Your day begins from the moment you’re picked up at your San José hotel. While rolling in our comfortable minibus through the hills of the Alajuela Province, you will pass through quaint pueblos and fertile coffee fields on our way to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Here you can enjoy a robust cup of Costa Rican coffee and a hearty breakfast while admiring the verdant rain forest covered with lush tropical vegetation.

After breakfast you’ll explore the luxuriant gardens and learn about the surprisingly complex life of the butterfly in the world’s largest Butterfly Garden. This rare learning opportunity demonstrates the butterfly’s battle for survival from fuzzy caterpillar to beautiful winged jewel. You’ll be able to observe many different species of butterflies in their natural habitats, including the strikingly beautiful Blue Morph, with its vibrant color in a backdrop of rain forest greenery.

Next you’ll visit the amazing Hummingbird Gallery where you will be serenaded by the gentle hum of tiny wings lightly brushing the air as dozens of these colorful creatures buzz around you in search of food and a quiet resting spot. You’ll want to stop and gaze upon the resplendent beauty of the smallest birds on earth moving at lightning speed around the gardens.

We’ll then embark on a short walk, leaving the hummingbirds and civilization behind as we enter the dense rain forest in search of magical waterfalls. This short 20-minute hike winds past four different waterfalls, each one appearing to fall from the sky into a river of sparklingly clear water below. The refreshing spray of water from the streaming waterfalls will cool your face, while the majestic beauty of the falls calms your spirit and frees your mind.

Then you’ll be transported to the banks of the Sarapiquí River where a two-hour class III white water rafting experience awaits you. Excitement abounds on this trip, but you’ll still have plenty of time to observe several different species of mammals and birds; including the brightly colored Toucan, Costa Rica’s most popular bird. You’ll be treated to a scrumptious picnic lunch when we stop to along the riverbank. At the end of this memorable adventure you will have time to shower and change into dry clothes in our private facilities.

On our return to the city, we’ll pass through the sprawling Braulio Carillo National Park, home to one of the most diverse and massive ecosystems in the entire world. Hidden beneath the vast and dense rain forest is a world filled with animals that rarely, if ever, come into contact with human beings. This is the secret home of the elusive Jaguar. Upon arriving back in San José you’ll be delivered to your hotel feeling rejuvenated and filled with memories that will last a lifetime.

Rate: $100.00 per person Trip Length: 10 hours (approximately from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) Minimum Age: 10 years Departures: daily, all year. Includes: Transportation, breakfast, entrance fees, lunch, rafting equipment, bilingual guides and taxes. Please bring appropriate shoes and apparel for hiking and rafting (shoes or sandals that can get wet and will not slip off), light jacket, bathing suit or swim trunks, change of clothes, towel, waterproof camera, and your “sense of adventure”!