Must-see attractions in Monteverde & Santa Elena

  • Costa Rica, Puntarenas province, Monteverde, Butterfly Garden

    Butterfly Garden

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    Head here for everything you ever wanted to know about butterflies. There are four gardens representing different habitats; they're home to more than 40…

  • El Arbol Hueco

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    There's no sign, no website, and last we checked, nobody was collecting any money for this delightful roadside attraction. It's simply a hollowed-out fig…

  • Ranario

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    Returning to its former glory as the Ranario, or Frog Pond (it's changed names a few times), this place also features an insect house. The frogs are still…

  • Ladys Slipper (Cypripedium calceolus) orchid.

    Jardín de Orquídeas

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    This sweet-smelling garden in Santa Elena has shady trails winding past more than 500 types of orchids. On your guided tour, you’ll see such rarities as…

  • Eyelash Viper, Bothriechis schlegelii, in tree, Costa Rica

    Herpetarium Adventure

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    For those who prefer their reptiles under glass (or at least behind it), a guide will show you around and introduce you to more than 50 species of…

  • Friends Meeting House

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    This simple meeting house in Monteverde is the ‘church’ of the American Society of Friends, or the Quakers, who first settled this area and committed to…

  • Bat Jungle

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    The Bat Jungle in Monteverde is a small but informative exhibit, with good bilingual educational displays and a habitat housing almost 100 free-flying…

  • Iglesia

    Monteverde & Santa Elena

    A local landmark in the center of Santa Elena. The adjacent roasted-chicken shack apparently has no religious affiliation.

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