Lankester Gardens and Orosi Valley: ( Half Day)
About an hour's drive southeast of San José, just beyond the town of Paraíso, lies this splendorously scenic valley. Taking the road towards Orosi will bring you to a lookout point on the valley rim that is well worth a stop for the panoramic view of the valley below.
Some 600 of the country's 1,400 native orchid species are kept in this 11 ha. garden administered by the University of Costa Rica. This was one of three orchid collections amassed during the early part of the 20th century by Charles Lankester, a British coffee plantation supervisor who was duly impressed by the tremendous variety of orchids he found on the trunks and branches of forest trees that were being felled to make way for more coffee plantations throughout the interior valleys and slopes. Although he did nothing to protect the forests (nor did anybody else in those days), his orchid collections formed a basis for the study and appreciation of these beautiful plants.
Departures Once a day. Around 8:30 am.
Duration 7 hours
Frequency Daily
Includes guided transportation, lunch and entrance fee
Recommended Comfortable shoes, light jacket and camera
