Monteverde Butterfly Gardens (Jardín de las Mariposas, tel. 506/645-5512, wolfej [at] racsa [dot] co [dot] cr, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. daily, $9 adults, $7 students, $3 children, including one-hour guided tour), south of Santa Elena, feature a nature center and three distinct habitats: a 450-square-meter netted butterfly flyway and two greenhouses representing lowland forest and mid-elevation forest habitats. Together, they are filled with native plant species and hundreds of tropical butterflies representing more than 40 species.

Guided tours begin in the visitors center, where butterflies and other bugs are mounted for view and rhinoceros beetles, stick insects, and tarantulas crawl around inside display cases.

There’s a computer station with butterfly interactive software, plus an auditorium where videos are shown. A highlight is the three-camera “bug cam” that shows macro-detail, real-time insect life, including inside the leaf-cutter ant nest.

Mid-morning is the best time to visit, when the butterflies become active (and most tourists are in the reserve).