40105

Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Refugio de Vida Silvestre y Parque Natural La Paz Waterfall Gardens Costa Rica

La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica: located on the southern slope of Poas Volcano, where La Paz River forms one of Costa Rica’s most breathtaking waterfalls, La Paz Waterfall. This park aimed at preserving and exhibiting the country’s diverse flora, fauna and history through its many observatories and gardens.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge is the most visited privately owned ecological attraction in Costa Rica, featuring the best hiking near San José, the most famous waterfalls in Costa Rica, rescued wildlife preserve with over 100 species of animals and an environmental education program.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge has over 3.5 km of walking trails and 10 animal exhibits to enjoy, where you can see the magic of the cloud forest and rain forest with lush vegetation with a large exhibit of orchids, heliconias and bromeliads, flowing clear rivers, five spectacular waterfalls, birds, butterflies and much more.

In fact, the park has the closest waterfalls to San Jose and Poas Volcano, being La Paz Waterfall the most famous waterfall in Costa Rica. However the best waterfalls, El Templo, Magia Blanca, Encantada and Escondida, are actually above the La Paz waterfall along a steep canyon, all with access to various platforms with afforded views from above, below and in front of falls, giving the opportunity for great waterfall photo opportunities. In addition to lush waterfalls, the La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge has:

Butterfly Garden

The park is home to the world’s largest butterfly sanctuary, with a laboratory that serves as a breeding ground for more than 25 species of butterflies from Costa Rica. This will provide an interesting perspective into the stages of development of the most colorful species, where you can closely watch how butterflies emerge from their cocoons as well as other growth stages and forms of mating. Here visitors will feel part of nature, with more than 4,000 of these beautiful creatures in all colors and sizes, some larger than the palm of your hand, flying around at the same time.

Hummingbird Garden

The Hummingbird Garden at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge attracts around 26 different species of hummingbirds from Costa Rica, more species than anywhere else in the country and quite possibly the world. Here you can stand just inches away from the feeders, and if you arrive before 9 am or after 4 pm you can feed them by hand with their specially designed hand feeding flower, as this hummingbirds have no fear of humans, making this garden, the best place in the world to photograph hummingbirds close up.

Aviary

The La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge Aviary is a refuge for wild birds that have been captured illegally by hunters and confiscated by the government, making it a bird watcher’s paradise, as you will see some of the most exotic and colorful birds of Costa Rica without binoculars, such as toucans, scarlet macaws, grosbeaks, tanagers, wild turkey and more fly freely around you!

Monkeys

Everybody wants to see monkeys when visiting Costa Rica, and La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge has the best natural habitats to photograph monkeys and interact with them. The park has White Faced monkeys and Spider monkeys, not forgetting the visitor from Brazil, the White Tufted Eared Marmosets. The park provides educational information insight into the behaviors, reproduction and future survival of these monkeys in Costa Rica (all of these monkeys were donated by the MINAE, the Costa Rican Ministry of Wildlife, and were confiscated from people who held them illegally).

Jungle Cats

Here you can also see face to face five out of the six endangered species of wild cats in Costa Rica, such as the Jaguarundi, margays, pumas, ocelots and jaguars.

Serpentarium

La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge Serpentarium exhibits 30 of the most beautiful and deadly snakes of Costa Rica. Here you will come face to face with such famous snakes as the Bushmaster, Terciopelo, Green Vinesnake, Golden Eyelash Viper and the colorful but venomous sea snake found off the Pacific Coast of Central America.

Frogs (Ranarium)

Without doubt, the La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge Ranarium is the best place to see frogs in Costa Rica, including the endangered poisonus dart frog, here frogs roam freely throughout their enclosure landscape. Because you are not looking at them through glass it is the perfect environment for taking photos of the frogs.

Casita de La Paz

This unique historical Costa Rican farmhouse reproduction was built using only the tools available to the average farmer a century ago, such as axes, hand saws, hand planers, picks and chisels. Here you can travel back in time and taste typical foods of Costa Rica including sample freshly made corn tortillas and fresh milk (right from the cow), take a ride in an ox-driven cart, in addition to be able to see how the Ticos lived and worked on rural farms, enjoying life as it was a hundred years ago in Costa Rica.

Since La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge is located within a cloud forest and a rain forest, it’s to imagine that the rain is a daily thing, receiving from 3500 to 3800 mm per year. This is why their paths were designed so that during walks visitors can stop and get cover. However, La Paz Waterfall Gardens offer raincoats and umbrellas for sale! (Keep in mind that the park ranges in altitude from 5,200 feet to 4,200 feet so it can get chilly when the clouds roll in.).

Please note that La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge is completely against the capture or trade of illegally confiscated animals and one day we will seek to release the offsprings of our cats into protected zones if a safe and reliable training program can be developed to do so.

Other nearby Costa Rica parks includes Poas Volcano National Park, Cerro Dantas National Wldlife Refuge, Jaguarundi National Wildlife Refuge and Braulio Carrillo National Park.

Getting to La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge:

Take the Pan-American Highway towards the Juan Santamaria International Airport and then take the Alajuela exit. Continue straight on this road for 12 miles following the signs for Poás Volcano. At the three-way intersection, where you see Jaulares Restaurant, take a right. Proceed for 1 mile to the town of Poasito and make another right at the intersection where it says Heredia – Varablanca – Sarapiqui. Make a left at the gas station in Varablanca and proceed for 3 miles. The hotel is on the left.

From Heredia take the main road passing the National University and follow the signs for the town of Barva. Upon reaching Barva follow the signs for the Poás Volcano – Varablanca – Sarapiqui. Proceed 25 miles following the signs for Poás Volcano until you reach the town of Varablanca. At the gas station make a right towards Sarapiqui and continue on this road for 3 miles until you see the hotel on your left.

By bus:

You can take a bus San Jose – Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí by Varablanca (Empresarios Guapileños, 2222-0610 / 2222-2727, 11th Av. Central St.) at 6:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m, which takes about 2 hours, making the stop at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge. You can also take this bus at the National University (UNA) in Heredia, or in Barva’s park, also in Heredia.

Location: 3 miles from Varablanca gas station, district: Varablanca, canton: Heredia, province: Heredia, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 40105.
GPS coordinates: 10.205097,-84.162233 (10°12’18.35″N, 84°09’44.04″W)
Size: 28 ha (70 acres)
Altitude: from 5,225 ft to 4,200 ft.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge Phone: +(506)2482-2720
Reservations Office Phone: +(506)2482-2100
Fax: +(506) 2482-1094
From U.S. Phone: +(954) 727-3997
From U.S. Fax: +(954) 727-3999
Schedule: open year round from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Peace Lodge Hotel: www.costaricainfolink.com/hotels/the-peace-lodge-hotel
Website: www.waterfallgardens.com

Address map: Click here to view directions from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), Alajuela, Costa Rica TO La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge in Heredia, Costa Rica.

Location: 20 km NE of the National University in Heredia, or 7km NE from el Monte de la Cruz, district: Varablanca, canton: Heredia, province: Heredia, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 40105.
Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge GPS Coordinates: 10.094386,-84.058647 (10°05’39.79″N, 84°03’31.13″W)
Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge entrance GPS Coordinates: 10.086671,-84.070988 (10°05’12.01″N, 84°04’15.55″W)
Size: 57 ha (141 acres)
Altitude: from 1500 to 2100 ( 4,920 to 6,800 feet) above sea level.
Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge Telephone: +506 2274-1997
Cellphone: +506 8354-9271 / +506 8866-7380
Central Volcanic Cordillera Conservation Area (ACCVC) Telephone: +506 2268-1587 / +506 2268-8091
INFOTUR Tourist Information: 1192

Address map: Click here to view directions from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), Alajuela, Costa Rica TO Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge in Heredia, Costa Rica at Google Maps

Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica: created on February 16th, 1998, to protect and contribute to initiatives, programs and research to preserve and maintain the natural resources surrounding the Cerro Chompipe in Heredia.

Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge wants to help create awareness about the importance of environmental protection, through the development and introduction of strategic educational programs to schools and visitors related to the investigations and research held by researchers at the refuge, enabling general and specific education to the country and its future generations, placing emphasis on the conservation of the countries and planets natural environments and resources.

With 57 hectars, the Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge has primarily and secondary cloud forests, which hosts many research projects of the varying disciplines, as well as university monitoring programs, located within the Central Volcanic Forest Reserve, at the south west borders of the Braulio Carrillo National Park.

The Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge is a rain forest with evergreen vegetation, with an abundance of epiphytes and mosses. It contains about 4000 different kinds of plants, among which stand out the Oak (Quercus costaricensis), Aguacatillo (Ocotea mollifolia), “Chile Muelo” (Drimys granadensis), “Arrayán blanco” (Weinmannia pinnata), “Lengua de Vaca” (Miconia tonduzii) and Poas Magnolia (Magnolia poasana). The topographical area consisting of hills and cliffs with various trails in which you can hike and appreciate the diverse types of trees, orchids, birds, springs and waterfalls.

Probably the most representative group of wildlife at Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge are birds, such as the Grey-breasted Wood-Wren (Henicorhina leucophrys), Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager(Chlorospingus pileatus), Common Bush-tanager (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus), Black-cheeked Warbler (Basileuterus melanogenys) and the Ruddy Treerunner (Margarornis rubiginosus). There are also other less common species such as the Collared Trogon (Trogon collaris), Black-faced Solitaire (Myadestes melanops), Golden-browed Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia callophrys), Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus), Brown Jay (Psilorhinus morio), Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).

Similarly been reported several species of mammals such as the Brown-throated Sloth (Bradypus variegatus),Tayra (Eira barbara), Common Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), Red Brocket (Mazama americana), Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi), as well as Kinkajou (Potos flavus) and Variegated Squirrels (Sciurus variegatoides). In regards to amphibians and reptiles, the sectors located on the slopes of Cerro Chompipe, researchers have found some interesting species, including jungle-runners (Ameiva), as well as the endemic Holdridge’s Toad (Bufo holdridgei), which also is included in the official list of wildlife species with small populations.

The Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge has an average temperature of 23ºC (75ºF), receiving some 3000 mm (150 inches) of rain annual average, which is distributed unevenly throughout the year. The precipitations are scarce during the dry season which lasts from December to April and has an average minimum rainfall during the month of January. On the other hand, rainfall increases during the rainy season which covers the period from May to November, being October the wettest month.

The Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge’s staff will feel glad to welcome the visitors who want to take the adventure of hiking this beautiful area. Due to regular climate changes it is recommend to always bring a rain coat and change of clothing, good hiking shoes, binoculars or a camera, water bottle and a plastic bag.

Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge offers the public a variety of activities to do such as ecotourism and educational activities, guided trails to waterfalls, Natural History Workshops (art with waste, art from the forest, open space classes about biodiversity and ecosystems, etc). Besides, with previous planning you can arrange activities for groups and special events such as weddings, company employee development and scouts training.

Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge has an administrative house, 6 rooms with capacity for up to 36 people, restrooms, showers with hot water, electricity and cell phone communication which can be limited due to weather conditions, as well as a dining area with fully equipped kitchen. Other nearby Costa Rica National Parks includes Jaguarundi Wildlife Refuge, La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park and Wildlife Refuge and Braulio Carrillo National Park.

Getting to Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge:

From San Jose, take the highway to Heredia City. From Costa Rica’s National University head north approximately 2 Km to San Rafael. From the NW corner of the towns main church, again head north for 5 km, past El Castillo country club and continue approximately 1 more kilometer. To your right look for a large wooden sign that says Refugio de Vida Silvestre Cerro Dantas, and continue NE for another 3 km. At this point there are places where your car can be left. There is one 3.5 km from the refuge, if you plan to stay the whole day or to sleep. The next place, located 700 m closer to the refuge, is a public area ideal if staying just a couple of hours.

The refuge must inform that they are not responsible for cars left here, but generally is a safe place to park. If you visit with a 4WD vehicle and are an experienced driver, you can continue down the trail towards the refuge 1.25 km further to the first gate you see, or rather back before the first bridge is fine.

BY BUS

Take a local bus from San Jose or Heredia to San Rafael (Buses Heredianos, +506 2222-8986), or take Ruta nº 424 bus from San José – Santo Domingo – San Pablo to San Rafael de Heredia (Transportes Rutas 407, +506 2261-8766). From San Rafael take another bus to Monte De La Cruz. You can catch this bus next to the big yellow church.

Take a bus from Heredia directly to Monte De La Cruz. This bus stops next to the National University. These buses come every hour and are bright purple and have Monte De La Cruz written on its front. You can also take a bus from the university to San Rafael and then go on to Monte De La Cruz from there.

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