One of Costa Rica’s most valuable gems is its wildlife. Sloths, monkeys, birds, tapirs, frogs, zebras, giraffes… Wait! Wait! What?! Zebras and giraffes?! They are not part of Costa Rica’s common wildlife, but you can see them in an “African Oasis” in the middle of Guanacaste province. You can see them at Ponderosa Adventure Park.
Ponderosa is an Adventure Park like no other in Costa Rica. Here you will take a safari tour just like if you were in Africa to see and interact with African wildlife. And not just enjoying the animals, but also have the chance to do adventure activities like zip-lining or kayak.
Ponderosa Adventure Park Summary:
- Location: Liberia, Guanacaste (Drive there)
- Difficulty: Easy
- Access: Any car
- Contact: (+506) 2288-1000 / ponderosaadventurepark.com
- Cost: Tickets
- Parking: Yes
- More info about the place: Ponderosa AP Instagram
- Hidden Gem Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Facilities and Packages
Ponderosa Adventure Park is a perfect option to stop by when you are going to visit Guanacaste. This place is 5min away from the Interamerican Highway that takes you to Guanacaste’s beaches. Just like Llanos de Cortés Waterfalls.
Also, like Llanos de Cortés Waterfall, the facilities are in perfect condition. You will find plenty of clean restrooms, a nice restaurant, and a shop full of unique souvenirs.
Ponderosa Adventure Park offers several packages to adjust with the time and interest of the visitors:
- Lunch ($12): Costa Rican Buffet lunch at La Pampa Restaurant
- Half-Day (Kids: $40 / Adults: $48): Everything you can do in half-day (Usually two activities)
- Day Pass (Kids: $50 / Adults: $60): All activities + Lunch
- Safari Tour (Kids: $28 / Adults: $35): Just the Safari Tour
Safari Tour
When we visited this place, we weren’t sure what package to purchase since it looked like it was going to rain. In the end, since we arrived a bit late, we decided to buy the half-day. As soon as we purchased the tickets there, they told us a Safari Tour was starting in 5 minutes, so we went for it!
Most of the tour is inside a safari truck with a guide explaining everything, but there are some parts where you can step out of the truck. These trucks had a capacity of around 30 people, so it was pretty spacious. They have a lovely painting that makes them look like an African Safari vehicle.
One of the main attractions of this tour is to feed the animals. So I recommend buying at least a couple of carrot bags so you can have enough to give the animals throughout the entire tour.
After just 5min of starting the tour, the truck enters a big field that looks like an African savanna with a small river that crosses the entire area. As soon as the truck enters this field, the zebras and giraffes start approaching the truck so people can feed them. After this, the tour takes you to a resting facility. Over there, there are some farm animals and the chance to take some snacks or buy more carrot bags. After this, the guide takes everyone on foot to see the crocodile pond and brings everyone to the main wall/gate, where you can see the entire field with the African animals. For me, this was the “Instagram spot”. Make sure to take some photos from there!
After stretching the legs, the tour goes back to the truck and enters another section of the big field to see other African animals. In the entire tour, you will be able to see: zebras, giraffes, buffalos, donkeys, antelopes, ostriches, dromedaries, Ankole-Watusi, oryx wildebeest, deers, and crocodiles (I might be forgetting one or two more).
Waterfall and Natural Pool
As you might be getting to know me, I’m a huge fan of waterfalls and natural pools. So, after finishing the Safari Tour, we headed directly to the waterfall! After a 10 minute walk, we reached a lovely natural pool with a nice waterfall in the back. There was a small beach with plenty of space to put a blanket and spend some time there.
Unfortunately, you can’t swim that much in this natural pool. There is a limit so you can’t go swimming in the waterfall. If you would rather go to a natural pool where you could swim more, you can go to the Llanos de Cortés Waterfalls.
Here you can do kayak and go beyond the limit that Ponderosa establishes. A small river is connected to the natural pool where you can continue your Kayak trip for 1Km more. After that, you get picked up by a truck, and this truck gets you back to the natural pool.
Related Post: Top 5 Guanacaste Beaches to Relax
Other Activities
After enjoying the natural pool for a while, it was getting late, so we decided to leave Ponderosa Adventure Park to go back to San José. But if you purchase the full-day package, there are more things you can do there! You can also do zip lining and horseback riding.
Overall, this is an excellent option to stop by on your way to San José or Liberia. If you are on your Costa Rica vacation but would like your family to see something different, it’s worth the visit.
