Despite my extensive pre-trip planning, two of my favorite adventures from our Costa Rica trip were last-minute additions to our schedule. The first was the Mistico Hanging Bridges in La Fortuna. The second was Diamante Eco-Adventure Park in Guanacaste.
We researched several other animal sanctuaries in the area that were closer to our hotel and had lower prices. But in the end, we couldn’t resist the 5-star Trip Advisor rating and the pull of seeing some of Costa Rica’s big cats and tropical birds.
I am so glad to say that Diamante Eco-Adventure Park was one of the most beautiful and authentic experiences we had in Costa Rica! It delivered in every aspect, and I wish we’d had some extra time to do the additional activities there.
I was thrown off at first because the park was so secluded down a dirt road. But once we arrived, the park was beautiful and very professional–not to mention the views from the parking lot and visitor center were breathtaking!
If you’re in the Guanacaste area, you need to add this fantastic place to your list! Not only will you be supporting top-tier animal conservation, but you’ll have so much fun, too!
Here’s everything you need to know…
Quick Facts About Diamante Eco-Adventure Park
- It is Costa Rica’s only waterfront adventure park.
- The park offers many activities, including horseback riding, ATV tours, a cultural experience tour, a superman zip line, kayaking, paddleboarding, snorkeling, a botanical garden, and an animal sanctuary.
- Their zipline is Costa Rica’s only ocean view dual zipline.
- There is an open-air restaurant on-site with ocean views.
- The bilingual staff is incredibly friendly and helpful.
- The animal sanctuary works directly with the government’s wildlife sector to provide world-class care for animals that cannot return to the wild after rehabilitation.
- You can choose a pass based on the specific activities you want to enjoy. A full-day pass is $118 for adults and includes the zipline, sanctuary, botanical garden, and beach activities. The animal sanctuary is $42 per adult.
See Our Full Adventure on YouTube!
Diamante Eco-Adventure Park’s Animal Sanctuary
If you don’t do anything else here, visit the animal sanctuary. Diamante blew me away with their world-class habitats, showing how much detail they put into the animals’ care.
The facilities were far nicer than most zoos I’ve visited in America, and I loved seeing the animals playing and enjoying their lives.
Something that really stuck out to me was the number of “free” animals roaming the sanctuary! We noticed a large troop of howler monkeys chilling in the trees above the reptile exhibits towards the beginning of our tour. Of course, we were curious, so I asked one of the staff members about it.
She explained that the sanctuary provides such a peaceful and protected environment for its animals that many other creatures come to the grounds to live.
We saw many howler monkeys, several iguanas, lizards, birds, and squirrels running around during our visit. We particularly loved watching the iguanas making themselves at home wherever they wanted–including the sloth exhibit.
Personally, that spoke volumes about the atmosphere of the park and its conservation efforts.
Slimy & Scaled Creatures
Frogs & Toads
The first part of the animal sanctuary is a long building that hosts a myriad of frogs and toads. During certain seasons, the frogs are free to hop about the first part of the building, which has lots of plants and water features.
But when we visited, they were safely tucked away into habitats to protect them during the dry season’s heat.
One wall of this building opens up directly to a small aviary with some green parakeets.
Small Reptiles & Snakes
Outside of this building are the small reptile exhibits. Diamante has a large variety of scaled residents on this loop, from a basilisk to a Golden Eyelash Palm Pit Viper.
Each habitat has a sign with information about the reptile in both English and Spanish, so you can learn as you go.
Big Reptiles
After the small reptiles, the sanctuary opens up to larger habitats that provide homes to some of its bigger creatures.
They have iguanas (King Julian is their biggest), turtles, caimans, and a couple of American crocodiles. My favorite habitat was the crocodile pond, complete with a big waterfall and fallen tree trunks.
Winged Creatures at Diamante
Butterfly Conservatory
The large butterfly conservatory is one of the most magical habitats, complete with a waterfall, lush foliage, and hundreds of vibrant butterflies! The two types inside are owl butterflies and the stunning Blue Morpho.
It really is surreal to walk through a tropical paradise while the air is filled with bright blue wings! Be careful where you step so you don’t accidentally harm any butterflies on the ground.
The conservatory has several feeders set up where you can get close to the butterflies and see how different their wings look on the outside. There’s also a bench or two where you can sit and enjoy the sight.
Before you leave, visit the main conservatory building, where you can learn more about butterflies and see their extensive bug collection, plus some live creepy crawlies.
While we were there, one of the staff members was also sorting through a large pile of wiggly cocoons, which would soon be released into the butterfly house.
Toucan Aviaries
The sanctuary has two aviaries where guests can mingle with rescued toucans! They have a few types, including Keel-Billed, Chestnut Mandibles, Fiery-billed Aracaries, and Collared Aracaries.
One of the yellow-throated toucans was particularly friendly, hopping over to say hello to me on ground level. The staff explained that several of the toucans were illegal pets, so they don’t have a problem being close to people. Unfortunately, this also meant that they could not return to the wild.
This area also has a few other birds, including great curassows and crested guans.
Furry Critters at Diamante
Monkeys
One of our favorite sections was the monkey habitats! Diamante has three types of primates: White Tufted-Ear Marmosets, Black-Handed Spider Monkeys, and White-Faced Capuchins.
They’re all super-cute, but the baby spider monkey was our favorite. He had such a huge personality and had no problem running up to the glass to pose for pictures. He also tried showing off by swinging from his tail (and falling), then getting in a slap fight with one of the teenage monkeys. It was so funny!
The monkey habitats were also some of the most impressive ones in the sanctuary. The spider monkeys and capuchins had giant trees at the center of their habitats, waterfalls, lots of enrichment toys, and plenty of little ledges to climb.
Sloths
Three adorable sloths live at this animal sanctuary! Lucy is their most famous sloth. She is seven and is the most mobile of the three, particularly during feedings. The other two sloths are 5 and 2 years old.
The sloths have educational feedings three times per day, and the staff members will give you interesting facts about sloths while the animals slowly make their way down.
This area also has a small one-off exhibit with an adorable Tree Fox.
Big Cats
The final main section at the Diamante animal sanctuary is the cat exhibits! Like the monkey habitats, the cat enclosures blew me away!
They had trees, rocky ledges, waterfalls, ponds, and lush vegetation to make their environments as close as possible to the wild. Obviously, it’s disappointing that these cats couldn’t be released, but I love how much detail was put into making their new homes feel like home.
I also liked that each exhibit had nearly 360-degree viewing from windows on two stories. Some of the cats were still hard to spot, but others were easy to see.
The four types of cats here are pumas, jaguars, ocelots, and margays.
Behind the cats, you can also see a large field with White-Tailed Deer, a national symbol of Costa Rica.
Closing Thoughts
My final tip: get one of their passionfruit popsicles! Oh my goodness, it was delicious!
If we ever get back to Costa Rica, I would like to visit here again and try out some of their other activities. We had a phenomenal time seeing all these beautiful creatures up close and learning more about them.
The staff was accommodating, and someone was always available to answer questions and give brief educational talks about the different animals.
And once again, I was absolutely awed by the beauty of this sanctuary, both inside and outside the habitats.
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Have questions? Drop them below, and I’ll answer them as soon as possible.
And if you would like to learn more about some of Costa Rica’s premier travel experiences, be sure to check out the rest of my Pura Vida series:
- 11 Important Things to Know Before You Travel to Costa Rica
- Addicted to Coffee & Chocolate? You’ll Love This Tour!
- Everything you Need to Know About the Mistico Hanging Bridges
- Into the Rainforest: A Trek Through Sloth’s Territory
- An Exciting Zip Line & Rappel Tour in La Fortuna
- Why I Didn’t Want to Leave Montana de Fuego Hotel
- How to Make Your Trip to Costa Rica a Success: A Packing Guide
- You Should be Booking a Stay at Papagayo Golden Palms Right Now!
Thanks for reading. I hope this guide was helpful to you and that you’ll be able to experience this wonderful animal sanctuary for yourself.
Happy travels!
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