Hiking the Natural Beauty of Southern Costa Rica and Northern Panama

The Trip

Our hiking adventure will dazzle you with the diversity of flora and fauna in these two small, but wildlife-rich countries that form the Central American isthmus. Days here in the countryside begin early with a "dawn chorus" of howler monkeys and birds greeting the sunrise. In the cooler highlands of both countries, we will explore fog-shrouded cloud forests. Butterflies, monkeys, sloths, and coatis (coatimundi) are among the wildlife we hope to see.

The human history of this part of the American Continent portrays how it was settled by migrating people coming from the Bering Straits about 15,000-35,000 years ago. Some of these hunting and gathering nomadic tribes settled in Costa Rica between 12,000-8,000 BC. Around 1,000 BC the societies developed from nomadic to agricultural subsistence, and the polytheistic natives began to grow beans, corn, and tomatoes – as in most of Central America. Artisans began to fashion crafts such as necklaces, ceramics, ocarinas and the famous metates (sculpted stones for grinding crops). Situated between North and South America, the isthmus was a gateway of wildlife exchange between the two continents. In a similar fashion, Costa Rica was an area of cultural interchange, mainly influenced by the Maya and Aztecs. In contrast to these two high cultures the Costa Rican natives lived in small communities and left only little evidence behind.

The natives on the Caribbean were oriented towards Panama, Columbia and Ecuador, with whom they traded. The settlers on the Pacific side – especially in Nicoya – were more influenced by indigenous groups of Mesoamerica until 500-800 A.D., when the Mayan culture was replaced by a stronger South American influence.

https://travelcostarica.nu/history

As a policy for national preservation, Costa Rica and Panama have made a commitment to secure for future generations natural environments and continue to designate newly protected areas. Costa Rica has successfully preserved over 26% of its lands as protected parks and reserves, ensuring the ongoing function of the various complex ecosystems and the survival of its fauna. In addition, it has an ongoing naturalization program to re-connect sections of ecological habitat that mirror the migration patterns of wildlife, even extending into Panama. For this and other reasons, a trip to these countries offers insight into successful environmental conservation.

For anyone who loves nature and hiking, and enjoys learning about conservation efforts in other nations, this trip is for you! Read the itinerary below and determine if this outstanding, adventurous, and educational trip is a good fit!

Itinerary:

Prior to the trip start: your leader will recommend several independently arranged and optional tours originating in the San Jose area to enrich your visit to Costa Rica.

Day 1: On Sunday, January 26, our trip begins in San Jose, Costa Rica. Around 5:00 p.m. we will gather at the Hotel Parque Del Lago to meet our most accommodating concessionaire and Costa Rican guide. After brief introductions, we will review the trip, followed by a delicious, welcome-to-the-trip dinner before retiring to rest-up for our journey.

Day 2: After breakfast, we will depart for a scenic drive up the Talamanca Mountains to Los Quetzales National Park, which is Costa Rica’s newest national park. Popular for its cloud forest and birds, the Park is a special habitat for the famous Resplendent Quetzal--one of the most beautiful birds in the Western Hemisphere. During our drive we will stop for lunch and begin our bird-spotting at a scenic location. We eventually will arrive at the Savegre River valley, at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, where we will stay at a comfortable ecolodge for the next two nights. After checking-in, we will complete our first trip hike--two to three miles--in the area around the lodge before enjoying a delicious evening meal.

Day 3: Today we will explore another part of Los Quetzales National Park to hike approximately four miles on the flanks and in the magnificent oak forest of the Talamanca mountains. The Aguacatillo tree, a relative of the Avocado tree, covers significant portions of the park, and its fruit is the main food for the Resplendent Quetzal--this splendid bird is a sight to behold.  We will hike in the cloud forest and through the surrounding ecology about which our guide will enlighten us.  

Day 4: Before breakfast we’ll take a pre-sunrise, short bird-walk to look and listen for Quetzals as well as other tropical birds. Before we leave the National Park, we will drive-up to the Continental Divide. Depending on the cloud forest cover, this is a potentially panoramic view of the Pacific and Caribbean sides of Costa Rica. Then we will travel south along the Talamanca Mountain Range to reach an off-the-beaten-route, rural community in the buffer zone around La Amistad International Park and Biosphere Reserve. We’ll spend two nights at an innovative, locally run ecolodge, and learn during our stay about the entrepreneurial efforts the community practices to environmentally and culturally sustain itse-- an inspiring story.

Day 5: After early morning bird spotting, we drive to the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, where we will hike trails near the Altamira Ranger station. La Amistad (meaning "friendship") is located along the Talamanca Range. The Park is the largest in Central America and stretches over the border into Panama. During our two-day stay in this area, we will enjoy random, surprising, and varied bird sightings. We will tour a small coffee-roasting facility and then a cacao farm to enjoy the making of mouth-watering chocolate before returning to the ecolodge.

Day 6: Traveling farther south to San Vito, we will spend the day and night at the Las Cruces Research Station and Wilson Botanical Garden. We will enjoy a guided tour of the Station and Garden, hear and see a variety of songbirds, and explore one of the most important plant collections in Central America. The Garden provides habitat for hundreds of species of birds, mammals, and reptiles.

Day 7: Early in the morning we cross into Panama, traveling to the town of Boquete and to our mountain-side lodge in the cloud forest where we will stay for three nights. Dramatically visible from our lodge is Volcan Baru National Park whose namesake is the highest peak and dominant feature of western Panama. Its volcanic soil provides a rich environment for plant life--including coffee plants--and an environment for an outstanding diversity of animals and birds.

Day 8: We will travel to the National Park to hike approximately 4 miles on the outstanding, though occasionally rugged, Pipeline Trail. We will have lunch near a refreshing series of waterfalls. Afterwards, we will travel to a large coffee farm for refreshments and a guided, shorter walk--a special experience for coffee and non-coffee lovers! (The coffee grown here is considered to be the best in the country.) For dinner, we will enjoy a meal of local Panamanian cuisine in Boquete, during which we will share experiences of the day. 

Day 9: Today after breakfast we will tour the Lodge’s on-site, famous, hanging bridges where we may again spot the Resplendent Quetzal! Later, we will again visit Boquete town, which is nestled in a mountain valley and features streets lined with flowers that flourish in the constant spring-like climate! After lunch on your own, we will rejoin as a group and tour the bee and butterfly nature center to learn about its operation and the lifecycle of the butterflies and enjoy samplings of various types of mouthwatering honey.

Day 10: We will depart the lodge early in the morning for the border crossing into Costa Rica, proceeding to the Osa Peninsula on the Pacific Coast and our next lodging. During this scenic traveling day, we will pause for lunch and a spectacular view overlooking the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf) and surroundings area. Naturalists report that the Osa Peninsula hosts 2.5 percent of the world’s biodiversity, while covering less than a thousandth of a percent of its total surface area. While visiting the Peninsula we may see Scarlet Macaws and a variety of other birds, various monkey species, lizards, and maybe even sloths. Our hosts for today and tomorrow have created an ecolodge that inspires with its originality, comfort, and hospitality.

Day 11: Today we slowly, safely, travel by four-wheel drive across rocky terrain and river crossings for about five miles to reach the start of our Los Patos hike in Corcovado National Park, one of the most biologically intense places on the planet, with excellent birding opportunities. We will hike in a hot and humid setting for about three miles over varied and occasionally steep terrain through rich flora and fauna to arrive at the lunch turnaround-point, and a re-invigorating dip in a freshwater pool and waterfall.

Day 12: After a morning nature walk near the lodge--with its captivating display of monkeys and birds--we bid farewell to the Osa Peninsula and travel to the Dominical area. Before dinner at our lodge, we will enjoy a twilight hike with flashlights in the Hacienda Baru Private Reserve, where we will see and hear nocturnal fauna--monkeys, sloths, peccaries, and more. No other hike on our trip mirrors this one.

Day 13: Today we begin to make our way back to our starting point in San Jose. One the way will stop for a riverboat birding and crocodile tour on the Tarcoles River, to view crocodiles, boat-billed herons, anhingas, and many other bird varieties--and of course, crocodiles. In the evening at the Hotel Parque Del Lago, we will enjoy a farewell dinner together, reliving our adventures with our trip friends.

Day 14: By your own schedule, you can check-out and transfer to the airport.

Getting There

The trip begins and ends in San Jose, Costa Rica. You must make your own air and taxi arrangements to San Jose and to The Hotel Parque del Lago. San Jose is served from the U.S. by several major airlines. You’ll need a passport with an expiration date that is at least six months after the last day of the trip; however, no visa is required for U.S. citizens. If you are a citizen of another country, please check the passport and visa requirements.

This trip does not include San Jose tourist sites or attractions in the Central Valley, although if you arrive earlier or stay later, the extra tours have been reported to be worth the time! (Suggested Costa Rica tour company options are listed the end of this brochure.)

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

We will be staying in hotels and lodges, double occupancy rooms—no single occupancy option is available. Whenever possible, we will stay in ecolodges run by locals. Accommodations will not be luxurious, but will be charming and comfortable, generally with beautiful gardens and outdoor restaurants. Intimate, natural settings are the norm and are a special aspect of this trip. The food prepared for group meals in both countries is tasty and simple, prepared using fresh, local ingredients. Vegetarian options are always available.

Trip Difficulty

This trip requires participants to be physically active in outdoor settings and in good aerobic condition. We will be hiking across uneven terrain with a fair amount of elevation gain/loss, which is challenging. Expect the trails to be uneven, rocky, root-filled, with unstable footing. Several hikes are between 5 and 8 miles over such terrain and begin at elevations above 7,000 feet. A program of cardiovascular conditioning such as jogging, hiking, or biking (or any other aerobic activity) is critical. Supplement your program with hiking on steep hills and/or up and down steps. (Be certain to speak with the leader about hiking difficulty as it may help to determine your decision.)

Participants must be patient and flexible as we hike because on all hikes we will slowly progress as we search for and pause to view wildlife, talk about the habitat -- a real benefit of a trip such as this one is having local, professional guides who will interpret for us, describe what we see, and patiently answer our questions.

This trip’s schedule coincides with the region’s dry season, which runs from December to April. While this time of year is drier, expect infrequent rainy conditions. Temperatures vary with elevation. The Central Valley, which includes San Jose, is known for its eternally spring-like weather, with average temperatures in the 70s. At lower elevations it is likely to be hot and humid. Cloud forest nights and mornings are usually chilly.

Equipment and Clothing

A full equipment list will be sent to participants well before the trip.

References

Pre- and Post-trip tour options (from San Jose):

https://www.costaricaguides.com/

Toll Free: 1-877-202-3381       |       Costa Rica: (506) 2233-5151       

Travel Agencies, after hours and weekends: (506) 2257-4171           

• https://www.viator.com/San-Jose-tourism

• https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Products

• Kricher, John C., A Neotropical Companion.

• Lonely Planet Watching Wildlife: Central America.

• Costa Rica, Lonely Planet. 

• Zuchowski, Willow, Tropical Plants of Costa Rica: A Guide to Native and Exotic Flora.

• Coates, Anthony G., Central America, a Natural and Cultural History.

• Reid, Fiona A., Twan Leenders, Jim Zook, Robert Dean, The Wildlife of Costa Rica: A Field Guide.

• Pariser, Harry S., Explore Costa Rica.

• Foster, Lynn V., A Brief History of Central America.

• https://travelcostarica.nu/history

Conservation

Costa Rica has successfully preserved over 26% of its lands as protected parks and reserves, ensuring the ongoing function of the various complex ecosystems and the survival of its fauna. In addition, it has an ongoing naturalization program to re-connect sections of ecological habitat that mirror the migration patterns of wildlife.  These efforts, however, contend with encroachment in the form of hunting, poaching, and illegal harvesting on the periphery of the parks, an ever-present threat. We will discuss how this can change, using Costa Rica as an example with our guide.

Through direct experience in the outdoors, Sierra Club outings enable participants to better understand, advocate, and participate in the environmental conservation goals of the Club.

Since its founding in 1892, the Sierra Club has worked to preserve and restore natural environments in the US and other parts of the world, an approach that complements the efforts of Costa Rica.  With the guiding knowledge that the conservation and sustainability of resources affect all living creatures, the Sierra Club Outings programs, accomplished by volunteers and aided by a salaried staff, encourage grassroots involvement by its members and trip participants.

Evacuation and Travel Insurance

The Sierra Club provides evacuation insurance to all participants on international trips. Since this coverage does not include any trip cancellation or interruption insurance, we suggest you purchase another policy separately to provide coverage for your trip and other travel costs. This policy also does not cover pre-trip and post-trip travel. Please note the evacuation insurance provided does not cover claims resulting from any pre-existing condition that occurs within 60 days of the trip departure. If you have specific questions about this exclusion, please review the insurance brochure. For information on purchasing a separate policy, please see our travel insurance page.