Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 230

304 Finca Rosa Blanca Country Inn
Sustainability and conservation go hand-in-
hand at this luxury inn above the forests of the
Central Valley, just half an hour from San José.
The nine artistically decorated rooms, including
two villas, have views of the coffee plantations
and spring-fed swimming pool below. The Finca's
certified guide, Manolo, runs naturalist walking
tours; other activities include horse-riding and
white-water rafting. W www.inca-rblanca.co.cr;
T [phone].

308 Cerro
Escondido
The best way to
arrive here is to
arrange a horseback
ride from Montaña
Grande. Deep in the
Karen Mogensen
Reserve on the
Nicoya Peninsula,
this lodge has four
simple teak cabañas
from where guests
can try guided
birdwatching tours
and excursions to
the spectacular
waterfall at Velo
de Novia (“Bride's
Veil”). For further
info see W www.
eco-indextourism.
org; for reservations
visit W www.
actuarcostarica.com;
T [phone].

305 Bosque del Cabo
A great pick for wildlife enthusiasts. On the
lodge's doorstep - where the rainforest meets
the Pacific - is the Osa Peninsula, home to flocks
of macaws, parrots, monkeys, coatis and sloths.
Choose between ten solar-powered thatched
bungalows or two houses along the bluff of Cabo
Matapalo. Jungle cats (including pumas and
jaguars) have been spotted on the property, so
keep your eyes peeled. W www.bosquedelcabo.
com; T [phone].

306 Danta Corcovado Lodge
The highlights here include the the Osa
Peninsula rainforest and the Golfo Dulce (a
tropical fjord). Run by a local family, this simple
lodge is sited within a farm in Guadalupe, just
8km from the Los Patos sector of Corcovado
National Park, and the closest place to the
Guaymi Indigenous Reserve. Activities include
kayaking through the mangroves and jungle
walks by night. W www.dantacorcovado.net;
T + 506 2735 1111.

309 Rara Avis
Rainforest
Lodge and
Reserve
The only way to
reach this remote
lodge (other than
to walk in 15km) is to ride for three hours on
a tractor-pulled cart from Las Horquetas de
Sarapiquí, a 90min drive from San José. Guests
choose between a two-room riverside cabin or
an eight-room lodge, in rustic rooms (each with
a hot-water bathtub and balcony), a 5min walk
from a waterfall in the heart of a thousand-
square-kilometre tract of virgin rainforest. The
reserve is home to bitterns, snowcaps, umbrella
birds, great green macaws, parrots and toucans.
W www.rara-avis.com; T [phone].

Waterfall at Rara Avis in the
heart of a private reserve;
Rara Avis ecolodge

307 Costa Rica Treehouse Lodge
An intricately designed treehouse - built for up to
six people - in and around a sangrillo tree behind
Punta Uva beach, just south of Puerto Viejo in
the province of Limón. Guests can explore the
wilderness of the Gandoca-Manzanillo wildlife
refuge by dugout canoe with indigenous guides or
just lie in a hammock perched among the trees and
admire the ocean views, deep in nature.
W www.costaricatreehouse.com; T [phone].