Vallarta Botanical Garden

Twenty-odd kilometres up the Sierra Madre from Puerto Vallarta's beaches, the Vallarta Botanical Garden occupies a hillside of tropical dry forest above the Rio Los Horcones - a private, non-profit garden founded in 2005 that has become one of Latin America's more respected collections. The specialities are Mexican: orchids by the hundreds of species in the conservatory and shade houses, including many native to Jalisco; agaves and cacti on the sun terraces; vanilla, cycads, palms, tropical fruit and a growing conservation programme for endangered regional plants. Trails run down through the forest to the river, where visitors swim in cold green pools and rock ledges below the garden, and up into the hills for jungle walking. Birds are the other draw - the terraces are alive with hummingbirds, and the checklist runs long enough that birders come specifically. A hacienda-style restaurant with a view over the valley serves lunch, and the road up is itself a pleasure of switchbacks and forest.

What you actually see

• The orchid houses - hundreds of species, many Mexican natives.
• The agave and cactus terraces - dryland collections in the sun.
• The river trail - down to cold pools on the Horcones.
• The birds - hummingbirds and a long tropical checklist.

When to go

November to May for dry trails; spring for peak orchid bloom. Mornings for birds and the coolest walking - the hillside heats up by midday.

Honest expectations

Trails down to the river are steep and the climb back is real. It is a ticketed private garden, not a public park. Buses drop at the gate but the ride is slow; taxis and tours are faster.

Nearby

Puerto Vallarta's malecon lies forty minutes north; Yelapa and the southern bay coves are reached by boat from Boca de Tomatlan on the way.