Costa Rica Guide
The Valle Central and the highlands
Lankester Gardens
Orchids are the chief attraction at the tropical garden and research station LANKESTER GARDENS (daily 8.30am–4.30pm; $5; 
552-3247; 
www.jardinbotanicolankester.org ). The large, attractive gardens are covered with a bewildering array of tropical plant and flower species, including orchids, heliconias and bromeliads – ostentatious elaborate blooms that thrust out from the undergrowth. The most rewarding time to visit is the dry season, particularly in March and April, when the garden explodes with virulent reds, purples and yellows.
To get to the gardens by bus from San José, take the Cartago service, get off at Las Ruinas, and change to a Paraíso bus leaving every ten minutes (5am–11pm). Get off when you see the Casa Vieja restaurant, about 25 minutes out of town, and take the road to your right, signposted to the gardens, then turn right at the fork – a total walk of about 1km.