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Diamante Animal Sanctuary – Make the Most of the Adventure!

Costa Rica is a country rich in wildlife and flora, containing 5% of the world’s biodiversity. Visitors from all over come to Costa Rica with the intent of catching a glimpse of their favorite animal in the wild. A great way to get to see wildlife is visiting a national park or an animal sanctuary. Diamante Eco Adventure Park is home to one of the best wildlife education centers in the country. The park offers a fun, educational and enriching experience for wildlife seekers of all ages. If you are near the Guanacaste area, here is a guideline to maximize your experience.

Hours of Operation

The park opens every day of the year from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Once inside the premises, our staff will explain all the details of the animal sanctuary upon check-in. There is no restriction as far as time inside the sanctuary, so you can take as much time as you want in each of the habitats. The last shuttle leaves from the sanctuary back to the welcome center at 4:30 pm, which is the official closing time.

Tour Information

The animal sanctuary is a self-guided tour allowing for you to customize your experience. In each habitat, there are specialized guides that will educate you about the animals. They have extensive knowledge of each species so feel free to ask questions. There are 4 walk-in habitats: the frogs, small birds, toucans, and the butterfly observatory. Within the butterfly observatory, there is a laboratory that contains bugs, insects and even animals’ skeletons.

The sanctuary is set up so that the flow of the tour is done in an organic and natural way, allow you as much or as little time in each exhibit as you like. The walk is easy and doesn’t require great physical excursion. Ramps along the sanctuary create an easy way to move with strollers, walking chairs or wheelchairs.

Get an up-close view of Sam the toucan.

Wildlife

The animal sanctuary is divided into different groups of habitats. The big group is the amphibian and reptiles. In this area, you will find a large area dedicated to frogs found from all over Costa Rica. The frog exhibit displays all types of frogs from poisonous to the common cane toad to the iconic red-eyed tree frog. Next to it are the snakes, iguanas, caimans, turtles and the prehistoric crocodiles. Then there are many different mammals ranging from different species of monkeys to foxes. This is where the most sought out animal of Costa Rica resides: the sloths. This is a popular spot for visitors who are eager to see these charming creatures.  Next to the sloths is an aviary with a habitat dedicated to small birds and another to the toucans. Another favorite habitat is but the butterfly observatory where hundreds of butterflies are swirling all around.

Next is the is the feline habitats in which small and big cat’s native to Costa Rica can be found. There are ocelots, margays, pumas and jaguars. The felines are nocturnal animals, so the best time to see them active is during the early morning or later towards closing time.

Food and Beverage

The Animal Sanctuary offers two great spots for food and beverage. The first one is the Adventure Center Bar and Grill. This open area restaurant has an a-la-carte menu of grill specials like hot dogs, hamburgers, kebabs and more, as well as different cocktails. It is a great option to stop for lunch and while still being a part of the action. The second is El Patio Bar located right in front of the sloths and next to the butterflies. It is a snack and beverage pit stop for anyone who doesn’t want to take a big break from exploring or needs a little “pick me up” to continue to the next adventure. El Patio Bar offers smoothies, ice creams, beers, cookies, chips and more.

Enjoy a fun educational day with your family

Highlight times

There are specific days and times in which certain activities take place that are of public interest. The first one and most asked for are the sloth feeding times. These take place daily at 9:30 am, 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm. It is highly recommended to plan your visit during these times as it is one of the few times they move. The second is the jaguar release and their enrichment program days. Every day around 10:00 am the jaguars are released into their habitats after their feeding. On Tuesday’s and Sunday’s, the jaguars get different elements in their habitat to stimulate them physically and mentally – this is their enrichment program. Lastly, the crocodiles get fed on Monday’s at 12:00 pm, which is open to the public. Be sure to ask about the crocodile feeding beforehand as there is one fasting Monday each month.

Wildlife interaction

The Wildlife Conservation Law of Costa Rica states that it is illegal to extract wildlife or native flora, to engage and/or remove any animals from their habitat. It also discourages people from feeding animals in the wild or captivity as this changes their eating habits and creates an unhealthy dependence on humans. Therefore, within Diamante Eco Adventure Park property there is no human interaction with the wildlife outside of Diamante staff and biologists.

Aerial shot of the sloth, monkeys, and butterfly habitats.

Visit the Animal Sanctuary at Diamante Eco Adventure Park.

The following passes grant admission to the animal sanctuary and can be bought on the website, as a walk in at the Welcome Center or with any tour operator in Costa Rica:

• Discovery Pass ($42): Entrance to the Animal Sanctuary. A self-guided tour in which you will learn about the wildlife in Costa Rica and the conservation efforts that take place in this country.
• Cultural Experience ($55): Combine the Animal Sanctuary and the Cultural tour to experience the real Costa Rica. The Traditional House tour and our hands-on experiences with sugar cane, coffee and chocolate are the perfect backdrops for understanding life in Costa Rica.
• Adventure Pass ($118): all day adventure pass includes the zip line tour, animal sanctuary entrance, cultural experience at the botanical gardens, beach activities such as stand up paddle board, kayak, and snorkel, and it includes a Costa Rican buffet lunch with an amazing ocean view.

Pura vida!