|
By María Gabriela
Díaz
Tico Times Staff
SARCHÍ – The eyes of the nation recently
turned to this coffee and craft town about an
hour’s drive northwest of San José when it
produced the largest oxcart in the world and
placed it on display for all to see at its central
park (TT, July 21).
Now, with the official inauguration of the
Else Kientzler Botanical Garden, a sevenhectare
collection of exotic plants from
around the globe, Sarchí offers another reason
to embark on a day trip to the area over
beautiful mountain roads.
“Sarchí used to be a stopover on the way
to the volcano (Poás), but today… the history
of Sarchí is changing,” said Hector
Rodríguez, president of the Sarchí Tourism
Chamber, at the garden’s inauguration ceremony
July 27.
Over the past 10 years, the garden’s history
has also changed substantially. A part of
ornamental plant export company Innovaplant
de Costa Rica S.A., the garden was
started in 1998 on a section of the company’s
property.
It was opened to visitors in 2004 (TT, Dec.
3, 2004) and has been operating since, but
the recent inauguration ceremony marked
the garden’s official birthday, according to
Innovaplant general manager Thomas
Schuster.
 |
|
 |
|
The garden was developed
in an area
planted with coffee crops that were
removed
to give way to trails, a nursery and
gardens
that are now planted with a variety of
orchids, bromeliads, hibiscus, heliconias
and
succulents.
In total, it is home to 2,000 different
types
of plants belonging to more than 80
families,
and boasts fruit trees, an arboretum,
leisure
areas, a lovely lake and a garden for the
blind,
where visitors can enjoy the botanical
experience
through their senses of touch, sound,
smell and taste.
Small plaques provide information on
specimens throughout the garden, and with
plenty of hanging seats, benches, picnic
tables and lookout points immersed in the
calm of the green surroundings, the garden
is best enjoyed at a slow pace. However,
the full tour can take anywhere from 45
minutes to three hours, depending on the
visitor’s hurry.
Handicapped visitors can
use approximately 40% of the trails, as an
estimated 60% could pose difficulties to
those with physical disabilities,
according to a statement from the garden.
And for whom is it named?
At the
inauguration, which brought together
Sarchí Mayor Victor |
Manuel
Rojas and representatives of the Costa
Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the
Tropical Agronomy Research Center (CATIE)
and several universities, Innovaplant
president Ludwig Kientzler, from Germany,
explained that the garden is named after
his mother, who for years managed the
family-run German company Kientzler,
Innovaplant de Costa Rica’s parent
company.
Kientzler explained that his
father died in 1961, leaving behind three
children, his wife and the botanical
company, which many people thought she
would not be able to run on her own. But
run it she did, and the German company has
now made it to its 100th anniversary.
In a
visit to Costa Rica with other family
members for the ceremony, Else Kientzler
officially inaugurated the garden,
snipping ribbons of intertwined German and
Costa Rican flags. Her son said he has
plans to extend the botanical garden,
which employs more than 500 people.
Three
more hectares are slated for development,
in addition to plans to build a
restaurant. The garden’s second part could
open within one or two years, Kientzler
said. |
|
|
|
English 
Spanish 
German 
Site Map
