National Geographic Traveller (UK)
NATURE EXPERIENCES
This reserve on southwest Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula has been hailed by National Geographic as ‘the most biologically intense place on the planet’. Animal highlights include Baird’s tapirs and coatis, while birdlife includes harpy eagles and scarlet macaws. osaaventura.com costaricaexpeditions.com
OSA PENINSULA
Rich with wildlife, the lush peninsula was best known for its banana plantations and gold mines until 1989, when Belen Momeñe opened a threebungalow hotel here. The lowcarbon El Remanso Lodge — run by her daughter Adriana — is an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding rainforest. elremanso.com
TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK
The park shelters a wide variety of life, including green sea turtles, manatees, caimans, armadillos and howler monkeys. The best way to explore is by boat with Tortuguero Adventures. You can fly directly to the town of Tortuguero from
San José, but the most interesting approach is by river from Moín. tortuguero-adventures.com
SAN GERARDO DE DOTA
High in the cloud forest of the Central Highlands, this pretty mountain town is a gateway to Los Quetzales National Park: the place to see the rare resplendent quetzal. To see one ‘swimming’ through the air is one of Costa Rica’s great wildlife experiences. Costa Rican Trails provides a full day of birdwatching from $131 (£99). costaricantrails.com
HACIENDA BARÚ
Ewing’s eco-lodge is an ecotourism pioneer. Located near the surfing town of Dominical, it sits in an area of reclaimed rainforest teeming with monkeys, sloths, toucans and anteaters. It offers 11 tours, including a night hike ($39/£29 per person) when bugs, frogs, owls and snakes come out. haciendabaru.com