Top Things at the Butterfly House + Botanical Gardens in Calarcá

I visited the butterflies and the gardens off a main road between Armenia and nearby Calarcá (kah-lahr-KAH).

Here is my Top Ten list....

10.  Because of its large size, walking through the jungle environment of Jardines Botánicos exceeds the experience of visiting Parque de la Vida on Armenia's north side.  I suggest that visitors wear shorts, a T-shirt or lightweight shirt .. and footwear suitable for a mild hike on cleared pathways.

9.  Entrance fee in 2017 is 30,000 pesos -- about $10 US -- with 50 percent off for niños.  This pays for hours of time in the jardines and visits to the butterfly house and ancillary museums, such as the palms museum .. and tour information provided by one of the required guides who accompany all visitors.

8.  My guide, Dora, spoke English and Spanish.  By the time we were five minutes into my 90-minute tour given in English -- during which she spoke continuously -- it was obvious she was skilled in giving TMI.  As soon as she finished telling me the statistics on the number of species of palm trees in Colombia versus the number in Malaysia .. I asked her please to cut her talking down by 50 percent so I could enjoy walking in nature's 'silence' the other 50 percent.  She obliged.

7.  A remarkable feature on the jungle tour, which in my case preceded the butterfly-house visit, is a 50-foot-wide outdoor map -- with raised features to scale -- depicting all areas and municipalities in department Quindío (which Dora told me is the smallest department in Colombia).  COL uses the word departamentos instead of states or provinces, Dora explained.  She knew off the top of her head the altitudes of various pueblos I pointed to on the unusual map .. indicating that in Quindío the Expat-friendly higher altitudes (cool yet mild weather) are in such places as Salento, Calarcá and Circasia.

6.  There is a bird-watching house in the jungle with double-sided glass at the back of the small building.  If the visitors are quiet, the dozens of birds in the garden-clearing beyond the glass are apparently unaware they are being watched.  What they see is a mirror on the side of the house.  They are mostly small birds.  There is rustic seating inside the bird-watching house so one can take a proper break from the walk while watching the pájaros.

5.  Dora told me that the land of the botanical (private) property was purchased 37 years ago and opened to the public 17 years ago after being developed into Colombia's largest butterfly-house plus gardens.  She said the park has few visitors during about 40 weeks out of the year .. and is busy during Christmastime till January 20th, Easter Week, a holiday week in October and some (North American) summer weeks.

4.  I wasn't expecting much uphill walking .. and by the time we reached the bird-watching house, I was starting to get overheated.  After viewing and then leaving the birds, I asked Dora if she would mind if I removed my shirt.  She made gestures that I interpreted as ‘OK if you have to' .. and I went shirtless until we got back to the reception building.

3.  After washing up in the baños area and having a cold, sweet coffee-drink at the cafeteria .. I and Dora walked over to the nearby butterfly house -- which is covered with a diaphanous material that allows in maximum sun and air.  Hundreds of butterflies were flitting around or resting in the late afternoon.  Dora said visitors should arrive around noontime to see the most butterflies -- they love the sun.

2.  The butterflies spend most of their lives in the enclosure, Dora told me.  Their eggs are moved to a special breeding facility away from public view .. and the resulting caterpillars are tended to over there.  When the butterflies emerge in a post-caterpillar stage, they are brought to the butterfly house for the public to enjoy watching them.

And the #1 thing I noticed at the butterfly house in Calarcá....

1.  While there were Monarch butterflies which are common in the Northeastern United States, the fascinating colored patterns of most of the butterflies were new to me in a natural setting.  I had seen them only in picture books as a boy when I was a butterfly collector in upstate New York.  A number of the butterfly species that I saw on this visit had camouflage-features that made them appear -- while resting -- to be leaves .. or otherwise blend into the foliage.