Garden

A tiny island just outside Costa Rica's Northern zone town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui is home to a little-known but magnificent botanical garden that awaits visitors in search of beauty and serenity

The Botanical Garden features over 70 different species and varieties of Heliconias which are flowering throughout the year. In addition to the Heliconia species native to C.R., the garden has an unusual variety of species native to other tropical zone countries around the world that are rarely seen even in Costa Rica. The garden also features a large number of botanical relatives of the Heliconias. Among those families represented are the gingers,
Lowiaceae (no common name), costus, cannas, prayer plants, and musae (bananas). Several varieties of bananas are grown. There are also distinct species cultivated as ornamentals. Surrounding the cultivated areas of the garden are fruit trees, bamboo groves, ferns, bromeliads, philodendrons, orchids and other plant forms are growing in abundance. The most unusual palms represented in the garden are the triangular palm and the traveller's palm. The traveller's palm is native to the Island of Madagascar and is not commonly seen in Costa Rica. Both of these palms are highly prized as ornamentals because of their distinctive form and elegant beauty. Native trees, which include Sota-Caballo, Laurel, Chilamate, Ceiba, Hule, Cocora, etc, complete the foliage of the tropical setting.

We have made two trails through the pieces of jungle that exist at the points of the island. Next to enjoying the garden, visitors can walk through a piece of jungle that leads them to big trees with huge roots, banana-, rubber- and cacao trees, wild heliconia's, brohmelias and philodendrons until they reach the river where people can swim or enjoy the birds and the view.

You can visit our garden daily form 08:00 till 17:00 hour.

Isla Las Heliconias, created by a split in the Puerto Viejo River, is accessible only by a rustic bridge. The five-acre garden is home to 80 varieties of heliconias, gingers & other tropical plants.

One of the most spectacular palms on Heliconia Island is de Travellers palm. This name is given to this tree because people (who are lost) in the jungle can drink water that the tree holds in his trunk. The tree is native to Madagascar.