CANYONING ESPINO BLANCO!!! - $60
Tour available for adults and children over 8 years old.
Tour Price: $60
PACUARE RIVER RAFTING
- Rafting Pacuare River / 1 Day $80
- Rafting Pacuare River / 2 Days $210
The Pacuare River is ranked as one of the best ten rivers in the world to practice rafting. We provide experienced, specialized rafting guides, top of the line equipment and a day filled with safe and exciting Tourss. There are eighteen miles of class III and class IV rapids on the river. You will enjoy the thrill of the rapids, as well as the natural beauty that surrounds the river, such as waterfalls and tropical flora and fauna.
We begin the tour near the town of Tres Equis; one hour from Turrialba. Before entering the river, our guides give an important safety talk, familiarizing rafters with the necessary commands and safety instructions. After practicing all of the commands and drills you will start rafting the river. Shortly after entering, the excitement kicks up a notch as you enter the rapid, “Iniciación”. You will quickly understand why some of the rapids have been labeled their specific names, such as Huacas, Dos Montañas, El Indio and Cimarrones. After venturing through some of the thrilling rapids, we stop to explore some of the beautiful waterfalls located in the hidden canyons.
Half way through the tour we stop at our camp, located on the side of a hill, overlooking the river. Guides prepare a delicious lunch for you, while you rest and enjoy the scenic views and the various flora and fauna of this region. After lunch, you continue your Tours down the river, braving more rapids and taking in the awesome surroundings. The tour stops when you reach a bridge in the town of Siquirres.
This tour takes approximately 3 to 4 hours (on the river), with a break to have lunch in the middle of the trip.
What to bring?
T-shirt, swimsuit, shorts, tennis shoes or sandals with ankle straps (no flip-flops), and sun block. Extra clothes and towel will be needed at the end of the tour.
What’s included?
Transportation, lunch at the river, special equipment, bilingual tour guide and safety kayaker.
Tour available for adults and children over 12 years old.
Pacuare River Rafting (Overnight)
The Pacuare River is ranked as one of the best ten rivers in the world to practice rafting. We provide experienced, specialized rafting guides, top of the line equipment and a day filled with safe and exciting Tourss. You will enjoy the thrill of the rapids, as well as the natural beauty that surrounds the river, such as waterfalls and tropical flora and fauna.
Rafters who choose our two-day trip get to enjoy many different elements of the Pacuare River in the daytime and during the night. We provide many exciting activities while on and off the river. Guides start the day with a safety speech and begin rafting from the Tres Equis’ put in. After venturing through some of the thrilling rapids, we stop to explore some of the beautiful waterfalls located in the hidden canyons.
Halfway through the first day you will reach camp, where we provide a delicious lunch and a “happy hour” where you and others can share some of the day’s Tourss while sipping refreshing drinks.
In the evening, the guides prepare and serve you a scrumptious dinner.
You will comfortably sleep in our little bungalows with tents on platforms. Each tent is equipped with two beds and a one of a kind view of the Pacuare River.
You will wake the next morning to the joyful singing of the various birds around the camp. After breakfast, you have the choice of a hike to the indigenous reserve of Nairi Aguari, where this community will welcome you. The people of this community are happy to converse and meet new people.
After the hike, you will continue rafting down the river, enjoying the last of the rapids and the scenic views. The trip ends at the bridge in the town of Siquirres. After exiting the river, the guides will lead you to a small café with changing rooms, a shower and a drink.
What to bring?
T-shirt, swimsuit, shorts, tennis shoes and sandals with ankle straps (no flip-flops), sun block, hat or baseball cap, camp clothing (pants, long-sleeved shirt and shoes), sun block and insect repellent.
What’s included?
Transportation, meals, specialized equipment, camping place and equipment, bilingual tour guide and safety kayaker.
Tour Price: $190
CATIE
Tours in The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center
A Brief History of CATIE
The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) is a regional center dedicated to research and graduate education in agriculture and the management, conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources.
CATIE’s history began in May 1940, during the VIII American Scientific Congress, in Washington DC. During the 1940´s, visionary men such as Henry Wallace, United States Secretary of Agriculture, proposed the creation of an institute dedicated to tropical agriculture. The institute would lend its support to American countries in agricultural research and help train their national personnel.
On July 1, 1973, the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) was created through an agreement between Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Sciences (IICA) and the Costa Rican government.
Since the center’s creation, in alliance with local, national and international organizations, CATIE has become a center for academic excellence, technical cooperation and research. The center has dedicated its efforts to improve the standard of living of rural families in the American tropics, while embracing holistic vision of human activity and its environment. The information CATIE generates is fundamental in understanding the genetic structure of plant populations, organizing the collections, defining strategies to collect new samples, and in providing pertinent information for genetic improvement programs.
PLANTATION TOUR/ CATIE
During the plantation tour, a guide will help familiarize you with the extensive plantations of CATIE, and the significant contributions CATIE has made towards the research and education of tropical agriculture. A guide will give you an informative tour through some of CATIE’s fifty gardens, where you can appreciate a variety of tropical plants from distinct parts of the world. The plantations of major relevance are: café, cacao, pejibayes, tropical fruit and forest species. As you trek through the plantations and gardens you may notice a variety of wildlife that lives within, such as toucans, oropendulum birds, butterflies and lizards. A guide will take you on a stroll through CATIE’s special botanical garden where you will find the century old Kapok tree, towering stalks of bamboo, dripping orchids and bromeliads from the trees and many other colourful and fruiting plants.
What to take?
Comfortable walking shoes, a hat or a visor, a rain jacket or umbrella, a bottle of water, insect repellent and sun block.
What’s included?
Transportation, snacks, entrances and a guide.
This tour is available for all ages. It is half price for children younger than eight years old.
Tour Price: $36.
MOUNTAIN BIKE TOUR THROUGH CATIE
This tour will take bikers through the tropical plantations of CATIE. The topography of the trails is not difficult. All level bike riders and children older than eight years old can enjoy this trip.
During the bike ride, a guide will explain the great diversity of the forest and fruit plantations such as: café, cacao, sugar cane, citrus, plantains, bananas, macadamia, pineapple, mangostan, mango, avocados and many other exotic species from tropical countries. Bike riders will see the fruits in the plantations when it is the specific time of the year for the fruit.
Thanks to the diversity in flowers and fruits, the plantation is also an ideal site for the observation of birds, mammals and some reptiles.
Bike riders will finish the tour with a visit to the Tropical Botanical Garden, which has a collection of some of the most important tropical plants in the world. In the garden, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy the colors, smells, textures and forms of the plants and their products.
What to bring?
Shorts (no jean shorts), tennis shoes, shirt, a hat or a visor, sunglasses, a bottle of water, insect repellent and sun block and extra clothes to change into after the tour.
What is included?
Transportation, snacks, entrances, and a guide
This tour is available for adults and children older than eight years old.
Tour Price: $54
RIVER RAFTING on the PEJIBAYE RIVER
The Pejibaye River is located thirty minutes from Turrialba. This river has class 2 and 3 rapids. The six kilometer section provides rafters with a safe, scenic and adventurous day on the river.
The trip takes approximately 3 hours (midday-tour) and is a suitable tour to enjoy with all of the family. Before entering the river, our guides give an important safety talk, familiarizing rafters with the necessary commands and safety instructions. After practicing some commands and drills, you will start rafting the river. Rafters will enjoy the surrounding landscapes of the river including coffee and sugar cane plantations, as well as the pristine refreshing river. No previous experience is required.
What to bring?
T-shirt, shorts, swimsuit, tennis shoes or sandals with ankle straps and sun block. Extra clothes and towel will be needed at the end of the tour.
What’s included?
Transportation, specialized equipment and bilingual tour guide.
Tour available for adults and children over 5 years old.
Tour Price: $60
TURRIALBA VOLCANO HIKING Tours
The Turrialba volcano is located in the Central Mountain Range of Costa Rica. The volcano reaches an altitude 10,955 feet. It is one of the most unique active volcanoes in Costa Rica, in that trekkers are able to hike down inside the main crater and explore and observe the life and views from inside.
We will drive from Turrialba up north to the small town of La Central, where we have access to the volcano trail. The scenic drive up to the base of the volcano takes around an hour. As we ascend up the volcano, a knowledgeable guide of this area will point out the different climates, forests, flora and fauna that we are passing. After we reach the top of the mountain, we will be rewarded with views of the surrounding area and a one of a kind hike into the main crater. The guide will provide snacks for everyone at the top of the volcano. The round trip hike takes approximately 5 hours with moderate intensity. After the intense yet fulfilling volcano hike, we will stop at a restaurant on the return ride home to enjoy a delicious lunch.
What to bring?
Hiking boots or tennis shoes, short or long pants, sweater, rain-jacket or poncho, sun block and hat or baseball cap.
Bring extra clothes and towel for the end of the tour.
What’s included?
Transportation, lunch and tour guide.
Tour available for people in good physical condition and children over 12 years old.
Tour Price: $ 66
DUCKIES (Inflatable Kayaks) on the PEJIBAYE RIVER
The Pejibaye River is located thirty minutes from Turrialba. This river has class 2 and 3 rapids. These rapids are perfect for those navigating and exploring the river in the small inflatable kayaks that we provide. The duckies fit one to two people in each raft.
The trip takes approximately 3 hours (midday-tour) and is a suitable tour to enjoy with all of the family. A river guide maneuvers the ducky and the rafter helps paddle and maneuver the ducky by following the instructions provided in detail. Rafters will enjoy the surrounding landscapes of the river including coffee and sugar cane plantations as well as the pristine refreshing river. No previous experience is required.
What to bring?
T-shirt, shorts, swimsuit, tennis shoes or sandals with ankle straps and sun block. Extra clothes and towel will be needed at the end of the tour.
What’s included?
Transportation, specialized equipment and bilingual tour guide.
Tour available for adults and children over 8 years old.
Tour Price: $ 60
HORSEBACK RIDING IN THE JUNGLE TOUR
For this trip, riders are driven to the small town of Atirro, located fifteen minutes from Turrialba. We provide friendly, trained horses that come from high-level stables. Riders will meet in the corral at the stables. A guide will give a description of what riders will do and see during the tour and give a safety talk on the rules and procedures for this horseback riding trip, such as no running with the horses. A guide and a horse expert will accompany the riders for the trip. The horse expert will measure the stirrups and select a horse for each rider.
During the two hour horseback riding trip, riders will pass sugar cane and coffee plantations and a secondary forest. In the forest, the guide will explain the development of secondary forests and the pioneer plants that are being cut down. Riders may see a variety of birds such as, oropendula, black guan, and other animals such as sloth and monkeys. Additionally, the riding tour will take riders to areas with amazing views of the surrounding natural beauty. Riders will stop to take a break and enjoy a scenic lookout, where the whole Turrialba Valley and surrounding mountains can be seen. Riders will climb and descend small hills making a loop through the land. Snacks and refreshments are provided for riders at the end of the trip.
What to bring? T-shirt, long pants, rain jacket or poncho, hiking or tennis shoes, a hat or cap, sun block and insect repellent.
What’s included?
Transportation, lunch and tour guide.
Tour Price: $ 40
Guayabo National Monument Tour
Ancient stone carvings of alligator and jaguar gods, ingeniously engineered Pre-Columbian aqueducts where water still flows, and paved roads receding into a lush rainforest—all hint to Costa Rica´s mysterious past civilizations.
Costa Rica may not be famous for its archaeological history like Guatemala's Tikal or the Incan ruins of Peru. But veiled in the shadow of the Turrialba Volcano - like a mythical "lost city" from a storybook - lies a mysterious ancient city that was home to over 10,000 people who seemed to have vanished just before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. This region, known as Guayabo National Monument, is Costa Rica's most important archaeological site.
The excavations at Guayabo have revealed a network of cobblestone causeways and streets, open and closed aqueducts, cisterns, stairways, mounds, petroglyphs, monoliths, tombs, and sculptures that belong to a pre-Columbian city, which was inhabited between 1000 B.C. and 1400 A.D.
A guide will walk you through the park while giving a talk on the findings of the excavations and the history of the people that once lived there.
What to bring?
Shorts or pants, tennis or hiking shoes, rain jacket, a hat or a visor, sunglasses, a bottle of water, insect repellent and sun block and extra clothes to change into after the tour.
What is included?
Transportation, lunch, entrances, and a guide
This tour is available for all ages.
Tour Price: $45
Espino Blanco (White Thorn)
The forest reserve Espino Blanco (White thorn), is located in the district of Santa Rosa, Turrialba. It is specifically found in the village of La Verbana, 8 kilometers north of the city of Turrialba. It is at an elevation of 1100 meters over sea level, and is dedicated to the conservation of forest species and local flora and fauna. It is intimately bound to Guayabo through a biological corridor full of diversity and the Columbus culture.
The reserve is a total area of two hundred twenty-nine thousand square meters at the present time (229,000 square meters) and more than 60% of that area constitutes primary forest. The reserve contains more than five hundred forest species and there is an important variety of animals such as; vipers, pavas, small raccoons, armadillos, tepezcuites, as well as a great variety of butterflies and birds. Its name comes from a tree characteristic of the area, the Espino Blanco (White Thorn), which is in the process of disappearance. In the reserve there are many trees specie that are really worthy of being admired.
The wood of the Espino Blanco is very hard and was used in the older houses of the village. The reserve has three paths for walking, and takes about three and a half hours this allows time for explanations given by area guides and a twenty minute lunch break. The paths are built on unleveled land but they are perfectly accessible to visitors from 5 years on up.
The forest reserve Espino Blanco has been created with the purpose of protecting the existent aquifer there and its abundant source of water for the Turrialba valley especially to the south-east.
The trail is located amid a very attractive mixture of primary and secondary forest that allows visitors to differentiate them clearly and to see the characteristics of one and the other |
