Come face to face with 50 species of reptiles and amphibians, including poison-dart frogs, rattlesnakes, crocs and turtles. The star attraction is a gigantic 80kg Burmese python. In addition, you'll see every freshwater turtle Costa Rica has to offer, plus a butterfly garden. It's 200m north of the cemetery.
Snake Garden
Sarapiquí Valley
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
14.4 MILES
This polished storybook garden complex just east of Volcán Poás offers the most easily digestible cultural experience in the Central Valley and is the…
Catarata del Toro & the Blue Falls
14.7 MILES
Find a beautiful 90m-tall waterfall that cascades into a volcanic crater (free for overnight guests) and two trail options through virgin forest (one 4…
23.92 MILES
In front of the Church of San Rafael, this park was a normal plaza until the 1960s, when a gardener named Evangelisto Blanco became inspired to shave the…
29.37 MILES
About 10km west of Alajuela is this well-designed animal park with more than 115 species of bird on colorful, squawking display. The tranquil 14-hectare…
28.48 MILES
It’s an animal rescue center. It’s a volunteer project. It’s Spanish classes. This community-based organization is doing a lot of good, and you can…
27.14 MILES
About 7km southeast of Grecia, north of Tacares and Flores, are two gorgeous waterfalls and a swimming hole surrounded by shaded areas and picnic tables…
27.34 MILES
More than a decade ago, Leslie Howle and her husband, Jorge Murillo, started taking in sick and injured toucans. The couple eventually ended up with a…
17.3 MILES
Here's your chance to get frighteningly close to this extremely active volcano, which last erupted in 2017. At an elevation of 2708m, the mighty Poás is…
Nearby Sarapiquí Valley attractions
0.03 MILES
Father and son Dave and Dave greet all comers to this 4.5-hectare reserve on the Río Sarapiquí, 200m north of the cemetery. You don't have to be a birder…
10.77 MILES
Down a rugged road and across the hanging bridge is home to more than 80 varieties of heliconias, tropical flowers, plants and trees. The two-hectare…
13.13 MILES
The frogs hop free in this lovely tropical garden, a perfect habitat for more than 28 species. On bilingual guided tours you’re likely to see old…
14.4 MILES
This polished storybook garden complex just east of Volcán Poás offers the most easily digestible cultural experience in the Central Valley and is the…
5. Catarata del Toro & the Blue Falls
14.7 MILES
Find a beautiful 90m-tall waterfall that cascades into a volcanic crater (free for overnight guests) and two trail options through virgin forest (one 4…
6. Parque Nacional Volcán Poás
17.3 MILES
Here's your chance to get frighteningly close to this extremely active volcano, which last erupted in 2017. At an elevation of 2708m, the mighty Poás is…
7. Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco
18.69 MILES
This little-visited national park is where five of Costa Rica's major rivers originate. The 143-sq-km reserve has a sizable but little maintained trail…
8. Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo
21.57 MILES
Enter this underexplored national park and you will have an idea of what Costa Rica looked like prior to the 1950s, when 75% of the country’s surface area…