CONCEPT: LA AMISTAD" Adventure program provides a unique and high quality nature and adventure experience by offering the opportunity to take part in numerous rain forest adventure activities such as rafting, tree climbing and canopy observation, waterfall rappel, tour on horseback, hiking through pristine rain forests and strolling on unspoiled beaches of incomparable Caribbean beauty, sea kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, basking in the
sun, etc. Through your participation in this program you will actively support watershed, marine, sea turtle, wildlife and tropical rain forest conservation
in private preserves and National Parks of Costa Rica and Panama, primarily,
within the frame of "La Amistad" Biosphere Preserve!

"LA AMISTAD" Adventure provides an alternative, low impact and sustained activity of great value to the local and regional economies, and shows this activity to be of relevant importance for improving the livelihood and living conditions of the inhabitants of these remote rural areas.

"LA AMISTAD" Adventure proclaims that the effort to conserve has no nationalities and proofs low impact nature and adventure travel to 'La Amistad' Biosphere Preserve to be an excellent instrument to provide solutions to the great challenge a biosphere preserve imposes on its inhabitants: how do the inhabitants of a biosphere preserve make a living with the use of the existing natural resources, without destroying, precisely that, the very fragile natural environment which hosts them, and of which their well being and quality of life depends, present and future generations alike !

PROGRAM: "LA AMISTAD" Adventure -- 11 days / 10 nights:
After spending your first night at a charming B & B in San José, Costa Rica, early start to meet the rafting challenge of an untamed river, the world famous Pacuare River, class 3 & 4 ! Discover the mystical Pacuare Canyon while rafting passed a Cabecar Indian Preserve. Waterfalls and wildlife will be part of the adventure. At the end of the day, and after paddling through and surviving some very exciting rapids, you will enjoy a wonderful dinner in the light of candles at Selva Bananito Lodge & Preserve.

Your next days at Selva Bananito will be filled with daily activities and physical challenges. Or, if you prefer, you can 'kick back' and forget about daily city life stress and observe the harmonious surroundings. Fill your ears with many different bird songs and even sleep a well deserved 'siesta' in your hammock on your ample veranda overseeing the beauty of Reserva Selva Bananito and "La Amistad" International Park.

Now you will understand why Christopher Columbus, on his fourth and last voyage to the Americas, named our country Costa Rica, which means rich coast. When he discovered our rich coast, he did not find material treasures, but countless natural treasures hidden in what today is "La Amistad" Biosphere Preserve.

At Selva Bananito you can choose from a number of exciting adventure activities such as hiking through the exuberant tropical rain forest of our preserve.

At Selva Bananito Preserve you will find trees, over 200 feet tall, that you can climb using our special tree climbing gear and canopy exploration technique. From our canopy platform you will be overwhelmed by the wild and rich diversity in-, and absolute serene beauty of- our primary rain forest.

Selva Bananito Preserve invites you to explore waterfalls and to rappel down one or several of them. How would you feel about a free descend, rappelling down a 130 feet high vertical drop on a wall created by tectonic activity during the last great earthquake of 1991?

Learn about the history and the importance of the Bananito River watershed and our watershed conservation, a task taken up by- and channeled through "Limon Watershed Foundation", which we actively support through our services and activities at Selva Bananito Lodge & Preserve.

While having and enjoying a fantastic time during our horseback tour through the farm you will learn about the regions history and low impact tropical agriculture. If you liked our farm tour on horseback, why don't you dare galloping along open areas of our farm and than venture off into the primary forest in order to be swallowed up by its secrets and to blend into its magic!

After 4 incredible days filled with unforgettable impressions and experiences, "LA AMISTAD" Adventure, will bring you to the next natural treasure that Christopher Columbus discovered on his final trip: the marine area of "La Amistad" Biosphere Preserve, the archipelago of Bocas del Toro in Panama!

A scenic charter flight will take you in 1/2 an hour to the most beautiful Caribbean islands and coral keys imaginable. After immigration procedures at Bocas del Toro airport, we will take a gorgeous boat transfer to 'Punta Vieja' on Bastimentos Island.

Your base for the exploration of "Bastimentos Marine National Park" and our beach activities will be 'Al Natural' Eco Resort. Here you will stay two nights in midst of the most important protected marine area of Bocas del Toro. 'Al Natural' is built in a very open and natural Caribbean style and offers a very personal atmosphere. 'Al Natural' blends in harmoniously with the tropical forest of its own private preserve, and offers kilometers of golden beaches to walk on.

'Al Natural' faces directly the two most beautiful Caribbean coral islands in the "Bastimentos Marine National Park", which we have included in our program. The ' Zapatillas Keys' are located just a short boat ride away from "Al Natural". You can snorkel, kayak, windsurf, sunbathe, swim and relax during your stay at 'Al Natural' and your excursion to 'Cayo Zapatillas' during our first day in this area.

The second day at 'Al Natural' you will hike through the jungle of 'Old Point'. The purpose of this tour is to visit 'Playa Larga', a well preserved golden beach facing the open Caribbean Sea. 'Playa Larga' is of great importance to the "Marine National Park of Bastimentos", as a very important nesting site for the Leather Back and Green Sea Turtles.
Your presence on the beach of 'Playa Larga' has a rather benevolent task. During your stay at this very special and 'sacred' beach, you will spend part of our time picking up trash washed ashore by high tides and ocean currents.
'Playa Larga' is, if not the most beautiful beach, assuredly one of the scenically and naturally most beautiful sea turtle nesting beaches in the world.
It has been an important nesting site for thousands of generations of these very endangered sea turtles. Sea turtle nesting has been going on for millions of years before humans started to destroy and to litter the surface of our planet. Sea turtle nesting, which we wish to help conserve, should not take place on a 'sacred' beach impacted by human trash.
With a little sacrifice on your behalf, and with special and exclusive agreement with ANAM, National Authority of the Environment, Panama, guests that come with our package "LA AMISTAD" Adventure, will have the privilege to experience this magical place in exchange for reducing, at least symbolically, the burden placed on this nesting site by human litter.
During the off -- sea turtle -- nesting season beach clean up is the 'noble' activity for the second day of stay at 'Al Natural'. If you prefer to stay in a hammock or relax on the beach you are welcome to do so as well.
During sea turtle nesting season, 'Playa Larga' will only be accessed by special agreement with ANAM, during our Turtles and "LA AMISTAD" conservation program and will not be included in "LA AMISTAD" Adventure. For more details click on Sea Turtles.

After lunch we depart for Hotel 'Punta Caracol', located on Colon Island. This is the largest and main island of the Bocas del Toro archipelago. Our last two nights we will enjoy 'Punta Caracol'. This very romantic and exclusive lodge, which has been built on top of reefs, with a minimum of impact on the habitat it sets out to protect, is the perfect romantic Caribbean hide out for your last days in "La Amistad" Biosphere Preseve.
You will fall in love with this very unique hotel built on stilts above a tranquil ocean lagoon. Enjoy romantic and delicious dinners in the light of candles, swim in the calm waters of the 'Almirante Bay', snorkel in crystal clear tides or try kayaking in a traditional dugout exploring the close by mangroves, a very diverse and important habitat to many marine, wildlife and bird species.

At last, after all the activity, all the adrenaline and all the magnificent experiences, you deserve to rest, relax, and to feel satisfied . However, should you feel the need for more activity, a tour of 'Bird Island' will take you by boat to this interesting rock-island, with many endemic sea bird species living, mating and nesting on it.

On your last day of "LA AMISTAD" adventure program you will return to Limon by plane and take a transfer back to your B & B in San José. You can book a ½ hour scenic flight around Bocas del Toro
flying back to Limon, or should you prefer, you can optionally fly
directly back to San José, or even start an extension into Panama.

"LA AMISTAD" Adventure can also be booked in a shorter and less comprehensive 8 days / 7 nights itinerary or in conjunction with our SEA TURTLES and VOLCANOES programs.

For more detailed information, or customized travel itineraries of our packages, please contact CONSELVATUR.


For a detailed itinerary description, please click here.