Botanical Gardens

Introduction

Puerto Escondido's only public Botanical Garden or Jardín Botánico is operated by the Universidad del Mar with the purposes of studying and preserving local plant species and to educate the public. It contains 17 hectares (42 acres) of mostly deciduous forest species and is more of a nature reserve that a botanical garden.

According to the park's tour guide, there are more than 200 species of plants, 97 types of birds and 17 types of bats. Deer, armadillos, raccoons and two types of foxes are also sometimes seen. The garden contains many varieties of medicinal plants and an orchid garden of a few dozen plants.

If you do not speak Spanish and have little interest in plants, this place is probably not for you. If you have interest in medicinal plants, the Botanical Garden has lots of them and has gone out of the way to acquire them from the surrounding country side. The guides are very familiar with medicinal plants.

Cost and Hours

The cost to enter the park: free. You are allowed to tip the tour guide.

Open Tuesday through Friday, 09:00 to 17:00. Saturday and Sunday, 09:00 to 13:00. Closed Mondays. It is recommended to to go early because of the heat. You should bring a hat, water and wear loose fitting clothing. The tour is in Spanish and will take about an hour.

Getting There

You can drive there in just 15 minutes, its just outside of Puerto Escondido on Highway 131. There is a sign to the Jardín Botánico on the highway and one or two curves after the sign is the entrance on the right hand side.

Or you can get a colectivo to go there in the market area. Get a colectivo going to San Pedro and let the driver know where you are going.

I took a taxi there for eighty pesos. I took the first available colectivo back to Puerto for 6 pesos.

Wheelchair Accessibility

None.