La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park — Attraction in Sarapiquí

Absolutely fantastic. The park and gardens are located high in the mountains above San Jose accessed via a week paved but hilly and winding switchback road that offers stunning views with several vista points along the way. You will be at treetop level or above with unbelievable views of the mountains and countryside

The five waterfalls are incredible and accessed via relatively easy mostly paved paths within the park. Although the animals are caged there is a good variety to see including birds, snakes, jaguars and other cats, butterflies, frogs monkeys, cows, goats, rabbits, etc.

The grounds are beautiful and it's a great day trip from the SJO airport area that is well with the price of admission. We also did the extra trail that had water features and small falls even though they weren't started as being there.

We are in fairly good shape but were exhausted after 5+ hours. We did the 5 falls first, then viewed all the animals, then had lunch, and did the outer trail after that. My wife actually did that once twice because I rested as after eating and when she returned she told me I shouldn't miss it. It took another 30 minutes at the end for that trail but it was probably the best of them all as it went the deepest into the rain forest of all the trails.

WRT food, the buffet lunch option we added to our ticket was fine for the price we paid. There are also a la carte restaurants which probably would have had finer food choices but as I said, the buffet was acceptable. There also are what looked to be very nice accommodations, but I don't see why anyone would need to spend more...

This is one of the most beautiful and accessible waterfalls in Costa Rica, located within La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park in the Central Valley. It is about an hour’s drive from San José and is a popular destination for visitors looking to experience lush rainforests, waterfalls, and wildlife. Bring a poncho. You can purchase one on the way or pay a premium in the gift shop.

Here’s What to Expect at La Paz Waterfall Gardens

This privately owned ecological park features five waterfalls, cloud forest and rainforest trails, and a wildlife sanctuary with rescued animals. If you’re not into climbing stairs or up for a longer hike, you may want to stick to the wildlife sanctuary and hummingbird garden (really beautiful creatures).

Here are a few must visit highlights:

La Paz Waterfall – The most famous of the five waterfalls in the park, located along the roadside for easy viewing. Other Waterfalls – The park features additional waterfalls, including Templo, Magia Blanca, Encantada, and Escondida. Wildlife Sanctuary – Home to rescued animals such as jaguars, pumas, toucans, monkeys, and sloths. Hummingbird Garden – A special area where you can see dozens of hummingbird species up close. Butterfly Observatory – One of the largest in Costa Rica. Rainforest & Cloud Forest Trails – Well-maintained paths lead visitors through stunning...

Short summary; beautiful waterfalls but horrible animal conditions. All over the park it is stated that all wildlife in the park is rescued and can not live in the wild. Therefore they are here in this “sanctuary”. Yet if this is a sanctuary, a regular zoo can be considered to be the wild. The cages are extremely small, the animals have no place to hide or to be out of sight of the many humans that come to visit. The leopard was continuously looking around at the humans knocking on the glass and responded nervously and started making crying noises. The same applies to all other animals; the toucans were trapped in a trailer sized cage, where tens of tourists enter at the same time. The birds try to fly away as much as they can, but with such a limited space this is obviously impossible. I regret funding a place that treats animals as poorly as they do. I understand they can’t go back to the wild, but all animals require at least 10 times the amount of space they currently have (which is on par with regular zoo’s).

Then the positive; The waterfalls are amazing and the path towards it is very well maintained and easy to hike on. Amazing views and great photo moments are guaranteed. The two stars are for that, but for the animal treatment alone I would...