Orchid Botanical Garden

Orchids are one of the most mysterious flowers. Learn all about them at the Orchid Botanical Garden in Costa Rica. You’ll get the chance to visit the orchid lab where they create most of the flowers on the property. The showroom is filled with blooming orchids year-round but is most impressive January, February and March.

Location

The Tarcoles River

The Tarcoles River forms the northern border of the Carara Biological Reserve and helps irrigate important agricultural areas of Costa Rica. It’s pretty polluted but the main attraction makes it even less appealing for swimming in. The Tarcoles has one of the highest populations of crocodiles in the entire world with 25 crocodiles per square kilometer. Take a tour to see them sunbathing or swimming along side the boat. You’re also likely to see a wide rang of bird species including heron and egrets, crested caracas, roseate spoonbills, scarlet macaws and more.

Location

Poas Volcano Crater

Poas is one of Costa Rica’s most active volcanoes making it a popular tourist site. Thousands of people visit every year and the national park has made it easily accessible. To reach Poas, you need only follow a paved road to the wheelchair accessible visitor’s center, which is very near the top. The main crater is just a 15-minute walk from there.

Location

Barra Honda National Park

This is a national park unlike any other. The main attraction is a system of limestone caves that have naturally formed over the millenniums. They were explored for the first time in the 1960s and only 19 of the 42 caves have yet been surveyed. For a long time, people believed Barra Honda was a volcano. Why? They misinterpreted the whirling of bat wings for volcanic activity. If that doesn’t creep you out, be sure to visit the park about a half an hour after sunset and you’ll see nearly 5,000 bats pour out of the caves and fly out into the night.

Location

Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles

The story behind this basilica begins on August 2, 1635. A woman found La Negrita—a small, probably indigenous representation of the Virgin Mary—in this exact spot and took it home. As the story goes, the statue miraculously reappeared in back where she’d found it. Twice. So she and the townspeople built a home for La Negrita right where she was found. In 1824, La Negrita was declared the patron Virgin of Costa Rica.

Location