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Please visit David Milsom's Photo Gallery: Costa Rica |
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This peaceful, democratic Central American country, with a long history of respect and care for its environment, deserves its reputation as the wildlife sanctuary of the Americas. It has preserved a greater proportion of its habitat than any other country in the world and, as a result, has an excellent system of national parks, biological reserves and wildlife refuges. We've chosen our favourite "off-the-beaten-track" locations to show you the best of this amazing tropical treasure house of birds, plants and mammals on both sides of the Continental Divide.
Our tour will include a visit to the Central Highlands where we'll have a front row seat to watch Arenal Volcano as its bursts of fire and red-hot rocks light up the darkness. In the high misty slopes of a magnificent cloud forest along the Continental Divide, we'll peer through the moist, dense canopy in search of resplendent quetzals, toucans, tanagers, sloths, monkeys and exotic orchids. We'll visit La Selva tropical nature reserve, and we'll experience the diversity of the arid Pacific lowland jungles, a stronghold of the American crocodile and the endangered scarlet macaw.
The tour has an optional extension to the lush flora and fauna of the remote Pacific Coast rainforest, exploring the high-canopied forest trails of Tiskita Biological Reserve. There will be howler, squirrel and capuchin monkeys dangling from mossy branches, sloths high in the canopy, brilliant butterflies such as the stunning blue morpho, and a large variety of colourful neo-tropical birds. |
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| FACTS: |
| • | 11-day trip |
| • | Maximum 16 participants |
| • | Start and finish in San Jose, Costa Rica |
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| HIGHLIGHTS: |
| • | Watching Arenal Volcano light up the darkness |
| • | Searching for quetzals, toucans, tanagers, sloths and monkeys in the cloud forest |
| • | La Selva Nature Reserve |
| • | Visiting the Pacific lowland jungles, a stronghold of the American crocodile and the endangered scarlet macaw |
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| ACTIVITY LEVEL: |
| • | Moderate. We will be walking at a leisurely pace, with frequent stops, with longer days in the field and some uneven and inclined trails. You will also need to be able to get in and out of small boats. At Tiskita Jungle Lodge, some of the trails are steeper, and because of the heat, may seem more difficult. |
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| ACCOMMODATIONS: |
| Hotel Bougainvillea |
| Selva Verde Lodge |
| Arenal Observatory Lodge |
| Bosque de Paz |
| Villa Lapas |
| Hotel La Condesa |
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| EXTENSIONS: |
| Tiskita Rainforest Lodge |
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| ITINERARY IN BRIEF: |
| Day 1: |
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Arrive in San José |
| Day 2: |
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Braulio Carrillo National Park |
| Day 3: |
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Selva Verde |
| Day 4 - 5: |
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Arenal Volcano |
| Day 6: |
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Bosque de Paz Cloud Forest |
| Day 7: |
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Bosque de Paz |
| Day 8 - 9: |
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Rio Tarcoles, Pacific Coast, Carara Reserve |
| Day 10: |
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San José |
| Day 11: |
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Depart San José or begin our extension to Tiskita Rainforest Lodge |
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 Sherry is a naturalist who has worked in the provincial, national and regional park systems in British Columbia, in museums and has run her own business in the field of interpretation. The west coast has been her home for 25 years and she has explored many areas of it. She is the principal author of the art book that helped raise awareness and led, eventually, to the protection of the Carmanah Valley. She has previously been a Quest leader in the Queen Charlotte Islands and on Quest's Vancouver Island trip.
416-633-5666 / 1-800-387-1483
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 Costa Rica & Panama Canal
Experience the Wildlife of Central America
Length: 10 days
Start: San Jose, Costa Rica
Finish: Panama City, Panama
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Our participants say...
It definitely was a wonderful tour. Pete was an excellent guide (as he was
on the Iceland Tour I took last year), and the Costa Rican guide we had
was great.
I highly recommend this tour to anyone that loves birds, animals and
plants because you are overwhelmed with all of them. The naturalist
guide that I had on my waterfall hike at Bosque de las Paz was very
knowledgeable and interesting. This is a tour that I would take again. Olga K.
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