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Latitude Tropical 10 is where you find one of the biggest diversities of species — a birdwatching paradise. Upon arrival in Costa Rica we’ll transfer you to a hotel in San José for overnight.
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After a nice Costa Rican breakfast early in the morning we’ll depart to the eastern side of the country to the beautiful town of Turrialba on the Caribbean slope for the next three days. Here you could find a tremendous variety of lower mountain species. Getting to Rancho Naturalista, we drive to the former capital of Costa Rica the beautiful city of Cartago. It is the most Spanish city in the country and it’s a very beautiful drive, across the mountains covered with coffee and sugar cane with lots of quiet towns.
For the next three days we’ll be at this beautiful lodge at 9,000 feet above sea level. Savegre Lodge is one of the very few places where you could see some of the highland trogons, barbets, flycatchers and, of course, highland hummingbirds. Savegre is a great place for highland species.
As we drive on the Pan-American Highway to higher elevation habitat, you’ll see big changes in vegetation as the temperature drops and you will start seeing a different ecosystem.
Warblers, tanagers, thrushes, trogons and the Resplendent Quetzal could be seen up there. Some of the higher elevation species like Volcano Junco, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Peg-billed Finch, and Black-thighed Grosbeak are all endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica.
Next we go from Savegre Lodge to the Central Pacific lowlands, specifically to the Carara National Park area where we’ll spend the next two nights.
In this part of the country we’ll find one of the largest varieties of birds and also very high endemism because Carara is the northernmost limit for a lot of species. You cannot miss this place!
Then we drive back to San José for overnight in a hotel near the airport.
On this itinerary we’ll visit hotels and lodges specialized for birdwatchers and nature lovers. The infrastructure of these places, such as the trails, highlight the forest ecosystems which are not only diverse but very unique for the activity of birdwatching. You’ll love these places.
For those who want to spend a few more days, there are two more beautiful options; Peninsula de Osa and Selva Verde. |
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Click on the regions over the map
to see a description.
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Cartago (Rancho Naturalista Lodge)
The town of Turrialba is in the province of Cartago, the former capital until 1823. Turrialba is about 50 miles from San José, a very picturesque town with a little bit of Caribbean influence. Coffee and sugar are the two main crops in the area.
Tourism is the main industry especially for nature lovers as birdwatching and white water rafting are big in the area. They have rivers like Reventazón, Pejivalle and Pacuare rated in the top 10 rivers in the world for rafting. You could also visit Guayabo which is a most important archeological site.
The Mayan culture came down as far south as Honduras in Central America, but, we never had any Mayan or Aztec influence. However, our Indians built this incredible site probably 3,000 years BC. Here they show the incredible knowledge of infrastructure they had back then when agriculture was just beginning in this part of the planet. We highly recommend Guayabo.
Also in Turrialba we have the factory for major league baseball.
Cartago (Savegre Lodge)
Some 55 miles from San José on the Pan-American Highway we will come to Savegre Lodge in a beautiful town called San Gerardo at 9,000 feet above sea level.
It is a gorgeous valley with a very small community of farmers dedicated to cultivating apples, peaches and some vegetables. The fishing of Rainbow Trout is also good in the area. In the last 20 years the town of San Gerardo has become a famous place, especially for nature lovers. In Costa Rica there is not a better place for highland species. So, it’s fundamental to visit it if you’re a nature lover and a birdwatcher.
Here you can also see some beautiful waterfalls at Rio Savegre. The weather is very nice if you like 70˚ temperatures and a drier climate. There´s also a rainy season in the area that goes from June to November. Food is very good and homemade.
Some of the most beautiful hummingbirds that you could see there early in the morning would be: Volcano Hummingbird, Scintillant Hummingbird, Magenta-throated Woodstar, Violet Sabrewing, and Magnificent Hummingbird. There will also be some endemic species including White-throated Mountain Gem, Fiery-throated Hummingbird and some others.
Central Pacific
Central Pacific is located in Puntarenas which is the largest province in the country. It will take less than two hours on a very good road. Here you can find all kinds of hotels and excellent restaurants.
The weather is great from November to April. The rainy season is from May to late October, in normal conditions. Some of the surfing tournaments take place at the famous Jacó Beach. Another big attraction there is Río Tárcoles with the beautiful mangrove forest where wildlife is abundant. Carara National Park is another big attraction in the area because of its geographical location.
In the Central Pacific you can find Manuel Antonio National Park, one of our mountain gems. Good roads all the way, very swimmable beaches and lots of things to do make the Central Pacific area a desirable place to visit.
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Pacific Eco-Safari 
