The history of the gardens starts in 1917 with British botanist Charles Lankester West’s collection of orchids.  In 1973 the public gardens were created when the U.S. based American Orchid Society and U.K.’s Stanley Smith Foundation funded the transfer to the University of Costa Rica.

Lankester focuses mainly on Orchids but the Cactus and Epiphyte collections are excellent too.  Only a few km from downtown San José in Paraíso the botanical garden is a great excursion (see directions and details) and since it’s right along the way a perfect addition to a day trip to Irazú volcano.