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The Poas Volcano is located in the Central Range of Mountains, northwest from San Jose City at an elevation of aprox. 9000 feet. ( 2704 meters ) above sea level. You need aprox. a 2 hours drive to get to the National Park from San Jose. La Paz Waterfall Gardens is located on the Caribbean Slope in the same Range of Mountains, very close to the small towns Vara Blanca and Cariblanco. From the Poas Volcano to La Paz it takes aprox. 50 minutes by car.
On this tour we will visit first the Poas Volcano National Park and La Paz Waterfall Gardens afterwards. The tour starts from San Jose at the indicated pick up time at your hotel and will have a stop along the way at La Casa del Café. Here you can enjoy a cup of coffee ( not included ) and a close view to the coffee plantations of the area. Once reaching the National Park you will walk to the look out point of the main crater. You will have time to enjoy the magnificent view to this active crater and also you can hike up to the Botos Lake ( 30 minutes ) After the Poas Volcano we will continue the drive to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. At this place you can visit with your tour guide the Ave Zoo, the Butterfly Farm, the Hummingbird Gardens, the Snake and Frog Museum, the Orchid Garden and the typical house. án tiempo para hacer una caminata con su guía para poder disfrutar de las diferentes atracciones como el aviario, el mariposario, los comederos de colibríes, el serpentario, la casa típica y el ranario. After this you will continue your hike to admire and take pictures of the beautiful waterfalls and their exuberant surrounding forest. Buffet lunch at la Paz and return to San Jose around 3:00 an 4:00 p.m. Includes lunch, the entrance fee to the Poas National Park and to La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
Subconical in shape, the upper part has three caldera depressions. The main crater is an enormous hollow almost 2 km in diameter and 300 m deep. At the bottom of this crater there is a thermomineral lagoon some 350 m across. When it occasionally dries out, the sulphur emissions become more intense and produce acid rain that damages the vegetation and the fields on its sides. To the north of the active crater, there is the von Frantzius cone, the oldest eruption point, which today is inactive, on the peak of the massif. To the southwest, there is one cone called Botos, which is currently occupied by a very beautiful cold water lagoon some 400 m across. The volcano experiences plumiforme cyclical eruptions similar to those of a geyser, which consists of columns of muddly water together with steam that rise from a few meters to several kilometers. These eruptions have made Poas famous as the biggest geyser around the world. The park has four main habitats. One area around the crater is devoid of vegetation or with only a few adapted species like the paddle fern ( Elaphoglossum lingua ). The area of the arrayans ( Pernettya coriacea and Vaccinium poasanum ) is covered in dwarf vegetation that does grow over 3 m high. The stunted forest can be seen along the path between the main crater and Botos lagoon. It is almost impenetrable and is made up of very twisted trees. The cloud forest, very moist and shady, surrounds the Botos Lagoon and the part behind Potrero Grande. Here, most of the trees reach 20 m high and are almost completely covered of mosses, Hepaticae and other epiphytic plants Please wear sneakers, long or short pants. Please bring a sweater or windbreaker, rain gear, sun screen, camara and binoculars if possible.
Our Butterfly Observatory is the largest in the world. Spanning the length of a football field and reaching heights of 50 feet, this enclosed structure allows butterflies to soar freely while guests walk amid the natural habitat. Our Hummingbird Garden attracts 24 different species of the birds, more species than any other in Costa Rica and quite possibly the world. Approximately 57 different hummingbirds have been reportedly seen in Costa Rica and it is possible to see over 40% of them here! Hummingbirds are abundant around our feeders because they are in constant supply of food (sugar and water), which is similar to the nectar the birds obtain from flowers. The mixture of four parts water to one part sugar gives the hummingbirds the proper nutrients they need to keep going (and going and going). We have to be very careful that we have the exact mixture; otherwise the birds will become fat and unhealthy. Another concern is cavities (believe it or not) in their beaks from the sugar mixture. We also sterilize the feeders everyday to prevent the birds from contracting a fungus from dirty feeders. When you approach the feeders you will find that the birds don’t seem too afraid of you. In fact, they almost seem a bit too friendly. Before opening the park, the owners would place feeders out and wait patiently for the birds to arrive. After almost three months they began to show up (thank goodness, we were almost running out of that ‘patience’) and kept coming back. Each year we see the same birds returning and bringing their young along with them. The more used to the birds we became, the more used to us they became as well. As you wander the trails of La Paz Waterfall Gardens your senses will delight at the five waterfalls that line the trail. At the same place you can visit a Ave Zoo with native species, a snake and frog museum, an orchid garden and a typical house. What should you bring? FILM AND LOTS OF IT!! No, that’s just our prejudiced
opinion. (And don’t worry if you don’t bring enough, we have plenty
in the gift shop.) We recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes (preferably
with a thick tread for hiking the trails and hundreds of stairs), shorts or
comfortable pants and a lightweight jacket or raincoat. Please keep in mind
that the park ranges in altitude from 5,200 feet to 4,200 feet so it can get
chilly when the clouds roll in.
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