Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [448]
For details on crossing into Panama, see boxed text above.
Return to beginning of chapter
Sleeping & Eating
Accommodations and restaurants are basic, but acceptable for any seasoned budget traveler. Don’t expect hot water (even if it’s advertised).
Cabinas Viajero (2nd fl, Soda Mi Sabor) Located on the north side of the highway, about 100m west of the bus station, you’ll find four new (if bare bones) tiled cabinas over a soda of the same name.
Cabinas Imperio (2754-2289; d US$20) About 1km from the border, across from the police checkpoint, this quiet motor-court style hotel has eight clean rooms with cool water showers.
Soda Nabbi (mains ₡1500-2500; 6am-9pm) Facing the Mercado Internacional, north of the highway, this ramshackle spot serves up plenty of gallo pinto (beans and rice) and fried fish.
Return to beginning of chapter
Getting There & Away
The bus station is one block north of the border crossing, on the east side of the main drag. Buses to either San José or Puerto Limón all stop at Bribrí and Cahuita.
Puerto Limón ₡2600; three hours; departs hourly from 5am to 6pm.
San José ₡5300; six hours; departs 6am, 8am, 10am and 3pm.
Return to beginning of chapter
Northern Lowlands
* * *
THE SARAPIQUÍ VALLEY
LA VIRGEN
LA VIRGEN TO PUERTO VIEJO DE SARAPIQUí
PUERTO VIEJO DE SARAPIQUí & AROUND
SOUTH OF PUERTO VIEJO DE SARAPIQUÍ
ESTACIóN BIOLÓGICA LA SELVA
SUEñO AZUL RESORT
HELICONIA ISLAND
RARA AVIS
HWY 126 TO SAN MIGUEL
SAN MIGUEL TO LOS CHILES
VENECIA & AROUND
BOCA TAPADA AREA
MUELLE DE SAN CARLOS
LOS CHILES
REFUGIO NACIONAL DE VIDA SILVESTRE CAÑO NEGRO
UPALA
SAN RAFAEL DE GUATUSO AREA
* * *
It’s getting harder and harder to get away from it all in Costa Rica – it’s only natural for a country this richly blessed with varied gifts to be such a desirable destination. So the saturation point of popular playas (beaches) means spillover to the next not-so-secret sliver of coast, and zip lines continue to proliferate over the canopies from Monteverde to Manzanillo. But travelers who stray to the wild rivers and tropical jungle of the northern lowlands find that in these places, the getting away is still good.
Tourism has certainly touched the lowlands, creating added revenue for a local economy whose living has historically been made from agriculture. Plantations of bananas, sugarcane and pineapples roll across the humid plains from the Cordillera Central to the Nicaraguan border; these plantations are fringed by the tropical forest which was slashed to create the plantations. But green is the color of budding tourism around these parts. Conservationists team with landowners and local governments to make ecotourism work for all parties involved – whether it’s the family farmer, the naturalist or the endangered great green macaw.
Bird-watchers, hoping to spot this macaw in the wild, flock to remote lodges in the verdant rainforests of the San Juan–La Selva Biological Corridor, while paddlers who are in the know show up to run the fun rapids of the Río Sarapiquí. Wildlife-watchers and fisherfolk alike head to the lagoons of Caño Negro, and travelers of all stripes are hopping launches up the Río Frío for the languid, fauna-rich river crossing to Nicaragua. This is real-life Costa Rica, where the balance of agricultural commerce and ecological conservation converge to create a contemporary work in green progress.
HIGHLIGHTS
Exploring the lagoons of Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Caño Negro (Click here) to take a gander at spoonbills or a stab at tarpon
Rafting the wildlife-rife Río Sarapiquí (Click here) near La Virgen
Keeping your eyes peeled for crocs and sloths as you float to the Río San Juan (see boxed text) at the Nicaraguan border
Slip-sliding through swampy jungle to spot poison-dart frogs and rare green macaws at Laguna del Lagarto Lodge
Exploring the ruins of Centro Neotrópico Sarapiquís (Click here) and traipsing the suspension bridges of nearby Tirimbina Rainforest Center