Hiking and Camping in Costa Rica
I learned all about nature and I like bird watching. My surprise is that I like bird watching. (Serendipity guide) Jose ROCKS! I really like the Land Cruiser; it was very comfortable.
—Ethan K., 10 yr., New York, February 2008
Trails for nature, trails for exercise, trails for spectacular views
One kind of hiking — where the mission is to see the waterfalls, and birds, and lizards and other critters, and stay cool and hot at the same time.
Shown here is one of Serendipity's private hiking places near Turrialba.
Hiking has a different meaning for different people, and before we design a hiking experience for you, we need to know what you are expecting. Here are some things to think about.
Conventional hikes
The National Parks offer established hiking routes. Since the idea of rainforest hiking is to see the rainforest, and preserve it as well, these hikes are laid out and marked by the park service, and in many instances the routes are “improved” — paving stones so you don't sink in mud, steps and handrails so you don't need to go hand-over-hand.
In any of the National Parks and private parks you are not permitted to wander off the trail, as that creates ecological damage. This style of hiking is usually 2-5 hours and travels in a loop. Along the way there will be sign posted points of interest. The type of animals you will see is determined by how many people are using the same trails, and how quiet you can stand while waiting. By the way, some National Parks allow camping in regulated camping areas accessible by car. None of the National Parks allow real penetration for jungle camping in pristine wilderness.
Naturalist hikes
Cloud forests are surreal — the misty air and giant, pre-jurassic ferns take your senses to another era, millions of years ago.
Then there's another style of hiking — the pure joy of walking slowly, standing still, and looking and seeing wonderful things. The sense of hurry drops away and the goal is purely to savor the surroundings. These hikes can be very short distances — perhaps 2 kilometers in a silent cloud forest — and take five hours to absorb everything there is to see, smell, hear, and sense.
Cloud forests demand this type of intimacy, and hiking in a cloud forest is closer to tip-toeing than walking. There's a serenity here that defies the outer world. You're enveloped by the dense vegetation and thick fog.
By the way, Monteverde is the most famous cloud forest, and certainly the most visited "nature" area in our small country. Because of its tourism popularity, Monteverde is referred to as the "crowd forest" by local Costa Ricans. Serendipity has selected instead several private cloud forests, which have their own unique cloud forest ecosystems but without busloads of people.
Rugged hikes (bushwhacking)
Hiking the Indigenous lands requires machetes and walking sticks and a true sense of pioneer spirit
Some of the more interesting hikes Serendipity offers are on preserves, both Indigenous lands (our Cabecar Trail is one such hike) and on national preserves (as opposed to National Parks). These hikes follow trails used by native people, or by animals (believe it or not, big cats follow the same route followed by people since it is the easiest route). When our Indian leader tells us “it's two hours hike from here” he means two hours at Indian speed, or about five hours at white man speed. Even the very fit amongst our guides finds it impossible to keep up with the Indian trail blazers. Fortunately we can slow up the Indians in front of us by asking them, politely, to whack the trail clear with the machete. They are very agreeable to do the whacking, but they sometimes forget the height difference — often a foot or more for our guides and guests than for our Indian leader. So the overgrowth also slows down our progress. These hikes are rugged, unimproved, often slippery, and are more classically Hollywood in the drama of the terrain and flora and fauna. There will be fewer animals on this style hike than in the National Parks, because, even though there are fewer people, there's nonetheless a lot of noise whacking with machetes.
This is the “top of the world” — the rim of the crater of an active volcano.
Hurrah! We made it!
And then there's “purposeful” hiking — to reach a vista, to vanquish a mountain, to look down on the world. With the jungle all around you, it is, as they say, a matter of not seeing the forest for the trees. But when you hike to the top of the world (or at least the top of the one of our volcanoes) you have a view of lushness, and sometimes even a view of two oceans (Atlantic and Pacific). And there's always the sense of conquest to reward you.
So, when we design your trip, let us know what you mean by hiking.
Camping in Costa Rica
Camping is comfortable, but it is also REAL.
At least we didn't have to chase off the crocodiles before setting up the tents
As you would expect from Serendipity, we have located some really interesting places to pitch our tents. When the Serendipity adventure requires us to be someplace where the accommodations are just too touristy (or, the other extreme, non-existent) then we choose to get out under the stars. And we have the best of camping equipment: well maintained good quality tents, comfy and thick air mattresses.
Getting to the campsite may be by foot, horse, oxcart, tractor, canoe, kayak, raft, bike, ropes and harnesses, 4X4, or powerboat.
Our trips can involve camping, but we do not offer "camping" trips as an individual activity. None of the camping locations used by Serendipity Adventures is open to public use; we have made arrangements to use private land, on a very limited intrusion basis. (If you are looking for camping facilities in Costa Rica, please contact the Instituto Costarricense Turismo (ICT), phone (800) 343-6332.)
If you're interested in an intense hiking experience, have a look at our Cabecar Trail Hiking vacation. or see our sample itineraries of private holidays for examples of how hiking and camping can be integrated into your custom Costa Rican vacation.
The first step to enjoying hiking and camping in Costa Rica with Serendipity is to contact us.
