Jardín Botánico Lankester

Tip

Come in the morning and plan about two hours. Tickets run about US$15 for foreign adults, so check the current price before you go.

Be careful

Trails are slippery after rain, so wear closed shoes. Bring a light rain jacket in the green season.

Places nearby

• Jardín Botánico Lankester (University of Costa Rica)Parks & WildlifeUniversity of Costa Rica botanical garden founded in 1973, famous for its orchid and epiphyte collections, plus a Japanese garden, bromeliads, heliconias and palms along shaded paths.
• La Tortillería (Cartago)Food & CoffeeCartago branch of a tortilla-based restaurant: freshly made tortillas topped or stuffed Costa Rican style, from tortilla de queso and chorreadas to the torticasado and pintortilla with gallo pinto.
• Finca Cristina (coffee farm and store)Parks & Wildlife · from $25Family coffee farm above the Orosi valley with a 90-minute plantation tour and tasting three days a week, a farm store, and a conservation area known for birds and other wildlife.
• Cafetería 1743 & SouvenirFood & CoffeeCozy café-restaurant by the sports plaza in Orosí village, named after the 1743 colonial church nearby, serving coffee from the valley, cheese tortillas, sandwiches, pasta and homemade pastries, with a garden terrace.
• La Casona del Cafetal (restaurant on Lake Cachí)Food & CoffeeLakeside restaurant (part of a small hotel) on a coffee estate above Cachí reservoir, with a large covered terrace over the water and traditional Costa Rican cooking such as gallo pinto.
• Termales Hacienda OrosiYoga & WellnessThermal pools at different temperatures set in a coffee estate above the Orosi valley, with day and night passes, a restaurant, a small farm and a self-guided coffee trail.