The Tropical Botanical Garden is located in Lisbon, in the historic Belem district, a few steps from Jeronimos Monastery. The garden was created on January 25, 1906 by decree of King Carlos I and was originally called the Colonial Garden, since most of the plants planted in it were brought from former Portuguese colonies. Initially, the botanical garden occupied an area of 5 hectares, after joining in 1914 the palace of Count Calheta, built in the XVII century, its area increased to 7 hectares. The garden has a large lake, ponds, palm alleys, small grottoes, stone stairs, marble statues, wooden bridges are thrown over small streams or stone paths are laid out. An oriental-style gazebo is built in the Japanese garden and a large collection of bonsai is presented. About 600 plant species grow on the territory of the Tropical Botanical Garden, mainly from tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, America, Asia and Australia, many of them are considered rare and endangered species - Dracaena Draco (Dragon Tree), Norfolk pine, relict tree Ginkgo, Eucommia (Chinese gutta-percha tree), several species of palm trees and ficus, Cycas, drooping, cacti, orchids and many others. In the garden there are several greenhouses in which the Institute of Tropical Research employees conduct breeding experiments and grow seedlings of exotic plants. In the halls of the palace of Count Caleta, more than 400,000 of the most valuable botanical and zoological samples of flora and fauna are represented. The herbarium, consisting of 300,000 exhibits, is considered one of the most representative in the world, it contains plants from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe. The zoological collection began to be collected in the 40s of the XX century with the aim of creating a catalog of representatives of the fauna of the Portuguese colonies. It has about 2,000 species of mammals, 6,000 species of birds and 3,000 species of amphibians and reptiles. Exhibitions, scientific conferences and seminars are held in the Tropical Botanical Garden; residents and guests of Lisbon love to relax here.