Observe and photograph butterflies up close at The Butterfly Farm (La Finca de Mariposas). 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. This is the original butterfly farm, but there are other butterfly gardens near Volcán Poás at La Paz Waterfall Gardens and in Monteverde. In 2004 the museum launched 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.
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