Costa Rica | Preserving Paradise

Upon arrival in San José, you will be met by your local guide and transferred to your hotel. Check in to your room and settle in. Attend an orientation with your group leader at 6:00 pm, followed by a welcome dinner at the hotel restaurant. This evening there will be a presentation to introduce you to the tropics. Check-in starts at 3:00 pm. Please arrive at or before 4:00 pm in order to participate in this afternoon's programming.

This morning meet for breakfast, and then transfer to Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve. Upon arrival, receive an orientation to the lodge and the nonprofit Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center. After lunch, visit Costa Rica Best Chocolate and Curare Reserve. The deliciously enriching tour starts in the two-acre cacao plantation, where you will learn all about the cacao plant, its flowers, and pollination. Next, meet at the Cacao Rancho in the middle of the reserve to learn where chocolate comes from, starting with the fruit and ending with the final product. After watching the processes from seed to cocoa powder, you will get to sample freshly made chocolate. Return to Selva Verde Lodge for dinner. This evening attend a presentation on the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC). Selva Verde is in the MBC, which is an international initiative that links critical habitats from southern Mexico and Belize to Panama in an effort to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable development throughout this ecologically fragile region. This region of Costa Rica's rainforest is important because it is the last remaining habitat for the endangered Great Green Macaw.

After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, transfer to Montaña Sagrada Reserve located within Juan Castro Blanco National Park. Park and walk about a half mile to the park's new visitor center. This park is unique compared to other parks in Costa Rica in regards to its ownership and management. This area was declared a national park mainly to protect the water reservoirs for the region of San Carlos, though the national government has actually purchased only 5% of the land. In some parts of the park, farmers and cattle ranchers are still using their land while they were waiting for the government to purchase it. Management and protection of the park is the responsibility of a group of neighbors who call themselves APANAJUCA; the hydroelectric dams (generating 12% of the national production of electricity) are operated by a local cooperative called Coopelesca, and other dams by the National Institute of Electricity (ICE). APANAJUCA has an ongoing reforestation project in which they collect the seeds of endangered trees and plant them in a greenhouse where they will be nursed and then planted back to the park. Receive a lecture by a member of APANAJUCA then take a hike in the park. Return to the visitor's center for a boxed lunch then visit the carbon capture sampling plots where we will learn the measurement and sampling practice of Carbon fixed in the forest. Transfer back to Selva Verde Lodge in time for dinner.

After breakfast, visit a local school and participate in a charla (chat) to learn about Costa Rica's education system. After lunch back at the lodge, visit La Selva Biological Research Station for a tour of their facilities and speak with researchers about ongoing projects. Return to the lodge for dinner. This evening, recieve a lecture by one of Selva Verde's Naturalist Guides.

Enjoy early morning birding with your guide. After breakfast, depart for La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Explore the many trails and picturesque waterfalls as well as the hummingbird garden, lush botanicals, and much more. After lunch, continue to Carara on the Pacific coast.

Rise early for birding along the forest trails. After breakfast, explore the biodiversity of the transitional forest during a hike in Carara National Park. Explore the tremendous biodiversity of the overlapping Pacific rainforest and tropical dry forest. Next, embark on the famed Tárcoles River for an up-close look at the massive crocodiles that inhabit these waters. Return to the lodge for lunch and then hike along a canopy walkway - suspended bridge situated in the forest canopy. This evening listen to a lecture on macaws, followed by a night walk to look for kinkajous and other nocturnal creatures.

This morning after breakfast transfer to Manuel Antonio for a hike in the very popular Manuel Antonio National Park. The park is situated along the Pacific coast and is home to a rich variety of flora and fauna. Spend the day exploring the park's beautiful beaches and trails. There will be some free time later this afternoon to enjoy the area at your leisure. Arrive at the hotel for an evening presentation to learn about titi monkey conservation. This evening dinner is on your own to explore local fare.

After breakfast this morning transfer to the tropical cloud forest realm of San Gerardo de Dota's Savegre Hotel, Natural Reserve & Spa. En route, stop for lunch at Hacienda Barú and hear a talk on rainforest conservation. Continue to Savegre's almost 1,000-acre reserve, home to one of Costa Rica's treasures, the beautiful resplendent quetzal. After settling into the hotel, talk this evening with a member of the Chacón family about the history of the settlement of this region.

Spend a full day exploring the hotel and surrounding trails. A highlight includes a horseback ride along the Savegre River. This evening is at leisure to relax and perhaps enjoy the spa.

Begin the day with an early morning hike to look for quetzals. Breakfast is followed by departure for a visit to Irazú Volcano, then continue on to San José for a farewell dinner.

Transfer to the airport for your flight home. Check-out is at 12:00 pm.