Finca El Zapote 2026: Garden Entry Q165, Waterfall Tours, Camping and the Dirt Road In

Finca El Zapote is a working farm and private reserve in Escuintla, on the slopes of Volcán de Fuego, whose main draw is 15 manzanas of botanical gardens with a spring, a natural spring-fed pool and four lakes. Day entry is Q165 per adult for groups of 2-14 people, every visit needs a reservation by WhatsApp, and the last 7 km of road is dirt that the farm says needs a high car.

Every price, rule and direction below comes from the farm’s own website, fincazapote.com, read on 31 October 2026. For a different kind of nature park with zip lines and published opening hours, see Reserva Natural Atitlán.

Quick summary

Garden entry by group size

The garden-entry page splits its day tariff by party size. Labels are reproduced as the farm writes them.

The same page adds that babies 0-24 months are not charged, that booking is “Reserva requerida”, made through WhatsApp 5000-1899, and “Cupo limitado según reservas existentes”. It also states “Cambio de fecha de visita con vigencia de 6 meses de crédito”: a changed visit date keeps its value as a credit for six months. The tables start at 2 people; the page gives no solo rate.

What the entry fee includes

The garden-entry page lists these as included for day visitors:

• A walk through the 15 manzanas of botanical gardens, with the spring, the natural pool and the four lakes.
• Use of the spring-water pool, with a Tarzan rope, a trampoline and two surfboards.
• Rowing in two small boats or one kayak.
• Catch-and-release fishing: the farm provides the rods and you bring your own bait. The activities page says the four lakes hold tilapia and the bamboo rods are kept at the first lake.
• Giant wooden swings; the activities page says there are more than six.
• Wildlife watching: the farm lists birds, a heron nesting island, ducks, geese, garrobos, iguanas and river otters among others.
• Rustic volleyball and football pitches: bring your own ball.
• An obstacle course. The activities page describes it as more than 7 obstacles in a eucalyptus forest. The garden-entry page lists it as included, but the activities page lists it under ‘ÚNICAMENTE EVENTOS DÍA DE CAMPO’; the farm’s two pages disagree, so confirm it is set up for your date.

The activities page lists five things as Día de Campo events only, not part of an ordinary garden day: a guided history tour (the Casa Patronal, fruit orchards, the spring and the family cemetery), short courtesy horse rides for children and teenagers, food and drink sales, a water slide of more than 40 metres, and the obstacle course (see above).

Food, drink and rubbish rules

The farm states “No ofrecemos venta de alimentos” for day visitors. Its rules:

• Ready-made picnic food is allowed.
• Stoves, grills and liquor are prohibited, and you may not arrive to cook.
• Beer and wine in moderate quantity are allowed.
• Visitors are asked to take their rubbish back.
• The farm sets out tables and chairs in the shade for day visitors.
• Catering is offered for groups, private events and Día de Campo events, not for an ordinary day visit.

Waterfall tours

The tours page says the waterfall tour is offered to house guests and, subject to guide availability, to day visitors and campers. Request it in advance by WhatsApp at 5000-1899 together with your reservation.

The separate activities page prices a version of Option 2 at Q80 per person using the visitor’s own vehicle, which it says must be 4x4 or AWD. The two pages differ, so confirm which version and price applies when you book. The activities page also lists horses for guests of the houses and private groups at Q100 per horse per hour with a wrangler.

Camping and the lake house

Camping is priced on its own page:

Each site includes more than 30 m² facing a lake, a wooden picnic table and an XL camping hammock; the farm describes the sites as fully shaded with views of the Agua and Pacaya volcanoes. Check-in is at 9 am and check-out at 4 pm. The price includes 2 days of garden entry, use of the garden toilets and changing rooms 200 metres away with a simple shower, a fire pit with firewood, security and nearby parking. A grill with charcoal costs extra. Unlike day visitors, campers may bring small stoves and grills.

The lake house (Casa del Lago) is a fully equipped house for 2-9 people with an equipped kitchen, a living room with fireplace and a porch with hammock. Sheets, towels, filtered water, basic ice and firewood are included; cooking oil and shampoo are not.

Stays of 2 or more nights also get 25% off tours and extras. Meals can be hired but must be booked at least 4 days before arrival; the farm offers one menu option per group, adjustable for dietary requirements.

Getting there

The directions page puts the farm in Escuintla, 1 hour 45 minutes from the capital and 1 hour from Antigua, and repeats that a reservation is needed before you set off.

• The road: 7 km and about 30 minutes of dirt road starting at El Rodeo, Escuintla (RN-14, km 97). The farm says a high car (SUV or pickup type) is required and it does not recommend a sedan or minivan because of the slopes and exposed stones. SUVs without 4x4 do get in.
• Rivers: the road crosses four rivers without bridges, which the farm calls relatively easy to cross. The surface is mainly sand and stone, without mud.
• Rainy season: the farm says the rivers can rise during downpours in months of heavy rain, and recommends arriving early in the morning. Its own note on timing reads “inicio de lluvias varía pero por lo general ocurren pasado las 2pm”.
• Navigation: the farm writes “NO USAR WAZE” because Waze sends a long route via Siquinalá, and says Google Maps navigates correctly from the pin on its directions page.
• The gate: the entrance is past the fourth river, under a large ceiba tree and an iron gate, with a FINCA EL ZAPOTE sign outside.

For the wider department, see Escuintla.

Where to sleep

The farm has its own campsites and lake house. If you want a hotel instead, the farm puts Antigua one hour away, and in the rainy season it recommends arriving early in the morning. See where to stay in Antigua for the town’s neighbourhoods.

Live availability around Antigua:

The gardens’ history

The farm’s history page says the land belonged in the 1800s to a German company, Hanseatische Plantagen-Gesellschaft, mainly for coffee. In 1928 Leif Lind Pettersen, from Norway, and his wife Carmen Gehrke, a Guatemalan artist, bought Finca El Zapote with Norwegian partners. In the 1930s the farm took part in a US public-private project to establish cinchona (quinine) trees in Guatemala, and the page says the farm still produces and exports the bark to Germany. In the 1960s the couple created the 100,000 m² (15 manzana) garden around a spring that feeds the natural pool and, by gravity, the four lakes and a small artificial waterfall. Carmen Pettersen is best known for her paintings of Guatemalan indigenous dress, collected in the book Maya de Guatemala.

More nearby

• Hot springs in Guatemala, for other natural bathing spots.
• Food and drink prices, for budgeting the picnic.
• All activities.

Sources

All read on 31 October 2026.

• Finca El Zapote: homepage
• Finca El Zapote: garden entry
• Finca El Zapote: activities
• Finca El Zapote: waterfall tours
• Finca El Zapote: camping
• Finca El Zapote: lake house
• Finca El Zapote: how to get there and dirt road
• Finca El Zapote: history
• Finca El Zapote: contact