Destinations
Lankester Botanical Gardens
Botanical Gardens located on the outskirts of San Jose that houses a variety of natural flowers of the country.
The Lankester Botanical Gardens may seem out of place in the metropolitan center of San Jose, but it has one of the foremost collections of orchid species in all of Costa Rica. Originally established in 1917 by British orchid specialist Charles Lankester West, for whom it is named, the Lankester Botanical Gardens houses thousands of indigenous and rare species of orchids. In 1973 the gardens were donated to the University of Costa Rica for continued research and to make them accessible to the public.
The majority of orchid species grow high in the tree canopy and some only bloom one or twice a year, making the flowers very rare difficult to spot in the wild. The Lankester Botanical Gardens encompass 26 acres and houses over 3,000 different species of orchids and ensures you the chance to see as many of these beautiful flowers as you please. Also located on site is a butterfly garden enclosure which allows unique access to the butterflies environment.
