LAS CRUCES BIOLOGICAL STATION

This biological research station (tel. 506/773-4004, fax 506/773-3665, lcruces@hortus.ots.ac.cr), six km south of San Vito, is a botanist’s delight. The center, in the midst of a 266-hectare forest reserve, is run by the Organization of Tropical Studies (P.O. Box 676-2050 San Pedro, tel. 506/240-6696, fax 506/240-6783, reservas@ots.ac.cr; in the U.S., OTS, Duke University, P.O. Box 90630, Durham, NC 27708-0630, tel. 919/684-5774, fax 919/684-5661) and acts as a center for research and scientific training by staff and students of the 50 or so universities that make up OTS, as well as for public education (there’s a research library and laboratory, plus lecture room with audiovisual equipment). New plants are propagated for horticulture, and species threatened with habitat loss and extinction are maintained for future reforestation efforts.

The reserve is in mid-elevation tropical rainforest along a ridge of the Fila Zapote. During the wet season, heavy fog and afternoon clouds spill over the ridge, nourishing a rich epiphytic flora of orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and aeroids. The forest is a vital habitat for pacas, anteaters, opossums, kinkajous, porcupines, armadillos, sloths, tayras, monkeys, deer, small cats, and more than 35 species of bats. Bird-watching at Las Cruces is especially rewarding: more than 330 species have been recorded.

Maintaining the reserve—proclaimed part of La Amistad Biosphere Reserve—is the cornerstone of a larger effort to save the watershed of the Río Java. Visitation only accounts for about 30 percent of funds required to support the station, which seeks donors, or “amigos.” You can subscribe to the Amigos Newsletter.

A gift store sells T-shirts, the beautiful OTS calendar, souvenirs, and a wide array of booklets on ecology.

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Wilson Botanical Gardens
The spectacular highlight of the Las Cruces station is the 10 hectares of cultivated gardens (8 a.m.–4 p.m., closed Monday, $10 admission adult, $8 children half-day, $25 adult, $10 children full day) established in 1963 by Robert and Catherine Wilson, former owners of Fantastic Gardens in Miami. The garden was inspired by the famous Brazilian gardener Roberto Burle-Marx, a friend of Wilson’s, who designed much of the garden following his vision of parterres as a palette. Wilson and his wife are buried in a humble grave on the grounds. There’s a picnic area and benches where you may sit and absorb the beauty. Approximately 10 km of well-maintained, gently sloping trails (and many more in the forest reserve) meander through the Fern Grove, Orchid Grotto, the largest palm collection in the world (with about 700 of the world’s 2,600 or so species), agave and lily beds, and heliconia groves containing more than 7,000 plant species.

The garden is a repository for the Begonia Society and Heliconia Society, and also has many cacti species that are already extinct in their native habitats. There are also greenhouses with large collections of anthuriums, ferns (a specialty of Luis Diego Gómez, the Las Cruces director), elkhorns, and more.

Annual rainfall is a whopping 380 cm, but the gardens will enliven your spirit in even the rainiest weather.

Rates include guided walk (by reservation). Students receive discounts.

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Getting There
Local buses stop at the gardens and operate from San Vito at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4 p.m.; and from the garden gate to San Vito at 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 1:45 p.m., and 4 p.m. Buses depart Ciudad Neily for the gardens at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

A taxi from San Vito costs about $3.