Top Pick Parks & Gardens Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal From 1968 until 2010, Volcán Arenal was an ever-active and awe-striking natural wonder, producing menacing ash columns, massive explosions and streams of glowing molten rock almost daily...
Top Pick Lakes, Rivers & Waterfalls Viento Fresco Driving between Monteverde and Arenal, there is no good excuse for skipping this stop...
Nature & Wildlife Arenal EcoZoo This snake house offers a hands-on animal experience, as in, handling and milking a venomous snake...
Lakes, Rivers & Waterfalls Catarata Río Fortuna You can glimpse the sparkling 70m ribbon of clear water that pours through a sheer canyon of dark volcanic rock arrayed in bromeliads and ferns with minimal sweat equity...
Parks & Gardens Ecocentro Danaus This center, 4km east of town, has a well-developed trail system that’s good for birding, as well as for spotting mammals such as sloth, coati and howler monkey...
Nature & Wildlife El Castillo-Arenal Butterfly Conservatory More than just a butterfly conservatory (although it has one of the largest butterfly exhibitions in Costa Rica)...
Parks & Gardens Arenal Natura Located 6km west of La Fortuna, this is a well-manicured nature experience that includes frogs, turtles, snakes and crocs, all in their appointed places. The birdlife is also prodigious here...
Parks & Gardens Mirador El Silencio Set on 555 acres, this private reserve about 11km west of La Fortuna is a mix of primary and secondary forest, filled with life, from vibrant blue morpho butterflies to three species of monkeys, plus a wide variety o...