La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Nature park with waterfalls and animal exhibits in Varablanca, Costa Rica

La Paz Waterfall Gardens is a nature sanctuary in Varablanca's forests featuring five cascading waterfalls and over 100 native animal species within protected cloud and rainforest land. The site offers pathways through varied forest environments and enclosures for viewing animals.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens opened in 2000 as a 28-hectare park landscape near Vara Blanca, combining rainforest, cloud forest and five waterfalls. Its butterfly garden, with more than 25 species kept in changing combinations, was part of the park from the start rather than a later addition.

The aviary holds more than thirty bird species, including parrots, toucans, barbets and tanagers; the birds were illegally captured by hunters and confiscated by the government or surrendered by former owners. The serpentarium keeps pit vipers, coral snakes, boas and colubrids, while the ranarium displays over twenty frog and toad species such as poison dart frogs, glass frogs and tree frogs. La Paz also houses white-faced capuchins and black-handed spider monkeys.

The facility is less than an hour from San José and is open daily with self-guided trails and information stations throughout. You can explore the different forest areas at your own pace without needing scheduled tours or fixed timings.

The location sits at higher elevations where cloud forest and tropical rainforest merge, creating its own climate zone. This geography lets visitors experience two different forest environments on short walks.