A Visit to Nayong Pilipino within Rizal Park

 

Nayong Pilipino, Rizal Park ,  Manila-Philippines

I got an opportunity to re-visit the famed Orchidarium within Rizal Park  in which the author was a volunteer tour guide , events coordinator several years ago. I visited the park twice after it re-opened in 2013 – They gave a FREE entrance promo and another one when we have a group of foreign tourists from Singapore , while they were on the country .

Nayong Pilipino

History :

The place used to be operated under the Clean and Green Foundation which was a pet project of then former first lady Mrs. Amelita ” Ming” Ramos in late 1992 . The place used to be a vacant parking space allotted to the Department of Finance before it was  the National Park Development Committee  (NPDC) the one in charge of Rizal Park  had taken jurisdiction of the place  .

dancing ladies

The place was developed by the foundation and opened to the public in late 1994 with several man made waterfalls, butterfly area,  mini aviary ,  hanging bridge, fishing facilities , rock wall climbing  , an art gallery and a fine dining outlet  ( Lush Life) operated by Barbaras.

semi-terete vanda

The Clean and Green Foundation had a partnership with several plant societies like Philippine Orchid Society , Philippine Horticultural Society , Fern and Nature Society of the Philippines members who donated the initial collection of plants and orchids.

They used to charge an entrance fees of Php 100 general public , Php 50 students and seniors at P60. Additional fees: rock wall climbing at P50 and fishing at P25.

pavilion

This was a restaurant ( Lush Life)  and an art gallery several years ago .

Ifugao house- This area used to be covered with hundreds of terete vandas, mokaras, kagawaras before it closed down .

man made waterfall , rock climbing and concrete bridge

For the children and young adults, there is the Rocky Trail, which has a facility for sport wall-climbing. They can also go fishing at the Mystic Lagoon where bamboo poles can be rented.

golden tilapia

wedding set-up by Hizon Catering

The place is a favorite place for  pre-nuptial , weddings, photographers , students and young artists.

hanging bridge – was built mid-2008 and is popular among school children

kalesa carriages

I have also donated several clumps of sanggumays and fairy sanggumays in mid- 2008 before the Orchidarium closed-down for several years due to management issues .

colorful painted jeepney greets the visitor

The management of the place was initially offered to different NGO groups and plant societies but because of financial constraints and lack of resources , It was turned over to Nayong Pilipino sometime in 2012 .

The Orchidarium name was changed to Nayong Pilipino is a cultural theme park .  Asie from the usual attractions like man-made lagoon and different plants. There are interesting display of Philippine attractions like Ifugao hut , kalesas and roving exhibition.

The place can be rented out for weddings, debuts, garden events, pictorials, photo shoot and events.

Address: Orchidarium Rizal Park, Ermita Metro Manila, Ermita, Manila

Update : As of October 15, 2016 – Entrance Fees: Adults Php 40 and Students Php 30

Operating Hours: Mon – Sun, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Contact numbers: 405-0279 (telefax); 405-0377 , 525-0601, 405-0198, 405-0309 Email address: np.orchidarium@gmail.com

Note: Photos are from the author ,to those who wish to grab the copy for any purposes, Please try to link or cite this page .