La Paz Waterfall Gardens – Central Highlands Region of Costa Rica

The splendid gardens of La Paz are located on the slopes of the Poas volcano, just an hour from San Jose, in the central highlands. This area is rich in bio diversity thanks to an altitude of that varies between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, allowing for both

cloud forest and rain forest to co-exist. Be prepared for a truly magical experience. Here, visitors will find the largest butterfly observatory in the world, hummingbird and bromeliad gardens, a serpentarium, frog pond, and 5 striking waterfalls

Hotels in La Paz Waterfall

Things to Do

Getting to La Paz Waterfall

Driving Distances

Arenal

103km

Monteverde

155km

Manuel Antonio

196km

Alajuela - SJO Int'l

28km

Arenal

103km

Nearby Attractions

Juan Castro Blanco National Park

70km

Poas Volcano National Park

14km

Braulio Carrillo National Park

64km

493 Visitor Ratings

Culture

Experience

Nature

Representation

Safety

Touristy

Amongst the lush rainforest, flowers, and colorful birds lay three kilometers of paved trails that wrap around these remarkable waterfalls. The platforms along the trail afford you the luxury of viewing the waterfalls from above, below, and center while being misted by its spray. Trails follow along the La Paz River and begin at the welcome center where you proceed to the hummingbird garden.

The hummingbird garden is home to twenty four species of these vibrantly colored little creatures. Feeders are dispersed throughout the garden, making it easy to observe their interactions and feeding habits. Next take a stroll through the exotic Orchid garden and into the Frog Pond. Here you'll find frogs like the poison dart frog and green leaf frogs. The Serpentarium hosts thirty different species of snakes found all over Costa Rica.

At La Paz Waterfall gardens you will not only experience the raw power of nature but also its softer side. This is home to the largest butterfly observatory in the world. The football field length enclosed structure allows the butterflies to soar freely amid their natural habitat. This is an amazing educational opportunity with on-site guides ready to answer any questions as well as to point out the harder to see things like eggs, caterpillars and illusively camouflaged butterflies.

Hungry anyone? Come fish in our trout lake where you can actually catch your own dinner if you choose. Otherwise calm your hunger at the big trout bar or dine at the Colibries restaurant where you'll find a variety of food.

La Paz Facilities

Butterfly observatory, Hummingbird garden, frog pond, serpentarium, trout lake lodging at the Peace Lodge, two restaurants, gift shop, an orchid terrace

Cloud Forest Waterfall

Comments

"Very safe! Not too touristy. Absolutely would suggest the area for nature lovers. Locals were friendly and helpful. Amazing experience. Very well described representation of the area."

Mar 2013

"We had a good time even in the rain"

Oct 2012

"Good for nature lovers. Little touristy but lots to see."

Nov 2012

"Lunch buffet was great. Enjoyed the animals"

Jun 2012

"Precioso. Un poco turistico pero las cataratas son preciosas. El volcan Poas cercano es increible."

Aug 2012

"We loved La Paz! It was a unique and beautiful experience. A little rainy, but scenic and lots to do here, my husband enjoyed the hummingbirds immensely, and the lodge was gorgeous. I have never been anywhere like this hotel."

Mar 2012

"This area was VERY hilly. Difficult to walk the whole park if you are not in shape. We loved the scenery and the waterfalls, but again 1-2 days was plenty."

Feb 2012

"beautiful! The only drawback was that we were there in the morning and we were a bit rushed. I would have liked to stayed another night!! "

Nov 2011

"Gorgeous place to visit. There is work still being done as they are recovering from the Earthquake. From what I am told we didn't actually see La Paz Waterfall because the road to it is closed. We saw 5 waterfalls while we were there...all beautiful. "

Feb 2012

"The Lodge is absolutely the place to stay, the gardens are fantastic, the birds, big cats, butterflies and so on are in a very well designed "zoo" in the middle of the rain forest valley very very nice.but nothing is perfect, so the restaurant at the Lodge is not up to the standard of the hotel and is too expensive, we trusted "fodors" and found the recommended restaurants and small places which were great, there are not too many of them but the locals were really really nice, of course when the language is not a barrier it helps.........One has to go to Poas Volcano, absolutely breath taking if you are lucky, go very early in fact be there at the opening of the park, you have to walk quite a bit so take water with you and a back pack, it is up in altitude and the clouds of the rain forest covers the crater most of the day and you cannot see much of anything, however in the early morning the sky is mostly clear, the moisture comes in the afternoon with the heat of the day....... at 8 am we had a complete and total view of the crater, with the sulfate fumes coming out and the view of the lava valley and so on, stay no more than 20 minutes ( sulfate fumes will overwhelm you) and then take a walk up to the lake and down to the rain forest trail....... if you do this at noon you'll probably miss a lot except for the tourists buses coming from San Jose. you absolutely need a 4x4 some of the roads are in really bad shape, there was an earthquake centered at Poas two years ago, landslides are still visible and some portion of the roads were washed away and never fixed, in my opinion it is part of the fun."

Jun 2011

"La Paz Waterfall Gardens was a spectacular place! We were awed by everything it had to offer. We would highly recommend it to everyone."

Jan 2011