I think that a lot of people have heard of Shangri La from the book that was written in 1933. Since then everyone has been on the quest to find such a place to live or simply visit. For those that are not like Indiana Jones there is a place in Orange, Texas called
Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center. This is as close to Shangri La as you could possibly get. With over 300 types of plants this is a sight to see. There are botanical rooms upon rooms displaying the floral beauty that will certainly bring pleasure and even an inner sense of peace while strolling through these gardens.
In February of this year the Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center was one of the 50 garden centers like this to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's Platinum Certification for LEED®-NC. This is world wide. The only one in Texas to earn this also. What this certification shows is that they have built this garden and the foundation out of green materials. Saving 70% of energy in running the project. Everything meeting the criteria of being green. Recycling down to the cement that they used which contains 41% fly ash as a substitute for Portland cement. You should really take a look at this particular page on the web site to find out more about the way this was built. I was struck by the plastic bags and the millions it would take. Amazing.
There is so many things to do here. There are educational tours and of course regular tours. Walking through this is spectacular. They have re-built a lot of the gardens since they were devastated by Katrina in 2005so what they have managed to re-build in the 3 years is also out of this world.
The site is absolutely wonderful. There is a great photo gallery where you can take a visual tour of the gardens. Especially nice for those that may not be able to travel to Texas to see this in person. There is so much information on the beginning of the gardens, the building and what is planned in the future. I bookmarked this site as there was so much to read that it will take a while to get through it all. I loved the pictures.
So if you are thinking about planning a vacation and want to find Shangra La, this is the place to visit!
