If You Like… - Costa Rica - page 50

Playa Sámara The beach breaks here are some of the country's best for learning, but
those with more experience can paddle out to reef breaks.
IF YOU LIKE…VISITING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
Book a homestay with Osa Wild , a tour organization that is deeply embedded in the com-
munities of the Osa peninsula and can arrange homestays in the rainforest.
Bird- & Wildlife-Watching
Even for those who don't know their snowy-bellied emerald from their grey-breasted
wood wren, Costa Rica's birds are a thrill. Nearly 900 bird species fill Costa Rica's skies -
more than in the entire United States and Canada combined.
Wilson Botanical Garden About 1000m above sea level, this private reserve attracts many
specialty birds of southern Costa Rica, including some very rare high-altitude species, as
well as shy mammals like agoutis.
Península de Osa Although they're rare in the rest of the country, scarlet macaws fre-
quently light up the skies around Puerto Jiménez and Parque Nacional Corcovado.
Parque Nacional Los Quetzales In a bucolic mountain setting, this park is named for its
banner attraction, the flamboyantly colored ceremonial bird of the Aztecs and Maya.
Monteverde & Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserves Keep your eyes peeled for the keel-
billed toucan, three-wattled bellbirds and motmots.
Parque Nacional Tortuguero Herons, kites, ospreys, kingfishers, macaws: the bird list is a
mile long at this wildlife-rich park.
Hiking
Rainforest trails and endless strolls down the beach, high-altitude mountains and cloud
forest: the only way to see it all in Costa Rica is to don some boots and hit the trail.
Parque Nacional Chirripó Up and up and up: the trail to the very top of Costa Rica is a thrill-
ing (chilly) adventure.