La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica is the most visited privately owned ecological attraction in the country. It is not only an animal sanctuary in Costa Rica with an environmental education program, but has hiking trails to 5 beautiful waterfalls hidden deep in the rainforest. Throw in the world’s largest butterfly observatory, a free-roaming frog exhibit, serpentarium, and a hummingbird garden where you can hand feed the fluttering beauties, and La Paz delivers an unforgettable experience.

We visited while staying at the Peace Lodge, which gives guests all-day access to the waterfall gardens and animal sanctuary. La Paz also makes a great day trip from San Jose for those not staying at the Peace Lodge. Admission costs $44 for adults and $28 for kids. Visiting La Paz Waterfall Gardens should be on your bucket list of things to do in Costa Rica with kids. Even if you don’t have kids, La Paz Waterfall Gardens is a must-visit for anyone who loves nature and animals. There’s enough to keep families entertained for hours, so we recommend staying all day long. Read our tips for visiting La Paz Waterfall Garden with kids to make the most of your visit! Follow our tips, and you won’t miss a thing!

10 Tips for visiting La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica with kids

1. Explain the need for this Costa Rica animal sanctuary

It’s important to explain to kids (and adults too) that La Paz is an animal sanctuary, not a zoo. There are many animal sanctuaries in Costa Rica to protect animals that have been removed from their natural habitat for the wrong reasons. The animals at La Paz have been rescued from poachers or were taken from people who were illegally keeping them as pets. Many of the animals were in terrible health or even near death when they were rescued, but La Paz animal sanctuary has rehabilitated them. The animals are either too old, injured, or have been exposed to humans for too long to be safely returned to the wild. The park has signs with information about the animals as well as guides to share even more knowledge to make the visit an educational experience.

2. Arrive early for the 9am hummingbird feeding

The best way to start the day at La Paz Waterfall Gardens is hand feeding hummingbirds in the Hummingbird Garden. This happens twice a day- at 9am and again at 4pm- so you may want to do both if you have any bird-lovers in your family. We attended the 9am hummingbird feeding and were the first to arrive so had all the hummingbirds to ourselves, which meant they were all over our hummingbird feeders! We were in total awe as the tiny birds fluttered in front of  us and even landed on our hands to suck the nectar from the feeders we were holding. It’s truly a magical experience that you should not miss at La Paz Waterfall Gardens! Our kids’ faces still light up when they talk about it.

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3. Head to the aviary next to hand feed toucans at 9:30am

After you’ve fed the hummingbirds their breakfast, head to the aviary to hand feed the toucans. This happens every day at 9:30am and 3:30pm, but we recommend going to the earlier feedling so you can see the jungle cat feeding at 3:30pm (more on that later). Costa Rica passed a law recently prohibiting people from holding toucans in animal sanctuaries since they don’t want them to get too familiar with humans or risk being harmed in any way. At the aviary you can still get really close to them and feed them out of your hand, which was very exciting for our kids!

4. Take a La Paz Waterfall Gardens tour for more information and access

Although La Paz can easily be visited as a self-guided tour, we recommend taking the guided tour for more information and greater access to its hidden gems. Our tour guide Michael showed us around the entire nature park and waterfall gardens, educating us along the way and pointing out things we would have otherwise missed on our own. We took a private guided tour, which was $65 for our family, and absolutely worth it for the undivided attention of our guide. It was also really convenient to have someone snap family photos of us, which our guide was happy to do.

In the butterfly observatory’s insect exhibit, he opened the case with an enormous beetle and asked who wanted to hold it. Only Bertaut was brave enough to hold the ALIVE beetle that appeared much more threatening than it actually was. You can see the butterfly still hanging out on our son’s head too, which cracked us up all day long!

Michael really blew our minds when he went behind the scenes, pulled out a live tarantula, and held it in his hands. I hate spiders so I wanted nothing to do with that thing, but have to admit it was really cool to see one up so close (without worrying about it biting me).

As parents, we appreciated the educational aspect of our La Paz Waterfall Gardens tour. Michael taught us about the life cycle of butterflies and pointed out eggs hidden on the leaves in the butterfly observatory. He showed us butterflies in the chrysalis stage, larvae stage, and newly-released beauties. Our kids’ favorite lessson at preschool was the life cycle of butterflies, so they especially loved seeing all the stages at one time. More to come later about the butterly release in the afternoon!

5. Bring rain gear and comfortable shoes for the La Paz waterfall tour

We made sure to bring rain gear for our trip to Costa Rica, and we needed it during our waterfall hike at La Paz. Since La Paz in located inside both a rainforest and a cloud forest, expect that there will be some rain during your visit. In fact, hope for rain since that’s part of the typical Costa Rican rainforest experience!

The trail that takes you to the 5 waterfalls at La Paz includes a lot of steps, so wear comfortable shoes. You may want to bring a carrier if you have little ones who will be begging you to carry them. Our kids, who are full of energy, loved having the chance to expel some of it! We let them play in the small sandy area along the river while Bertaut flew his drone to capture the stunning scenery. Check out his footage of the breathtaking La Paz Waterfall Costa Rica!

6. See sloths eat at 2pm

After you finish the waterfall hike, take the free shuttle bus back to the animal sanctuary. Visit the sloths at 2pm for their daily feeding, which is about the only time they wake up from their slumber. Food is pretty much the only reason these cuddly-looking creatures move, so don’t miss it!

7. Get covered with newly emerged butterflies at 2:30pm

Our tour guide recommended we return to the butterfly conservatory at 2:30pm for the butterfly release. We had spent a really long time in the butterfly observatory already between our self-guided wandering and our guided tour, but we were so glad we took his advice. We were the only people to show up, so every single newly emerged butterfly was released onto our kids. They were covered in brand new butterflies that stayed on them for quite awhile. The kids were enthralled to say the least!

8. Milk a cow at Casita de La Paz at 3pm

Casita de La Paz is a traditional Costa Rican farmhouse built the old-fashioned way, with tools only available a century ago in rural Costa Rica. Here you can learn about rural life in Costa Rica and taste typical Tico food and coffee. We sampled fresh cheese and Costa Rican coffee during our visit.

Two giant oxen stood out front with a colorful cart behind them. If you’re lucky you can get a ride in an ox cart, or at least snap a fun photo in it.

Make sure to visit the casita at 3pm for the daily cow milking. Our kids each took a turn milking the cow, and we even took a tug ourselves. They thought it was pretty cool! There’s also a petting zoo with a goat next to the casita, so head over there too to let the kids pet the friendly goat.

9. Observe the jungle cat feeding at 3:30pm

There are 4 species of jungle cats that are native to Costa Rica at La Paz Waterfall Gardens, including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and margays. Although it is hard to see them in enclosures rather than in nature, know that they have been rescued from a far worse fate in the hands of poachers or people who had them as pets. La Paz’s mission is to preserve the genetics of wild cats species in Costa Rica. To see the jungle cats being fed, head over to their enclosures at 2pm.

10. Go fishing and they will cook up your catch for dinner

We saved fishing for last during our day at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. The kids had never been fishing before and were incredibly eager to give it a shot. Fishing at La Paz was perfect for our little beginners in their catch-and-release trout lake. They brought out kid-sized fishing poles and a big box of bait and let them go at it. Both kids caught at least 2 fish within the first 10 minutes of fishing. They were squealing with delight!

If you feel like having fresh fish for dinner, they will cook up your fish for you at Vista Poas Restaurant at the Peace Lodge. The romantic restaurant has beautiful views of Poas Volcano and inviting stone fireplaces to make you feel very cozy. Check out our full review of the Peace Lodge for more information about the boutique luxury resort located on the grounds of La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Last Words on La Paz Waterfall Gardens

We spent the entire day at La Paz Waterfall Gardens, from the 9am humminbird feeding to fishing until they closed at 5pm. Our day was chock full of exciting activities and discoveries for our family. Although La Paz could be enjoyed in 3-4 hours, we recommend setting aside an entire day to make the most of the park. There’s so much to see and do, and you’ll want to spend some time relaxing and enjoying the beauty of nature in the waterfall gardens.

When you get hungry, enjoy lunch at Collibries Restaurant near the hummingbird garden, which has a buffet for $14 per adult and $8 per child. There’s also a cafe at the end of the waterfall hike which sells coffee, cold drinks, adult beverages, pastries and other treats. You’ll most likely work up an appetite after the hiking trails and will certainly deserve a glass of wine or cookie after your hike. 😉 Pura Vida!

If you liked this post, please share it and pin it for later. Sign up for our email newsletter for more travel tips and inspiration to explore the world. For more on Costa Rica, check out our tips for Guanacaste, ziplining and visiting the animal sanctuary at Diamante Eco Adventure Park, best hot springs in Arenal,  our review of The Springs Resort and Spa, and our review of Andaz Peninsula Papagayo.

**Disclosure- We were guests of Peace Lodge so received free admission to La Paz Waterfall Gardens, but as always, all opinions are our own.

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