Day 1: Upon your arrival in Costa Rica, you will be greeted at the airport and transferred to your mountain hotel North of San Jose.

Day 2: After breakfast we will have a tour to Orchimex de Costa Rica or to The Botanical Garden in la Garita, Alajuela, overnight at your mountain hotel

Day 3: Our driver will take you Cartago, the first capital of Costa Rica, to visit the Basilica de Los Angeles and catch the Saturday market.   Then, to Lankester Gardens, known for its orchid collection and tropical plants.  After lunch, a view of  Orosi Valley. Crossing the valley, the ruins of the first church. i                                                                                                                                               Day 4:  We will tour the beautiful Tayutic Hacienda of the Ortuño Family where they grow  organic sugarcane, coffee and macadamia nuts. The tour offers a good inside view of how these products are processed, and will help you to understand their historical importance for Costa Rica.  On the farm you can see a little church built in the beginning of the 20^th Century and beautiful gardens. 

In the afternoon, you visit CATIE (Center for Tropical Agriculture Research and Education).  You will see tropical fruits that you probably have never seen before.  CATIE's Botanical Garden serves to enrich genetic diversity and help scientists, students and the public in general to become more aware of the importance of protecting our natural resources that provide us medicines, food, and the enjoyment of nature. After dinner at your lodge, you will see a demonstration  on preparing chocolate from the cacao bean.

Day 5: Today we will take you to the province of  Heredia Highlands and continue to  Arenal. We will visit La Paz Waterfall Gardens where your naturalist guide will lead a walk to five waterfalls and through the largest butterfly garden in the world and the new aviary. In the late afternoon, overnight at your lodge in  Arenal.

Day 6: After breakfast, Visit to the Hot Springs Hidalgo enjoying the thermal waters and a buffet dinner while perhaps catching the sight of the smoldering Arenal Volcano and its lava flow. Overnight at your lodge

Day 7: On your transfer back to San Jose, we will stop at the church in Zarcero and the Else Kientzler Botanical Garden known for its ornamental plants.  You will also stop in Sarchi, a  famous town for its range of Costa Rican crafts. Overnight at your hotel in San Jose

Day 8: You are transferred to the airport for your flight home

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