Pacuare Canopy Adventure$59 per personPacuare Canopy Adventure + lunch at The Nest$ 125 per person*The Nest: Just as the birds that abound at Pacuare Lodge make their nests high in the trees, we’ve built our own nest: a platform 20 meters (60 feet) high in a treetop, where guests can enjoy a meal in a uniquely splendid setting.The action begins with a safety orientation and donning of specialized equipment. You then begin an unhurried trek through tropical rainforest up to the first platfo...
READ MORE >>Pacuare Canopy Adventure
$59 per person
Pacuare Canopy Adventure + lunch at The Nest
$ 125 per person
*The Nest: Just as the birds that abound at Pacuare Lodge make their nests high in the trees, we’ve built our own nest: a platform 20 meters (60 feet) high in a treetop, where guests can enjoy a meal in a uniquely splendid setting.
The action begins with a safety orientation and donning of specialized equipment. You then begin an unhurried trek through tropical rainforest up to the first platform - this twenty-minute hike into the Pacuare Lodge’s private reserve will transport you into an unspoiled realm of gorgeous views and magnificent scenery. The area surrounding our eco lodge is a haven for bird watchers and nature seekers, and offers an unprecedented glimpse of Costa Rica’s biological diversity. Before exploring the canopy’s delicate environment you will receive a thorough review and demonstration of all safety guidelines.
This is an experience as no other! You will face the exotic beauty of the rainforest head on, feeling the adrenaline of dramatic views, rappelling down towering trees and sliding along cables from tree to tree as you descend the jungle cloaked mountain toward the Pacuare Lodge for a final thrilling rappel that leaves you just steps away from our main lodge! You will experience this excitement secure in the knowledge that you are safely anchored with a safety harness, providing a unique experience that no other tour of this type offers. Two hours of unforgettable adventure in the tree tops!
Duration: Approximately 1 ½ - 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy to intermediate
Minimum Age: 8 years old accompanied by a tour guide
Cabecar Indigenous Experience
$59 Per Person
Experience a Traditional Indigenous Culture! For time immemorial, the Cabecar Indians – Costa Rica’s largest tribe – have lived in harmony with the rainforest in the mountains near the Pacuare River. These indigenous people traditionally live in small family groups scattered across the jungle, which has helped them to maintain their customs, language and culture. At the Pacuare Lodge, we offer the opportunity to experience their culture and way of life in relative comfort and without invading their privacy. We helped members of a clan that lives in the nearby Nairi Awari Indigenous Reserve to build a typical Cabecar Rancho (thatched house) a short hike from the lodge, where the son of a local shaman provides visitors with an introduction to his people’s culture and customs.
There are two options for visiting the Cabecar Rancho. You can start with a moderate, 90-minute hike through the rainforest, which allows you to see some of the flora and fauna that these indigenous people have long relied on. Or you can take a more direct route, which entails a short walk from the Lodge.
Duration with jungle hike: approx. 2.5 hours
Duration without hike: approx. 1 hour
Level of difficulty: moderate
Pacuare Tropical Canyoning
$59 Per Person
This tour lets you experience the adventure sport of canyoning, or canyoneering, which combines hiking, climbing and rappelling.
The adventure includes a hike through the rainforest and exploration of El Tesorito Creek Canyon, where you’ll make several short rappels perfect for learning the technique before an exhilarating rappel down a 30-meter (90-foot) rock wall.
The tour can be done just after breakfast, or lunch, and it begins with safety training and instruction in using the equipment.
You’ll hike for about 15 minutes through the rainforest from the main lodge to a point where you begin your descent into the narrow canyon of El Tesorito Creek. The canyon exploration provides a great introduction to rappelling, since it includes six short rappels of between 2 and 20 meters (6-65 feet) that will prepare you for a final rappel of more than 30 meters (90 feet). After that, you’ll continue hiking through the creek and the forest back to the lodge.
Duration: 2.5 Hours
Difficulty: medium
Minimum Age: 12 years old
Bajo del Tigre & Nairi Awari Reserve Hike
$67 Per Person
Bajo del Tigre & Nairi Awari Reserve Hike On this walk, you’ll have the opportunity to visit the two communities closest to the Pacuare Lodge: Bajo del Tigre, a typical rural Costa Rican village where many of the Lodge’s staff live, and a small Cabecar Indian community inside the 25,000-hectare Nairi Awari Indigenous Reserve. This adventure starts by crossing the Pacuare River from the lodge in a rustic gondola suspended from a steel cable, followed by a hike down a path that most of the staff uses to get to and from work. We’ll hike past patches of secondary forest, streams, crops and homes in the small village of Bajo del Tigre. We’ll then cross the Pacuare River again, via a cable used by the Cabecar, and continue into the jungle, climbing up to a tiny indigenous community with primary school, which you’ll be able to visit. You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch here before heading back into the rainforest on a trail that winds its way down to the Pacuare Lodge.
Duration: 4 to 5 Hours
Difficulty: medium
Minimum Age: 12 years old
Bird Watching Tour
$27 Per Person
Bird Watching + breakfast at The Nest: $ 85 per person
*The Nest: Just as the birds that abound at Pacuare Lodge make their nests high in the trees, we’ve built our own nest: a platform 20 meters (60 feet) high in a treetop, where guests can enjoy a meal in a uniquely splendid setting.
With the first blush of morning, amid dappled shadows and misty morning light, we leave the warmth of our bungalows to pay fitting tribute to the beginning of a new day.
Dewdrops glint like diamonds, shimmering, dancing across the tree trunks as the first light of dawn filters through the forest canopy overhead.
Close your eyes for just a moment, as you slowly breathe in the refreshing morning air.
6:00 a.m.
After a cup of steaming coffee we begin a short session of stretching and relaxation exercises designed to aid us in our exploration of the grounds surrounding the lodge. Enjoy the rich green canopy of branches and leaves, casting their shadow over lush verdant foliage and misty dew-filled nature trails. Watch as a brilliant Blue Morpho Butterfly delicately flutters over its favorite flower, or listen to the sounds of the trees whispering in the morning breeze. Our naturalist guide will lead you from the Pacuare Lodge along a series of sites from which you can observe buzzing hummingbirds, dancing butterflies and exquisite tropical flowers. The guide will point out delicate bromeliads, like the lovely “sexy lady”, and answer questions about the wide variety of native ferns, lichens and orchids. See Mother Nature at her best as you spot the many birds and other wildlife that are indigenous to the area. Look and listen carefully for the Montezuma Oropendula, which nests far above in the towering trees. The area around the lodge is home to an extraordinary number of exotic bird species that include the Sun Bittern, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Black-cheeked Woodpecker and a variety of colorful toucans. Our guide carries a telescope and will gladly identify the different species that come our way. Binoculars are also available. The tour lasts about an hour and a half, after which we will return to the lodge for a hot delicious breakfast.
Duration: 1.30 hours approximately
Difficulty: Easy
Ancient Trail & Hidden Waterfall Hike
$67 per person
This is the most challenging of our hikes, making it a good option for people who enjoy hiking into remote and wild areas. Departing from the Pacuare Lodge, it begins with a steep hike through the jungle to reach the legendary sendero de las mulas (mule trial), which is one of the main routes used by the Cabecar Indians to travel longer distances and has been used for generations. After the first climb, we’ll take the jabas trail, which includes a series of switchbacks, to the ‘path of puma. This will take us to the ancient mule trail, which we’ll follow deep into the Nairi Awari Indigenous Reserve to reach the highpoint of this excursion: the hidden waterfall. We’ll enjoy a picnic lunch at this scenic spot before hiking back along the trail to a Cabecar indigenous community. After exploring that traditional village, we’ll continue down another rainforest trial back to the Pacuare Lodge.
Duration: 6 to 7 Hours
Difficulty: difficult
Pacuare River Inflatable Duckies Experience
$ 130 per person
The Pacuare Lodge’s newest outdoor adventure lets you paddle down a relatively calm stretch of the Pacuare River in an inflatable kayak. You’ll enjoy gorgeous riparian scenery, spot some of the local birdlife, and paddle through class-II rapids.
After breakfast, we cross the river in a cable basket and board a 4x4 vehicle for the drive to the Pacuare River put in. An experienced river guide will teach you how to paddle duckies and provide detailed safety information, ensuring that you are comfortable and capable of maneuvering the kayak before you begin paddling downriver. You’ll then begin a nine-mile trip down that scenic waterway at a leisurely pace that allows you to admire the surrounding nature and paddle through small, but exhilarating rapids. There will be a stop en route for a snack and a short hike, for a closer look at the rainforest’s flora and fauna. You’ll be back at the Pacuare Lodge in time for lunch.
*This tour is only operated under low water conditions and has to be reserved directly at the lodge.
Duration: 3 hours approximately
Minimum age: 12 years old
Difficulty: Moderate to difficult