community. It's something that our residents and visitors should be aware of and utilize!

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