When Cala Luna Boutique Hotel, Villas & Spa first bought the three-hectare property 14 years ago, it was mainly scrubby pastureland, with few native animals and only a few Guacimo trees.

With much careful planting and nurturing, however, the gardens of Cala Luna began to take flight — literally. 

They are cover 70 per cent of the property, and are home to an array of native butterflies, monkeys, iguanas and birds.  By planting trees like the Savanna Oak, the Cañafistula, Guanacaste (and Ceiba, among others, Cala Luna has ensured its garden is more than just an exotic backdrop: it’s a refuge and food source for dozens of local species.

The Guanacaste tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), for example, is known for its wide crown, and has become more than just a symbol of the Guanacaste province; it’s also the national tree of Costa Rica. 

It's a year-round favorite hangout for the howler monkeys because it stays green through the dry season, and our local stingless bees also adore it, helping to pollinate a number of other plants in the area.  The Guanacaste is one of the most majestic trees of Central America, and before being taken up as an icon of Costa Rica, it was used to provide shade on local coffee plantations and cattle ranches. 

Our gardens include a variety of tropical flowers, including many species of ginger, gardenia and jasmine, whose fragrant perfumes fill the night air. Colorful hibiscus attract many of the area'ss hummingbirds to sip at their nectar, and several palm species provide a breezy shade over Cala Lunas villas, paths and common areas.

At Cala Luna we are proud to encourage sustainable-planting programs; it’s one of the reasons we’re so popular with local birds. On any given day you can see brilliantly painted native birds such as trogons, orioles, colorful mot-mots and the infamously brazen urracas (the unmistakable white-throated magpie jay), a bird often spotted hanging around the breakfast table hoping for a tidbit (and even trying to steal a sugar packet from you).

Gardens