Pura Vida Gardens & Waterfalls
Central Pacific Coast
Just before the village of Bijagual, this private botanical garden offers great vistas of Manantial de Agua Viva cascading down the side of a cliff, and…
Must-see attractions in Central America
León & Northwestern Nicaragua
This is Chinandega’s most important church, with a splendid Stations of the Cross, lots of gilt and some Russian Orthodox styling that have earned it the…
The Road to Chirripó
A garden designed specifically for birdwatching and photography. Feeders and fruits attract the birds to viewing platforms, while trails wind through the…
Museo de la Palabra y La Imagen
San Salvador
This innovative museum examines the history of El Salvador's civil war (1981–1992), beginning with the long-term context of the 1920s struggle for…
Caribbean Coast
Set in the former home of a prolific local painter, this museum provides a window into what it was like to live in Bilwi in the good old days. There are…
Western Honduras
Around 20km south of the Lago de Yojoa is the entrance to the Cuevas de Taulabé, a network of underground caves with unusual stalactite and stalagmite…
Northern Highlands
Surrounded by ethereal cloud forest, La Bujona is a wide wall of water that crashes over the rock face in various streams. It feels far from civilization…
Reserva Biológica Lomas de Barbudal
Northwestern Costa Rica
Forming a cohesive unit with Palo Verde, the 26 sq m Lomas de Barbudal is an option for more off-the-beaten-track independent hiking. You can explore the…
Dangriga
This museum, operated by the National Garifuna Council (NGC), is a must for anyone interested in the vibrant Garifuna people. It brings together artifacts…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
Just a quick trip across the bay, this small beach offers a prime view of Golfito, with the rainforest as a backdrop. It's a pleasant spot to spend the…
Museo Histórico Cultural Juan Santamaría
Central Valley & Highlands
In a century-old structure that has served as both jail and armory, this museum chronicles Costa Rican history from early European settlement through the…
Parque Naciones Unidas El Picacho
Tegucigalpa
This small hilltop park 6km from downtown has busy walking trails, but the main reason to visit is to stand at the feet of the approximately 20m high El…
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…
Península de Azuero
At the Hacienda San Isidro near Pesé, 23km southwest of Chitré, Varela Hermanos, the country's largest seco (alcoholic drink made from sugarcane)…
Panajachel
Pana's cultural center started life as one of the first hotels on the lake, built by a Swedish countess in 1948. Now it holds a radio station, Japanese…
Cayo District
The small but powerful Big Rock Falls on Privassion Creek are, for many, more impressive than the Thousand Foot Falls – not least because you can get up…
Rancho La Merced National Wildlife Refuge
Uvita
Opposite the turnoff to Oro Verde, a few kilometers before Uvita, is this 506-hectare national wildlife refuge (and former cattle ranch), with primary and…
San Juan Del Sur
There's a spectacular petroglyph not far from town, depicting an enormous and elaborate hunting scene carved perhaps 1500 years ago. To find it, walk…
Nicaragua
This crescent-shaped islet off the north coast of Isla Zapatera has perhaps the most impressive expanse of petroglyphs carved into a 95m-by-25m expanse of…
Museo Nacional de Antropología David J Guzmán
San Salvador
This worthwhile museum has an excellent range of Maya and Olmec (pre-Maya) statues and relics from ancient Cuscatlan, as well as Lenca artifacts from…
Veraguas Province
There’s a lovely swimming hole on this river about a 20-minute walk from town. Head northeast along the road past the Coffee Mountain Inn on the way to El…
The Pacific Slope
Facing La Democracia's main plaza – along with the expected church and palacio municipal (city hall) – is this small modern museum that houses some…
Copán Ruinas
The sapos (toads) are old Maya stone carvings, set along a hiking trail in the hills next to Hacienda San Lucas (they'll give you a map). The site is…
Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio
Northwestern Costa Rica
The park's heavenly blue river, waterfalls and lagoons are among the most spectacular natural phenomena in Costa Rica; as a result, the park is known to…
Alta & Baja Verapaz
These caves go for more than 1km into the earth, although chances are you won't get taken that far. A river runs through the cave (you have to wade…
Museo de Ciencias Naturales La Salle
San José
Ever wanted to see a spider-monkey skeleton or a herd of stuffed tapirs? This natural-history museum near Parque La Sabana's southwest corner has an…
Iglesia y Convento de la Compañía de Jesús
Panama City
In Panamá Viejo, the Jesuits arrived a decade or so after Dominican friars and built Iglesia y Convento de la Compañía de Jesús, whose stone ruins are…
Academia de Costumbres y Tradiciones Gabriel Villarreal
Península de Azuero
A local training ground for young festival artists, the Academy of Customs & Traditions Gabriel Villarreal offers classes in dancing, mejorana (a kind of…
Liberia
Wildebeests, zebras, giraffes and other African animals are right at home in the dry Guanacaste heat, as you can see at this private wildlife reserve. The…
El Salvador
Geologic oddity Cascadas Los Tercios tumbles over a cliff of tightly packed hexagonal stone spires. The waterfall underwhelms when water is low (often),…
Parque Metropolitano La Sabana
San José
Once the site of San José’s main airport, this 72-hectare green space at the west end of Paseo Colón is home to a regional art museum, a lagoon and…
Granada
Used between 1876 and 1922, this beautiful cemetery on Granada's outskirts has lots of picturesque mausoleums and tombs, including those of six Nicaraguan…
Central Valley & Highlands
This now-ruined church was built in 1575 as a shrine to St James the Apostle. It was destroyed by the 1841 earthquake, rebuilt a few years later and then…
Parque Nacional Montaña de Santa Bárbara
Western Honduras
Parque Nacional Santa Bárbara is an isolated national park containing Honduras’ second-highest peak, Montaña de Santa Bárbara (2744m), plus extensive…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
This vibrant botanical garden is the product of 40 years of effort and off-the-grid living by an expat couple, who once cultivated cacao here. Nowadays,…
San José
This Spanish-style structure served as San José’s main airport terminal until 1955. The remodeled museum features regional art, a sculpture garden, a huge…
Northwestern Costa Rica
Climb up the steep staircase behind La Casona to reach a lookout point with a stunning view of three volcanoes. The monument itself was built to honor the…
Northern Highlands
Both coffee enthusiasts and nature lovers will be enamored with this fantastic private reserve with comfortable cabañas (dorm/room per person including…
Guatemala City
The university's small yet packed Museo de Historia Natural is at the same site as the Universidad de San Carlos' botanical garden, which is also included…
Veraguas Province
This vast, mountainous park covers 726 sq km of pristine wilderness, extending from the northern edge of Santa Fé to the Cordillera Central, and includes…
