A Road Trip to SARAPIQUÍ
The Other Side of the Mountain
Sarapiquí is an ecotourist’s dream — a vast expanse of tropical rain forest teeming with animals, bursting with vegetation and mercifully spared from the megaresorts and hordes of tourists found in many parts of Costa Rica. It’s renowned for its unspoiled forests, wild rivers and environmentally friendly ecolodges.
Situated northeast of the Central Valley, the canton of Sarapiquí is not as well known as Guanacaste, Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio or even the Osa Peninsula, except among knowledgeable whitewater rafters and serious jungle researchers. It has in recent years become more popular, especially as a day trip or weekend destination for people in the Central Valley.
We had heard there is surprisingly much to see and do in this northernmost part of the province of Heredia, so we set out on a grand circle tour that took both roads to and from Sarapiquí.
Leaving the always overcrowded highways of San José and Heredia, we drove north through the increasingly open and less crowded towns on route 126, which cuts between the Poás and Barva volcanoes. At the bottom of the La Paz Waterfall is a new and rather ugly bridge, which along with the scars on the mountain slopes, is a reminder of the terrible 2009 earthquake that destroyed this area, killing at least 34 and leaving some 64 people missing.
Birding spot
Near the top of the rise we stopped, and you should too, at the Cinchona Café
Colibrí. The current structure is rebuilt on what was left after it was destroyed in the earthquake. The family that owns the restaurant has for many years put out hummingbird and fruit feeders, and the spot has become renowned in birding circles.
From there we started the long descent to the plains of Sarapiquí. The road roughly follows the border between Alajuela and Heredia provinces and the Sarapiquí River, which forms in the heights of Poás and gives the area its name. Looming to our right and covering almost all of southern Sarapiquí and the Barva Volcano is Braulio Carrillo National Park.
We continued to drop out of the mountains on the Caribbean slope and entered the La Virgen section of Sarapiquí, where the region’s first big attraction is located — rafting and kayaking. The moderate Class III rapids are ideal for novices and families and offer plenty of opportunity for wildlife viewing on the calm stretches between thrilling rapids.
There are several operators — Sarapiquí Outdoor
Center is a good one. If you want to make this the end of your first day in Sarapiquí, we can suggest the wonderful Sarapiquis Rainforest Lodge.
The next day we continued up through La Virgen and headed toward Puerto Viejo (not to be confused with the Puerto Viejo on the south Caribbean coast). Along the way we stopped at one of the more curious attractions in the area: Dave and Dave’s Nature
Park. The father and son U.S. expats who own this small reserve have worked it for years, restoring the forests and promoting second-growth forests. They have an interesting story and a tour that is not quite like those you usually find: You sit, you talk, you walk the trails, you drink coffee, and you photograph frogs and birds that you’d have a hard time seeing in other places. It’s a quirky and great way to spend a morning.
There is surprisingly much to see and do in this northernmost part of the province.