Nature

La Paz Waterfall Gardens is the most visited private ecological reserve of Costa Rica. It offers beautiful paths and the most famous waterfalls of the country, including the famous La Paz Waterfall. Furthermore, the waterfall gardens have a rescue center and private wildlife refuge with more than 100 species.

While doing the hike on the paths, you will find 5 incredible waterfalls with access to various platforms with views from above, below and in front of the waterfalls, offering the possibility to take beautiful photo´s.

The park has waterfalls closest to San José and the Poás Volcano. On the platform of the Magia Blanca Waterfall, you can position yourself behind the waterfall. There are various angles and great photo opportunities from the El Templo Waterfall and the Encantada Waterfall. La Paz Waterfall Gardens is an attraction that you should visit when you find yourself in the Poás Volcano area!

FELINES
While visiting the feline exhibition, you can be face to face with a 200 pound jaguar through security glass. Through this educational experience you will discover interesting information about the six feline species in the American Tropics. The Breñero Lion loves playing and showing off his agility and speed. The pumas jump around in their habitat and come to greet our guests, the jaguar couple love doing things together: playing and cuddling. Here you will see five of the six dangerous feline species in extinction in Central America.

The center has previously lost its funding and had the close. MINAE (the Ministry of Environment of Costa Rica) did not have the resources to care for the 35 cats so they were placed under the care of La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Some of the cats were very old, were injured or had been exposed to humans for too long, so they could not be returned to their natural environment. Their mission is to preserve the genetic information of the species of wild cats in Costa Rica.

Please be aware that they are totally against the acptivity or commercialization of wild animals.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN
The laboratory located in the same butterly garden is the center of reproduccion of more than 25 species of butterlies in Costa Rica. They will offer an interesting perspective of all the different stages of the butterfly´s life. With more than 4.000 of these creatures flying around at the same time in the butterfly garden it is very probable that one of these will land on your shoulder or hand.

At the laboratory you will get to see from up close how butterflies emerge from their cocoons, as well as the other stages of their growth and development.

Costa Rica houses a great diversity of tropical creatures, and this same diversity is reflected in the variety and abundance of all butterflies. Approximately 90% of the butterfly species existing in Central America can be found in Costa Rica, of which 66% neo-tropical and around 18% of all butterfly species around the world.

The butterfly garden permits the visitors to see the butterflies mating and laying eggs. Moreover the educational center and videos explain to detail the circle of life of the butterfly and their metamorphosis. 

AVIARY
Toucans, wild turkeys, scarlett mcaws, cardinals, tanagers and more fly freely in the aviary. This is the perfect country for bird watchers, so you will see some of the most exotic and colorful birds of Costa Rica without using binoculars! The Aviary is a refuge for birds that have been held captive illegally by hunters and confiscated by the government. 

At the rescue center the toucans are part of the aviary, and you will be able to take a few photos with one of the toucans on your hand. When you walk in, they will fly and land on your arm, but don´t be scared, they are very gentle!

Here, visitors find excellent opportunities to observe birds, within the aviary like you were in the forest at the home of the birds. The mountain zone where they are located is also an important pathway for migratory species that emigrate to different altitudes searching for trees that are producing fruits. There is also an area where many bird species cross to go either north or are heading south through the forest.

HUMMINGBIRDS
Our hummingbird garden houses 26 species of hummingbirds, more species than anywhere in Costa Rica and possibly the world. According to different studies, approximately 57 different humminbird species can be seen in Costa Rica, and possibly more than 40% of these species can be seen here. This is why you can come as close as centimetres to the bird feeders where the birds are used to humans. Therefore, this place is perfect to take photographs. If you come before 9:00 am or after 4:00pm, you can feed the hummingbirds from the palm of your hand with our special manual feeder designed in the shape of a flower.

MONKEYS

Spider monkeys and capuchins are having fun while climing and balancing on the trees of the Paso de los Monos. Above, below and beside you they will delight you with their antics. And don´t forget our Brazillian friends: the common marmoset! All of these monkeys have been passed on to us by the MINAE and have been confiscated from people that were keeping them illegally. Many of these cases, the animals have been mistreated and were on the point of dying when they were brought here. They have rehabilitated them and combined in social groups where they have made a new family.

The educational part of the tour provides information about behavior, reproduction, survival and the future of these monkeys in Costa Rica.

SERPENTARIUM
In the serpentarium 30 of the most beautiful and deadly snakes of Costa Rica are exhibited. This exhibition gives you the opportunity to be face to face with the famous oxkiller, velvet snake, green vine snake and rattle snake, just to name a few. The serpentarium is one of the few in the world that houses the colorful but very venemous sea snake that can be found on the Pacific Coast of Central America.

FROG POND

The best place to view frogs in Costa Rica is the large frog pond where frogs move freely in an ambience designed after their natural habitat. Because you are not viewing the frogs from behind a glass, it is ideal to take photos. The educational center and expert guides will offer all extensive information about frogs in Costa Rica.

CASITA DE LA PAZ

Admire how life was 100 years back in the Casita de La Paz. The reproduction of a historical house in Costa Rica was constructed using only tools that were available for a farmer a century ago. Travel through the past and try typical Costa Rican food such as fresh milk (straight from the cow), a trip on the oxcart, try freshly made tortillas and see how it was living and working like a tico in the rural areas back in the days.

The architectural design is based on a frequently used style in Central America during the past century. The roof has authentic mud shingles brought from Nicaragua that were manufactured more than 400 years ago. The origin of this type of roof can be found in meditarrenean Europe and was brought to the New World by the Spanish. The bases were made manually by grinding and shaping volcanic rocks.