After visiting the Poas Volcano National Park we stopped at this delightful place. So much more to see here than just waterfalls . Although the entrance fee of $45 is high, you could easily spend four hours wandering through the bird aviary, butterfly sanctuary, orchid garden, monkey and cat areas and much more. The caged animals have been rescued and cared for so that seeing toucans confined to small spaces as well as many others was understandable.
I don’t visit zoos as a matter of principle.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens was on the schedule for one of our days of tours. It provides an opportunity to see and learn about nature of Costa Rica. It is both a zoological and botanical attraction with the beauty of the waterfalls included.
The layout makes it easy to walk through the different sections and have close up views of displays and rescue animals that they have, such as insect displays, butterflies, birds (including macaws and toucans), hummingbirds, snakes, frogs, sloths, monkeys, and a variety of jungle cats. There are walkways that take you along the waterfalls so that you get good views.
There is a restaurant on the grounds but I can't say anything about it as we did not eat there.
Not sure if there are other attractions like this in Costa Rica, but we were glad this was one of our stops.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens is a most visited privately owned ecological attraction in Costa Rica near the Poas volcano. It features some famous Costa Rican waterfalls, an animal sanctuary with over 100 species of animals and an environmental education program.
Located about an hour north of San Jose and but only an hour return drive if you have a rental vehicle....through the mountains, passing coffee plantations and stunning views all the way!
We spent about 6 hours (we could have stayed longer!) including driving as we visited La Paz Waterfall Gardens near Vara Blanca.
This place was amazing! Not only is there plenty of wildlife, but 5 waterfalls on a walk through the rain forest. We were in the enclosure with the sloths, an aviary with Toucans and Macaws, a hummingbird garden with literally hundreds of hummers.
Of our 7 days in Costa Rica, this was on the top of my list! Highly Recommended for family (including young children!). There is also a restaurant and snack bar with tasty CR delights!
All animals in enclosures at this sanctuary are said to be rescues.
Whilst the humming birds and frogs were kept reasonably well, it was very sad to see the cats in very small cages, pacing up and down. There is no justification for this. Large birds were also in cages. Not so much a rescue/rehabilitation centre as a zoo. Not impressed
This is about Tortillas Restaurant in La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
Monday, January 7, 2019. My wife, a foreign friend invited to meet the beauties of Costa Rica for the first time and I made a successful and pleasant visit to the Poas Volcano and then to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. We thought it was a good idea lunch here, at Tortillas Restaurant, because the atmosphere was cozy and we were tired and hungry. The restaurant had only occupied a table with eight people, plus ours. We sat down, they immediately brought us the menu, we ordered the drinks (two glasses of water and a strawberry smoothie) and the food. After 25 minutes they had not brought the drinks, nor the ones for the other table. We had to urge for drinks because we were thirsty. The dishes appeared almost 45 minutes or more after we sat down.
My wife ordered "Fajitas mixed with melted cheese", the appearance was not appetizing, My wife was about to choke on a piece of silver-skin. She cut another piece and offered me a bite and I could not eat it because it was also silver-skin. In short, the plate was inedible and she left it intact. The strawberry smoothie was not frozen, but water with a pale pink color, despite being in the area of greatest strawberry harvest.
Our friend asked for "Chicken 'a las brasas'." On the plate came two pieces of grilled chicken with a greenish, opaque color, cold and dry and shrunken. She tried to eat it. She tried a part of one piece and then the other. In total he ate less than a quarter and left the plate inedible. The worst is that it caused indigestion with several diarrheas and vomiting at midnight. The next day she could not eat and only ingested an electrolyte solution to rehydrate and a broth. Clarification: after the lunch attempt in the restaurant she only took a digestive infusion at dusk in the house.
I opted for "Casado La Paz with fish". Everything on the plate was cold and did not seem fresh, the salad was microscopic and the fish had a slight mud taste.
We called the Chef and showed her the plate of my wife and our friend's. The Chef and the waiter apologized and said they would not charge for these services. The Chef also said that she was not responsible for the poor quality because she limited herself to cooking with the products that were delivered to her. What???!!!
An unfortunate end to a day that began excellent both in the volcano and in the gardens, where all the people who attended us were friendly and very helpful.
I do not understand so much disaster in the restaurant.
