Butterfly Farm (La Finca de Mariposas)

Butterfly Farm (La Finca de Mariposas) Review

Observe and photograph butterflies up close at the Butterfly Farm. The farm's several microclimates keep comfortable some 40 species of tropical butterflies. Come when it's sunny if you can—they don't flutter around when it rains, although cloudy afternoons do give the best photo ops. This is Costa Rica's original butterfly farm, but there are other butterfly gardens around the country. The facility holds an annual mural contest, turning not only its own buildings but surrounding corner stores and houses into canvases for talented Costa Rican artists. You can get here via tours from San José that depart from the capital at 7:20, 10, and 2. Regardless of your mode of transport, you can wander around the gardens on your own, or take one of the two-hour guided walks that begin at 8:30, 11, 1, or 3. If coming here by taxi or asking directions, Costa Ricans know the place as the Finca de Mariposas.