Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [461]
We’ve listed some lodges participating in the Costa Rican Bird Route, in the Boca Tapada area (Click here) and around Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí (Click here). Check the website for specific lodges, as well as for current volunteer opportunities.
Very basic cabins (per person US$50) in the woods sleep four and have shared cold-water bathrooms, while nicer rooms in the Waterfall Lodge (s/d/tr US$80/150/195) have a private hot-water shower and a balcony overlooking the rainforest. Even when it’s pouring outside you can watch the birds from your private balcony. The River-Edge Cabin (s/d US$80/160) is the nicest spot, with solar-powered electricity, hot water and separate rooms. It’s a dark (or romantic, depending on the company) 10-minute hike from the rest of the lodge.
Because getting here is time-consuming and difficult, a two-night stay is recommended. The bus to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí leaves San José (₡1160, 1½ hours) from the Guápiles-Limón terminal at 6:30am, and you’ll need to get off at Horquetas. Here, you’ll embark on the famed tractor ride. You can also arrange to be taken by jeep or on horseback, both of which require hiking the last 3km yourself.
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HWY 126 TO SAN MIGUEL
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Curving up the slopes of the Cordillera Central, Hwy 126 leaves behind the urban bustle of Heredia and Alajuela and leads to the foot of Volcán Poás before descending again into the bougainvillea-laced greenery of fincas and pastureland. This is campesino (farmer) country, where the plodding hoofbeat of cattle is about the speed of life, as the hard-to-spot rural speedbumps will remind you if you take those curves too quickly.
The highway passes through a number of small towns and villages before reaching San Miguel, which is the main transportation hub in the southeast corner of the region. From San Miguel, you can head northwest toward Los Chiles or northeast toward Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. Buses from San José to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí follow this route.
Hwy 126 climbs to just more than 2000m before reaching the tiny village of Vara Blanca, and, if you are lucky, on a clear day you can see Volcán Poás to the west and Volcán Barva to the east. At the gas station in town, continue straight if you’re heading to Poás or make a right turn for San Miguel. A few kilometers past the turnoff, the road starts to descend at a dizzying speed. If you’re on a tour or driving your own car, there are numerous viewpoints to stop for a photograph as well as ample opportunities for high- and middle-elevation bird-watching.
About 8km north of Vara Blanca, Río La Paz is crossed by a bridge on a hairpin bend; to your left you will find an excellent view of the absolutely spectacular Catarata La Paz. Several other waterfalls may also be seen, particularly on the right-hand side (if you are heading north) in the La Paz Valley, which soon joins up with the Sarapiquí Valley.
In January 2009 a massive earthquake (see boxed text) struck the Vara Blanca area, destroying the road from Vara Blanca to San Miguel. At the time of writing, a new road was under construction and scheduled for completion in late 2010. Check with locals for updates. Until the new road opens, the best way to drive from San José to Sarapiquí is to go counterclockwise, taking Hwy 32 to Santa Clara, then Hwy 4 north to Sarapiquí.
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SAN MIGUEL TO LOS CHILES
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The route from San Miguel to Muelle de San Carlos is trimmed by papaya plantations and jungles and winds through the mountains in a series of hairpin turns. But just as the patchwork of fincas and wildflowers gives way entirely to sugarcane, the road opens to a long, straight and usually steaming-hot stretch across the lowlands to Caño Negro and hot, dusty Los Chiles. This is the principal route to the border crossing with Nicaragua, which is a straightforward