Spend a Perfect Day at Guembe!!2009 New Years Night at Guembe • Año Nuevo 2009 en Güembé  The Guembe Biocenter in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (Biocentro Güembe, in Spanish) is home to the world's largest butterfly sanctuary and is a spectacular place to spend some time while you're in Bolivia's beautiful tropical region. Located just 20 minutes from downtown Santa Cruz, it is open 365 days a year from sunrise to sundown. But this beautiful 24-hectare (46-acre) paradise also has a surprising number of other unexpected amenities!
Known primarily for its immense netted butterfly dome, cruceños have come to refer to this adventure park as the "Mariposario Güembe" (pronounced goo-em-BEH). The park also houses a diverse collection of orchids in its "orquideario" (Bolivia has more orchid varieties than anywhere else in the world) and an aviary where you can see scarlet macaws, toucans, parrots, peacocks and other colorful tropical birds. This is about as much information as most locals will give you about this park. But wait! What you might not know is that it comes complete with a full resort hotel, bungalows, tent camping facilities, picnic and barbecue areas, numerous restaurants and bars, several large lagoons where you can go kayaking or fishing, 16 natural mineral water pools with natural sand bottoms, an enormous children's playground with shallow wading pools, indoor and outdoor event planning, horseback riding, mountain bikes, hiking trails, biolabs where you can learn about the different species you've seen live and conservation efforts that are underway, a gift shop, ample parking and coming soon, a convention center!
Once you've paid your entry fee, everything else is included except for food and beverages (and the hotel if you choose to stay - see more on hotel pricing below). MasterCard and Visa are accepted. You will also be charged if you choose to ride horseback (Bs. 10 per person) or take a horse and carriage ride (Bs. 5 per person), which must be paid in cash directly to the horse and buggy driver. You may also choose to rent camping equipment, kayaks and life jackets, mountain bikes and other equipment, which do cost a nominal fee, but you're welcome to bring your own. Güembé also has a gift boutique where you can purchase t-shirts, shorts, swimsuits and towels, in addition to assorted souvenirs.
From here you'll take a trail that leads you to a giant rock-clustered construction in the forest. This is the "orquideario" (orchid garden) where you can see a collection of numerous species of Bolivian orchids. The guide will explain to you why it is surrounded by seven pillars on each side, and the meaning of the circular quartz-encrusted floor beneath the round opening (I'm not going to tell you - it's interesting - go yourself!)
Past the kayak lagoon you'll see several cabanas in the forest - these are bungalows and are for rent as part of the hotel. The first, to your right has a sign that says "Recepción" - that's the lobby area where you'll sign in, find the hotel manager Tito Chajtur (who is fully bilingual in English and Spanish), and get settled in. Take a peek through the reception area out onto the lagoon. To your right you'll see a palm-frond covered open ...surprise...WORKOUT GYM... at the edge of the lake! Hammocks abound as do outdoor picnic areas. Click below for Guembe Hotel Reservations.
Additional activities include:
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