Costa Rica’s Wild Jungle and Water Adventure by Hal Peat
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When the word "eco-travel" entered the language in the late seventies, Costa Rica also became the next horizon for adventurous travelers seeking a tropical experience that would engage all the senses. A new millennium finds this small but geographically and naturally very diverse Central American country still at the forefront of this new wave of movement in travel. In fact, with all the continued development its travel industry over the past quarter century, Costa Rica is now also a leader in what could be called the eco-fitness movement - with an array of small to mid-sized environmentally-conscious operators of everything from adventure sports, ocean cruises, and eco-lodges and resorts that have something for any actively inclined traveler.
Cloud Forests, Rainforests, and Smoking Volcanoes
High on anyone’s list of land-based adventure in Costa Rica must be exploring at least one of the many national parks and bio-reserves that run the length of the country. What you will find can vary considerably: the terrain could be lush and flat, or dry and deciduous; there could be green macaws inhabiting one national park, or scarlet macaws in another park on the other side of the country. There may be well-appointed small hotels with horseback or hiking excursions existing in one reserve, while another park in the same region has only a fee collector at its entrance and no accommodation at all. The key is "know before you go": Costa Rica has the most species of flora and fauna of any nation in the entire hemisphere, and it also has an interesting variety of ways to explore them.
To hike the cloud forests—the highest rainforests found on the slopes of the Continental Divide—make your way to the most extensive of these, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, a 26,000 acre preserve covering a high mountain ridge some 100 miles northwest of the capital city of San José. Cool, windy and often wet Monteverde requires a pair of rubber boots (you can rent) and some warm layered clothing, but its plant and animal wildlife certainly make it worthwhile. Well-maintained and marked trails hereabouts are generally easy on both the ascent and descent. You can hike on your own, hire a guide lodge or come on a package with expert ecotravel operators—among the best-established throughout the country is Costa Rica Expeditions. Thousands of species of plant, bird and mammal life (including the beautiful quetzal bird) have made Monteverde world-famous, but if you cannot get here there are other cloud forests also worth a visit, including Vilablanca and the Los Angeles Cloud Forest Reserve, or the Tapanti National Wildlife Refuge, near Cerro de la Muerte. Monteverde has several excellent lodges to make your base, including the Monteverde Lodge (operated by Costa Rica Expeditions). After hiking the nearby trails, nothing beats soaking out your aches and pains in the Lodge’s big jacuzzi, then soaking in the vistas of groomed gardens that lead down into the cloud forests of the valley below you.
Hiking the lower-altitude rainforests presents an even wider variety of opportunities in several regions of the country. Corcovado National Park, in the southern Pacific Coast of the country, will probably be your best chance to actually see some large mammals—jaguar, ocelot, tapir or peccary—native to these tropical rainforests. Corcovado, which protects some 41,78 hectares of shallow lagoons, marshes, mangrove swamps, rainforest and sandy coastline, is the wilderness area with the greatest biodiversity in Costa Rica. You can also get up close with some of Costa Rica’s four active volcanoes--for instance, while in the Central Valley region you can view the active volcano, Arenal from a distance and pretty spectacular by night. Your best base for exploring the area is the town of La Fortuna de San Carlos; from which you can find local operators of everything from night-time volcano tours to horseback riding and rafting on the Sarapiqui river (a three-hour drive east). Irazu Volcano National Park, also located in the Central Valley and not far from San José, is the highest volcano. Dress warmly for your ascent to the rim of Irazu’s two craters, which resemble a desolate, moon-like surface and which provide fantastic views of the surrounding countryside. Poas Volcano National Park is the site of Costa Rica’s other accessible volcano; again there are trails and you can approach the rim of Poas, which remains quite active with hot geysers. Both Irazu and Poas are best reached by day trips offered by adventure operators originating in San José.
Watersport Adventure
While hard-core surfing, kayaking, windsurfing or diving enthusiasts are just as likely to come to Costa Rica purely for their own sport, those willing to vary their activity can just as easily combine some water sport with some land-based outings. The country’s Caribbean coast is just 132 miles long while the Pacific coast is a much lengthier 635 miles. Tortuguero National Park, tucked away along the country’s northern Caribbean coast, is as much a water experience as a land one. The leading eco-travel outfit here again is Costa Rica Expeditions, which operates the first-class, eco-designed Tortuga Lodge in Tortuga village. Tortuguero is about slow moving rivers—in fact, everything about Tortuguero is defined by the rivers, which provide the region’s roads and its soul. As your boat moves slowly through the forest, you are immersed in a world where the forests appear to merge with the rivers and the water becomes part of the trees. This ecosystem of jungle and canals supportscaimans, manatees and numerous bird and mammal species, while the shoreline is frequent home to the green sea turtle. Things to do: go on a on turtle walk arranged through your lodge or the Caribbean Conservation Corp., take a night hike in the area, or rent a dugout canoe (with or without a guide) to explore the canals.
Without question, the Pacific side of Costa Rica offers the most activity for ocean sports lovers, from more windsurfing at Bolanos Bay, near Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, to surfing hotspots with long break points at Playa Jaco, Playa Hermosa, various parts of Guanacaste province and far to the southern coast at Playa Pavones. There are board rental shops in the hub town, and operators and hotels along both coasts can rent you sea kayaking gear or arrange outings. Since road travel is slow throughout Costa Rica, one excellent solution to combine comfortable travel, access to the rainforests and an ocean adventure is taking a five to seven day trip aboard Cruise West’s small 100 passenger cruise ship Pacific Explorer, which sails from Puntarenas in the north all the way down to the northern coast of Panama. Each day, Pacific Explorer arrives at a new port of call among the bio-reserves that dot the Pacific coastline, such as Corcovado National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park, and Curu Wildlife Refuge. While the service aboard is top-notch, the focus is on daily activities: these begin onshore in the early morning with different levels of hiking and climbing expeditions, then in the afternoon you might be swimming, snorkeling or kayaking off some outlying islands.
Relaxing is an intrinsic part of coming in contact with the Costa Rica lifestyle where (as in most tropical zones) things move somewhat slower than the pace of a large city of the first world. One of the best ways you can get in sync with it is a few days at either Manuel Antonio National Park, on the central Pacific coast, although small is also extensively developed, having the most hotels and resorts of any park. A lowland rainforest that borders some splendid beaches, you can divide your time on a visit here between hikes to observe the many squirrel, howler, and white-faced monkeys, two-toed sloths, coatimundis, and raccoons from Manuel Antonio’s three main trails, or take advantage of the snorkeling from the beach areas. Both budget and high-end accommodation exist in Manuel Antonio and neighboring Quepos, and points between. Most eco-and-active friendly resort that you may find in the former town: Si Como No, which combines energy-saving technologies with luxurious amenities like a solar-heated jacuzzi and gourmet Costa Rican meals.