6 Best Sights in Tortuguero and the Caribbean Coast, Costa Rica

At the confluence of the Puerto Viejo and Sarapiquí rivers, La Selva packs about 700 bird species, 700 tree species, and 500 butterfly species into just 15 square km (6 square miles). Sightings might include the spider monkey, poison dart frog, agouti, collared peccary, and dozens of other rare creatures. Extensive, well-marked trails and swing bridges, many of which are wheelchair accessible, connect habitats as varied as tropical wet forest, swamps, creeks, rivers, secondary regenerating forest, and pasture. The site is a project of the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a research consortium of 63 U.S., Australian, South African, and Latin American universities, and is the oldest of three biological stations OTS operates in Costa Rica. (OTS also operates one research station in South Africa.) To see the place, take an informative three-hour morning or afternoon nature walk with one of La Selva's bilingual guides, who are among the country's best. Walks start every day at 8 am and 1:30 pm. For a completely different view of the forest, set off on a guided two-hour walk at 5:45 am or the night tour at 7 pm. If you get at least seven people together, you can enroll in the daylong Bird-Watching 101 course, which can be arranged anytime for $80 per person; if you have at least six, you can tag along with one of the resident research scientists for a half day. Young children won't feel left out either, with a very basic nature-identification course geared to them. Even with all the offerings, La Selva can custom-design excursions to suit your own special interests, too. Advance reservations are required for the dawn and night walks and any of the courses.

This 9,500-foot volcanic summit is the highest point in Braulio Carrillo National Park. Dormant for 300 years now, Barva is massive and easily visible from downtown San José: its lower slopes are almost completely planted with coffee fields and hold more than a dozen small towns, nearly all of which are named after saints. On the upper slopes are pastures lined with exotic pines and the occasional native oak or cedar, giving way to the botanical diversity of the cloud forest near the top. The air is usually cool near the summit, which combines with the pines and pastures to evoke European or North American mountain landscapes.

If you feel intrepid enough to make this trip, bring rain gear, boots, and a warm shirt. Stay on the trail when hiking anywhere in Braulio Carrillo; even experienced hikers who know the area have lost their way up here, and the rugged terrain makes wandering through the woods very dangerous. In addition, muggings of hikers have been reported in the park (this is the closest national park to San José and its attendant urban problems). Always go with a ranger.

In a country where deforestation is still rife, hiking through dense, primary tropical cloud forest is an experience to be treasured. The park owes its foundation to the public outcry provoked by the construction of the highway of the same name through this region in the late 1970s—the government bowed to pressure from environmentalists and, somewhat ironically, Braulio Carrillo is the national park that is most accessible from the capital, thanks to the highway. Covering 443 square km (171 square miles), the extremely diverse terrain ranges from 180 feet to about 9,500 feet above sea level and extends from the central volcanic range down the Caribbean slope to La Selva research station near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. The park protects a series of ecosystems ranging from the cloud forests on the upper slopes to the tropical wet forest of the Magsasay sector; it’s home to 6,000 tree species, 500 bird species, and 135 mammal species.

Despite the park's immense size and proximity to the capital, visitor facilities are extremely limited. Stories abound of visitors becoming lost trying to do Braulio Carrillo on their own. Few venture deep into the park beyond the highway that cuts through it.

Some 70 species of the heliconia, a relative of the banana, are among the collections that populate 5 acres of botanical gardens on this island in the Sarapiquí River. Expect to see ample bird and butterfly life, too.

One of a growing number of Costa Rica's serpentaria, the Snake Garden shows off some 60 species of reptiles, including all the poisonous snakes (and most of the nonpoisonous ones) found in Costa Rica, as well as pythons, anacondas, and rattlesnakes from elsewhere in North and South America. You can handle a few specimens upon request and under supervision.

This working biological research station, 17 km (11 miles) southwest of Puerto Viejo, encompasses 750 acres of primary forest and 8 km (5 miles) of trails, some of them traversing hanging bridges at canopy level. Tours introduce you to bats, frogs, and other common but often misunderstood creatures, and show off the beauty of the forest. Reservations are recommended for all activities, and required for the bat, frog, birding, and night tours.