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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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 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.
We spent a few hours driving and walking through this beautifully preserved piece of nature on Avery Island after doing the self-guided tour of the Tabasco Factory, that ticket includes the Jungle Garden experience. We couldn't have picked a better day to visit the area, the temperature was perfect with low humidity and no bugs - you must allow yourself plenty of time to soak in the peaceful surroundings and get out of your vehicle to get up close to the wonders of this garden. Besides the beautiful grounds and water structures there are plenty of surprises you'll discover along the way we unfortunately didn't see any alligators or deer today but there were an abundance of birds, a few turtles basking in the sun and lots of squirrels scurrying through the grounds and giant oak trees. This is a beautiful place and just one of the wonders you'll find while exploring Louisiana I've lived in Louisiana for almost half my life and I'm still amazed at the beauty this state has to offer this is just one of the many places that's preserved and protected for generations to enjoy and appreciate... read more
This is a great activity to spend a few hours, especially on a nice day. It's a good mix of driving and walking around or you can choose to just drive and listen to the self guided tour. We saw lot of alligators. The bird city was neat too. You could hear the birds well before you could see them. At the park entrance there is a little gift shop too with snacks, drinks, bathrooms and souvenirs. read more
2 years ago
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. read more
3 years ago
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. read more
10 months ago
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. read more
2 years ago
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. read more
3 years ago
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. read more
1 year ago
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. read more
3 years ago
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. read more
2 years ago
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. read more
2 years ago
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. read more
5 years ago
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. read more
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 read more
3 years ago
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. read more
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. read more
3 years ago
Jungle Gardens is a paradise. It is on Avery Island, across from the Tabasco factory. They have so much to see-you can see your share of alligators here, as well as the greenery. It is worth a stop. They also have a sweet gift shop as you enter. read more
4 years ago
7 years ago
Definitely do both, the Jungle Gardens and The Tabasco Tour if visiting from far away. Admittedly I'm from the north, so seeing this type of wildlife and scenery is more fascinating to me, so if you're from the area it might not hold your interest as much. I visited in July, it was too warm to spend the whole time outside, so even though I would have loved to walk the whole route, I drove and parked my car along the way, getting out to view each sight. Bird City was the highlight of my time spent there, to see so many Snowy Egrets in one natural setting was beautiful. I also was able to spy five different alligators in the lagoons. One even beached itself on the grass right next to the path, which made for great pictures from the safety of my car window! read more
These gardens are huge. You drive through them, but there are plenty of places to stop and get out. We saw plenty of alligators in the beginning. The Buddha gardens were my favorite with the stone bridge and little temple. At the end of the gardens is the white birds. There are hundreds of them sitting on these little posts. You can climb up high and see them. read more
What a gorgeous place! Created by the same family that made the Tabasco Factory, it's right down the road! You can listen on your phone to an audio tour as you go through. You also can get out and walk at certain trails. We loved the live oaks covered with Spanish moss and the Bird Paradise FULL of Snowy Egrets! read more
This place is beautiful for the most part. I loved all of the huge old oaks and birds. Some of the trees have markers and historical importance. I loved the area around the Buddha statue. That is where we saw our only gator of the day. It is a wonderful place to take pictures.We also saw some of the biggest spiders in my life. Some of the stone steppers are loose so be careful as you are hiking around. We chose to walk some and drive the rest. While I probably wouldn't rush to come back it is definitely worth at least one visit. The birds were breathtaking. If you are one of the people leaving garbage behind that is so lame. read more
8 years ago
Prices are reasonable, you can pay for pass to this only or add pass to hot sauce tour /side. And do both. You can drive though the gardens and there's various spots to park and walk or you walk the entire thing. Its very beautiful and different things to see. Nice and clean place to tour. This can take over a hour and if you are doing this plus hot sauce tour can be a couple of hours. Great family day read more
This place is a huge outdoor park and it is beautiful. There was a bride taking wedding pictures when I visited so you know how amazing it truly is! My tip is, pretty go when the spring is around because few of the attraction spots are made up of flowers and I went in November and of course, there were no flowers, birds, etc... But I must say, the oaktrees are amazing... p.s: The budda statue... The door was closed :( read more
What a fun and beautiful way to spend a day! It is$1 to get onto the island and $8 per person to do the Jungle Gardens tour. It is a self guided tour so you can stop and walk around whenever you feel like it. We took an entire 2 hours. Highlights for me were walking down paths and seeing 5 different alligators. We don't have those in NC! The Buddha was very cool and surprising addition. The only negative is all of the bugs... bugspray is a MUST. I got tons of bug bites even with spray. I can't imagine without it. Overall, a pleasant experience and great for someone out of state who doesn't see the swamp lands often. read more
My boyfriend and I took a Sunday day trip to The Jungle Gardens this past weekend. We had the most fun driving through the gardens and stopping at the different stops along the way. We especially enjoyed getting a closeup view of the alligators! It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. read more
8 years ago
This was a nice garden and well suited to our mobility. My husband cant walk well so driving was well worth it. We could stop along the way and walk and then jump in our car because it was so hot. We enjoyed the bird city the best. It was amazing the forethought to conserve these birds when they were endangered. They created a rookery for the birds to nest. read more
14 years ago
10 years ago
If you don't mind the alligators running loose, then you will be okay about coming here! Just watch where you step or watch where you're driving. We had seen a couple alligators in areas that we did not expect to see one. Not sure if they are tame or not, but don't ever believe an alligator is tame; they have really sharp teeth! The grounds were beautiful though and very large, so if you get started early, you may be able to walk the whole thing. It's an easy drive, too and you can park at different stopping points to stroll around the various areas. Without giving too much away, you'll be in awe of the majestic beauty here and the greenery is vast. Hang off some tree vines, while you're here and soak in nature. It's very well maintained and very peaceful. You can even tour the Tabasco plant first before coming here, then spend the rest of your day here (gardens close at sundown). There is a fee you have to pay to enter the gardens. read more
12 years ago
This place is very beautiful. There are alligators to look at, bamboo forest trails, stone bridges, and a BEAUTIFUL Buddha statue overlooking a pond. I would highly recommend this place if you want a day of casual strolling through beautiful gardens. read more
13 years ago
8 years ago
13 years ago
Jungle Gardens is a wonderful driving tour with a few stops to enable experiencing the bayou from you car. There are a few trails to walk to Bird City and Buddha, but mostly it is a car ride. I am sure that a little later in spring, when everything is blooming it would be a real five star event. Especially when the wisteria blooms. Winter is a little sparser on the vegetation, The birds and gators are out there. Be patient and you will see them too. read more
3 years ago
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More info about Jungle Gardens
Hwy 329
Avery Island, LA 70513
Directions
(337) 369-6243
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Visit Website
http://junglegardens.org/
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