This snake house offers a hands-on animal experience, as in, handling and milking a venomous snake. It's home to a red-tailed boa (one of the largest snakes in the world), as well as frogs, amphibious lizards, iguanas, turtles, scorpions, tarantulas and butterflies. Good photo ops! Ask about feeding time if you want to see snakes devouring bugs, frogs and even other snakes. Located on the main road uphill from the lake, which connects to La Fortuna.

A two-hour guided tour offers a more intimate experience. A soda is attached – though you may not have much of an appetite after watching feeding time.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

2. Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal

3.04 MILES

From 1968 until 2010, Volcán Arenal was an ever-active and awe-striking natural wonder, producing menacing ash columns, massive explosions and streams of…

3. Mirador El Silencio

4.46 MILES

Set on 22 hectares, this private reserve about 11km west of La Fortuna is a mix of primary and secondary forest, filled with life, from vibrant blue…

4. Catarata Río Fortuna

5.01 MILES

You can glimpse the sparkling 70m ribbon of clear water that pours through a sheer canyon of dark volcanic rock arrayed in bromeliads and ferns with…

5. Reserva Santa Elena

6.57 MILES

The exquisitely misty 310-hectare Reserva Santa Elena offers a completely different cloud forest experience from Monteverde. Cutting through the veiled…

6. Arenal Natura

7.24 MILES

Located 6km west of La Fortuna, this is a well-manicured nature experience that includes frogs, turtles, snakes and crocs, all in their appointed places…

7. El Arbol Hueco

8.16 MILES

There's no sign, no website, and last we checked, nobody was collecting any money for this delightful roadside attraction. It's simply a hollowed-out fig…

8. Catholic Church

8.16 MILES

This prominent landmark oversees the central plaza of La Fortuna. The landscaped green is often dotted with outdoor art exhibits and souvenir stands, and…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "costa-rica/el-castillo/attractions/arenal-ecozoo/a/poi-sig/1190660/1318774",
      "position": "superzone"
    }