We visited the Fabrica de Carretas in Sarchi on our return from a day trip to the Poas Volcano. Absolutely beautiful hand made carts, once used extensively throughout Europe for goods and wares, now mostly for celebrations, festivities, and decoration. Aside from carts the craftsmen here paint tables and other such items. The grounds has a beautiful flower garden area.

Popular destination for bus tours to introduce to artisanal craft of making ox carts and other woodwork, it is the last factory in country still manufacturing ox carts for distribution (mostly for celebrations and festivities). Working demo at the time of the visit is a nice touch. Not sure I would choose to drive here on my own as there are more exciting destinations in Costa Rica.

We didn't have time to tour the museum but the souvenir shop was ideal. They had tons of selection from handmade pottery and carvings to mass-produced magnets and t-shirts, all high quality and reasonably priced. Obviously, oxcart-themed pieces were well represented. The shop itself is large, uncluttered, clean, and quiet (in Green Season, definitely a lot busier at peak tourist times) so we were able to take our time to peacefully consider all our options. If we go back to that area, we'll make sure to budget time to see more of the facility which looked lovely.

We loved visiting the Sarchi Oxcart Factory. It was beautiful. The store is huge and has everything you can think of. Behind the store you can watch the artisans at work and let me tell you, they are very talented. You can freely walk around inside the factory both upstairs and downstairs. It was very interesting. The smell of the wood is prominent and if you like that smell, its great. The quality of the craftmanship is the best I've ever seen. If you are in this area or nearby I'd definitely recommend a visit to this place.

I loved this place. The woodwork is amazing here! So, there are many colorful pieces to look at. Most of which is for sale. Could spend hours here and not see it all. I have to say that the EF Tour is a great company that is really immersed in the area and the culture. This is one of those places a visitor needs to see. Enjoy my friends!

The Eloy Alfaro oxcart factory is a site that has always been committed to preserving the customs of our ancestors. Here, the traditional oxcarts are manufactured and painted, which were an essential part of Costa Rica's economic development in the past and are still in use in some areas of the country today. So beautiful and colorful these oxcarts and products. You should also buy a souvenir here!

Here, artisanal handcrafts have been produced for generations. For example, traditional ox carts are crafted and painted, which is unique. We were particularly impressed by the old workshop with its original machines, which are still powered by water today – a true piece of living history. The tour was exciting and informative, and it was fascinating to see how much attention to detail goes into each individual piece. A must see!!!!

Our waitress was very friendly and service was good. The menu had a large variety of typical bar / Central American food. We ordered chicken nachos and chicken fajitas. The food itself was distinctly ordinary. Good enough to not be bad, but average enough to not be spectacular. It wouldn't be my first choice of restaurants, but I also wouldn't mind coming back.

Great atmosphere, ok food. Good place to drink and hang maybe not so much for fine dining. Authentic atmosphere.

Went here because it's was close by to where I was staying. The chef was super friendly and spoke great English. Food was great and prices were reasonable.

It is a open place, with a good $$, the food was okay and the place is nice The service was really good. We got the food in a few minutes.

Nice place, they welcome Foreigners like us really good. Can speak English too.

Great meal and karaoke friday and saturdays nights

Good food, good service, Karaoke on weekends

Peaceful garden to go for a walk and enjoy nature. Perfect for a picnic. Relaxing walking trails with beautiful plants all around to stop and observe. Perfect for a day outside the city, relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. Plenty of parking available. Toilets near the entrance. No wifi.

Very nice garden that is not touristy. Tucked away behind a business. You have to stop and have a worker remove cones to let you enter their property. At first I thought the place was closed. Avoid worry like I had and just pull up to the cones…someone will come! I enjoyed walking around the garden. It was very peaceful. Definitely need some bug spray. I forgot and paid price with lots of bites. The onsite restaurant is wonderful too!

What a wonderful experience spending the afternoon here. Es muy bonito! Wow. Like being in the jungle.

It was a nice walk around the park, we enjoyed seeing the river stream. It is very hot and humid but there are some shaded areas. We went all the way around and into the greenhouses and to be honest it was not very spectacular. The land could be more maintained and the trails should be more groomed. The best part about the experience was eating the casado up at the cafe. The price to food ratio was very fair and we enjoyed how fresh everything was, including the drinks that we were provided as part of our meal and even had a complimentary dessert with the executive chef special.

I loved this place, you can really make a day out of it, if you take your time to walk peacefully through the verdant jungle-like grounds, and onto the perfectly manicured gardens adored with a small lake, water falls, and blossoming plants. You’ll find a wide variety of beautiful flowers and exotic plants on full display. Gorgeous, relaxing, vibrant, and curious. I highly recommend for either a quiet romantic walk or a nice family outing with older kids, as it may be hard with a stroller due to some stairs (optional to teach viewing platforms), and a few gravel paths. Most of the grounds are either paved or cobblestone. There is a small cafe inside and parking right outside the front entrance. I recommend going during the week as there was virtually no one there when I went at 2 pm on a Monday.

This is a Hidden Gem. I've been coming to Costa Rica since 1988 I've been all through this area and never knew this existed. There's hardly any signage it's behind a business complex that you have to go in the garden gate and drive around to the back to get to the restaurant and the Botanical Garden. Don't miss out on this it's awesome.

We love this place perfect for the kids, you can bring your food and have a picnic with family, friends or both. There is a river that runs on one side. Its really well done, we even asked if we could do a family photo shoot, the charge 13$ plus your entrance (not bad).

Wonderful place to take a great photo

A quiet but symbolic place to visit on a drive from San Jose to La Fortuna. The cafe across the road is also a great stop.

This is a must-see while you are in Costa Rica! The church is simply stunning.

I liked how colorful the park located near the church is. Sarchí is well known for its oxcarts.

Very nice arquitecture A lot of nice details everywhere

Beautiful park

Pretty

The explanation is very interesting but it's to small

A nice clean park in down town Grecia. Nice benches to sit. Playground for children. Not very lively. Could do with some music and art.

Find this hidden gem and you won't be disappointed. This mariposeria is full of various butterflies. Sit on a bench for a couple of minutes and a half dozen will light on you. Danielo, the guy who runs it, speaks no English, but is very knowledgeable and eager to explain everything and answer all questions. Well worth a visit.

Lovely, inexpensive, and interesting for the whole family.

This butterfly garden is tucked away from the main road and gives one the sense of privacy when entering.

Too expensive and nothing special on it

Closed for no reason

The souvenir shop is big and has lots of variety but even for a souvenir shop it is expensive. We ended up not buying anything. The staff is standoffish and not very helpful. I gave a star just for the variety.

The place is full of options for wooden souvenirs amongst other articles to take back home and share some of the handmade costarican crafts. Even though is a bit pricy, it is certainly cheaper than any other places that sell the same kind of products. Got a couple of small magnets at $5.00 each. You want to go there.

Very nice place for Sarchi Costa Rica's souvenirs

Beautiful flowers and lots of hummingbirds. The falls are very tall and look great. This is nestled in the forest and you can't get to the the pool at the bottom. Very photogenic.

A great selection of art and goodies for travelers and locals alike! And the staff are wonderful. We made a special trip here and I am glad we did!

Nice shop for handmade souvenirs in the town of Sarchí at about 1:30 hour from San José. Nice wooden ox carts and other souvenirs. Prices are moderate, quality is good.

Renovations are making great strides to the place but it seems more like the emphasis is souvenir selling than anything else.

There were many souvenirs here, but as expected, they were at tourist prices. They also sell some nice furniture here. What I like to do is pretend I'm shopping for a chair, and try them all out for comfort. Some are much nicer than others. There are those that I can't wait to get out of, and others in which I wish I could curl up and fall asleep. While no longer the biggest souvenir store in town, they are home to the largest painted ox-cart wheel.

Perfect place to shop for Costa Rican souvenirs and handcrafted items. Huge market and friendly vendors.

Lots of great items to choose from. One of the Souvenir shops i go back to when I'm in that part of C.R.

Nice souvenir shop tours come here often a bit pricey but nice.

Everything is so expensive, todo es muy costoso

A cooperative of people who work on wood. Amazing art on wood.

Very nice owners.