Photo: Japanese Garden-Lankester Botanical Garden

Costa Rica has several botanical gardens open to the public; the country’s privileged location and climate allow for a great variety of plants. Although there are many botanical gardens distributed in different areas of the country, here we mention three botanical gardens that are within the metropolitan area and are certainly worth the visit:

Lankester Botanical Garden: Probably the most popular botanical garden in Costa Rica, Lankester garden is located in Cartago, it began as the personal project of Charles H. Lankester, a native from Britain that became interested in the study of plants in Costa Rica, he created his own garden,after he passed away his family felt it was important to preserve his work, therefore his garden was donated to the University of Costa Rica in 1973 with the condition of turning it into a botanical garden. This 11 hectares garden is home to over 3,000 species of plants, the majority orchids and bromeliads. A relaxing Japanese garden is also found here.

Else Kientzler Botanical Garden: Located in Sarchí, this beautiful place is ideal for a family day trip; it features beautiful gardens, relaxing surroundings, playground and rest areas; there is a good reason many choose this place to host their private events, weddings, birthdays, photoshoots, etc, the impeccable landscaping is worthy of admiration and the energy here helps get rid of the stress.

Orchid Garden La Garita: Gorgeous gardens in La Garita, Alajuela, showcase a large variety of orchids, and other plants. Natural trails, gardens, exhibits, and much more, different species of birds are attracted by the rich flora found here, stopping at one of the rest places to just watch and listen is certainly a nice change of pace from our regular noisy surroundings.