jardin botanico lankester

Lovely botanical garden. Two visits now and not so many orchids blooming but the production is interesting. If you have a great botanical garden in your home locale, you may not be too impressed. Walkways are pleasant and lovely.

This a pleasant botanic garden. The Japanese garden is wonderful, although people have trampled it a bit.The orchids were good, but not many were in flowers during this visit.I walked here on back roads from Orosi, it took about 2.5 hours. Almost not traffice, lots of birds and scenic views on the walk.

Nice place to visit with a family, enjoy the the diferent ambients and the respective nature of each one

I was very much looking forward to a visit to Lankester. We arrived just before the last admission but still had ample time for our visit. The efforts to conserve orchids are amazing. The range of body forms and blooms of Costa Rican orchids is massive. Timing for blooming is key so our visit came up a bit short in that way. My main interest was the orchid house but we also wandered the gardens and were impressed by the range of collections. The heliconias were very impressive. Not all parts of the garden are equally successful..for example the Japanese Garden does not quite hit the mark. Overall, it is a fascinating and important facility.

Very nice and rich collection of plants, in an overall nice setting. I particularly liked the collection of tropical Asian bamboos. But why wasn't there a single bamboo from central America in the entire garden? If there was, it wasn't labeled as such... Also, the garden could use a little more labor to keep it in a better condition. I guess this is a funding issue. Another thing I missed: I would guess that only 10% of the plants are identified/labeled. This is a very low rate in my opinion for a botanic garden.

During one of the tours from Costa Rica Guides, we stopped at the Lankester Botanical Gardens. It is a University of Costa Rica center for investigation and protection of orchids. Our guide gave us a full tour which included a selection of bromeliads and then into the orchids. In their specialty, you see a rotating collection of special orchids, as well as miniatures. They cultivate en masse for sale to help fund the ongoing research. The gardens are beautiful as well as instructive and show a commitment to scholarship as well as ecology.

We had visited the amazing Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami, Florida just a week before we visited Lankester, and we were delighted to be amazed all over again. The garden contains a miscellany of pleasures, from orchids to ferns, heliconias to palms, not to mention a beautiful Japanese garden. It's a wonderful place!

there is a word of different plants and trees and an interesting variety of orchids in a beautiful setting :japanese garden,mexican cactus garden etc

Even with GPS, this place was very difficult to find and the road leading to it is very potted gravel. We had read many positive reviews on this site, along with a few negative ones but decided it may be worth a visit. Very disappointed unfortunately. The paths were old and in disrepair. Some paths led to nowhere. There were no signs to name or describe the various plants, so we received no education. We expected to see plants in bloom and saw only 2 other than the potted orchids in the orchid shed. There was nowhere to stop for a seated break along the way. Overall, pretty disappointing experience, especially after the terrible time to find it.There are wheelchairs at the entrance however I cannot imagine the strenuous workout it would be given the poor condition of most of the paths. Definitely not the place to visit if you need wheelchair assistance or need to take breaks during the walk since there is nowhere to sit and rest.

I was pleasantly surprised about this place. It is not too big but it is well maintained and easy to walk. Nice orchids and Japanese garden. It's not a "must see" attraction but if you are in the area and have 30 mins to spare, why not!

I went to Lankester Gardens today and was so glad I did. It's just lovely.... Quiet mwalking paths surrounded by all kinds of flora indigenous to Costa Rica. A Japanese Garden with so many spots to just sit and be.... Cactus Gardens, tons and tons and tons of Orchids !!!! Such a nice peaceful and beautiful place and spend the day.

I liked everithing, there are several kinds of plants, trees, flowers, and different enviroments for every taste

Early reviewers said it all... A magnificent place with several theme gardens to please everyone's taste. Orchids or Japanese Garden or Cacti .... You advance at your own speed ... taking in all the peaceful beauty & serenity of the place. Don't forget your camera because the arrangements are well worth a few photos! The gardens are wheelchair accessible. There are (rustic) washrooms on the premises &, of course, a gift shop. If you're a garden fan, you can easily spend a couple of hours here.

The gardens are absolutely beautiful and very well kept. We could have spent all day and enjoyed every minute.

If you like orchids, palm trees, cactus, exotic flowers, this is he place to go. Very impressed with the orchid collection, the vanilla orchid really smells like vanilla but they didn't have beans. There are some nice touches like the Japanese gardens and some work needed in places too but considering I visited in the low season I am not surprised! Really enjoyed it!