Kitchener’s Island, known also as the Botanical Garden, is a 16-acre island in the Aswan archipelago located between Elephantine Island and the west bank of the Nile.
The island was given to Lord Kitchener as a thank-you for his services in the Sudan Campaign (1896-1898).
With the aid of the Ministry of Irrigation, Kitchener rapidly transformed the small island into a paradise of exotic trees and plants in carefully gardens with view walkways.
Later, It passed into the property of the Egyptian government and was used as a research station for examining different food and cash crops. Today a biological research station is located at the southern tip, which is closed to botanical garden visitors.
Kitchener’s Island is conisedred one of two major islands in the Aswan archipelago. The second island is Elephantine, which is much larger and located between Kitchener’s Island and the east bank of Aswan. Therefore, it is hard to see the smaller Kitchener’s Island from the city.
Tourists can relax in the wide-open spaces of this garden’s breathtaking natural beauty or wind through the extensive exhibit hall of subtropical exotic, and rare plantings.