The Estepona Orchid House, a Botanical Jewel of Europe Celebrating Ten Years

The Estepona Orchidarium celebrates its tenth anniversary, established as a botanical gem. The Estepona City Council boasts in a press release that it is the place in Europe with the largest area exclusively dedicated to orchids, covering more than 1,000 square meters. This subtropical forest houses over 4,000 specimens from 1,500 different species, with orchids growing on tree trunks, araceae with gigantic leaves, more than 300 square meters of vertical gardens, a lily pond, a 15-meter waterfall, and three glass domes (the tallest of which, at 30 meters, offers a stunning view from inside). The Estepona City Council created this Botanical Park "in the heart of the city as a commitment to sustainability and quality of life," highlights the press release. In the orchidarium, which just celebrated its tenth anniversary, there are specimens of all sizes, colors, and shapes, recreating the habitat and climatic conditions of the tropics, from Central and South America to Australia, immersing visitors in an unusual setting where the eye loses itself among varieties and colors. It was born from a municipal interest in having a space dedicated, on one hand, to botanical conservation, and on the other, to its cultural projection through the promotion of information, communication, and the promotion of the city's botanical heritage through individual or group visits, with the nature of a general public municipal service. Among its botanical treasures are some particularly striking orchids due to their characteristics, such as the Phalaenopsis bellina, with purple colors and a exquisite fragrance; the Encyclia alata affinis, with a chocolate scent; the Laelia purpurata, with its exceptional inflorescence; or the Maxillaria tenuifolia with delicate leaves and a coconut scent. The Estepona Orchidarium is also a pioneer in the way it displays the botanical collection: it recreates being inside a forest, where you can see orchids growing directly on tree trunks, just as they do in their natural environment. Divided into three levels at different heights, it has a total area of 1,000 square meters and a space of 15,000 cubic meters. Within this space, different microclimates have been achieved, resulting in a very varied and attractive botanical collection, consisting of more than 3,000 species including araceae, ferns, tillandsias, bromeliads, and, of course, orchids. Some of these species are quite large, while others fit on a thimble and produce flowers that are just a few millimeters. These species have been selected both for their beauty and their uniqueness, so that at any time of the year you can enjoy the flowering of - at least - a hundred species (each with its own flowering season). Other treasures that can be seen up close in Estepona include the Cananga Odorata, better known as Ylang Ylang, a flower very famous among high-end cosmetic perfumers; the Bixa Orellana plant, native to Peru and widely used in the cosmetic industry because the pigments from its fruit are extracted for the manufacture of lipstick; or the 'Cirtostachis Renda' known as the 'Lacquer Palm,' characterized by its red stems. And, of course, the carnivorous plants. Outside, the Estepona Orchidarium boasts a large green lung of more than 15,000 square meters right in the heart of the Malaga municipality.