Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
Thirteen major ecosystems inside one park, all four of the country's monkey species, and over 400 species of birds. The Osa Peninsula holds 2.5 percent of the world's biodiversity, and Corcovado is the park at the middle of it.
You walk it with a guide: the park requires one, and on trails like these you would want one anyway.
It is the wildest forest we sell, and a trip of its own, three or four nights for a serious list. We come at it from two sides. From Drake Bay, where two of our lodges sit on the water and on the cliff above it, close to the park and to Caño Island. Or from Dos Brazos on the Tigre river, where Bosque del Río Tigre sits in the forest reserve that rings the park, four rooms and twelve guests at most, and nothing to hear at night but the river and the howler monkeys.
The Scarlet Macaw first, which the park is known for, and the Great Curassow on the trails. At dusk the Spectacled Owl.
Our park notes name the Harpy Eagle too. Treat it as a hope, not a plan.
And the south Pacific birds found nowhere else in the country, each one a regional endemic on the official list: Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, Baird's Trogon and Turquoise Cotinga.
| English | Scientific | Spanish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Macaw | Ara macao | Guacamayo Rojo (Lapa Roja) | |
| Great Curassow | Crax rubra | Pavón Grande | |
| Spectacled Owl | Pulsatrix perspicillata | Búho de Anteojos | |
| Harpy Eagle | Harpia harpyja | Águila Arpía | |
| Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager | Driophlox atrimaxillaris | Tangara Hormiguera Carinegra | Regional endemic |
| Baird's Trogon | Trogon bairdii | Trogón Vientribermejo | Regional endemic |
| Turquoise Cotinga | Cotinga ridgwayi | Cotinga Turquesa | Regional endemic |
Fly into San José. The Osa is reached by the Golfito airstrip or a long day on the road, so plan three nights at the least.
All year for the birds. January to April are the driest months in Corcovado, which makes the trails easier.
Four lodges, all small: the first hotel at Drake Bay, with a dock and its own English-speaking guides; a four-star inn on the cliff above the bay; four rooms on the Tigre river for the serious list; and a lodge on a 189-acre private reserve that borders the park.
Photo: Aguila de Osa Inn
Drake Bay
An Exclusive Boutique Hotel in the Wilds of the Osa
★★★★
On a cliff above Drake Bay, with rooms set well apart for privacy, high cathedral ceilings and furniture handcrafted from local hardwoods. Our four-star choice for Corcovado and Caño Island.
Photo: Bosque del Rio Tigre Lodge
Puerto Jiménez
Situated on the Tigre River
★★★
Four rooms and at most 12 guests on the Tigre river at Dos Brazos, in the forest reserve that rings Corcovado, where the river and the howler monkeys are the only sound at night. The smallest lodge on this page, and the one for the serious list.
Photo: Corcovado Wilderness Lodge by SCP
Drake Bay
Rainforest villas and treehouses above a Drake Bay beach, next to Corcovado National Park
★★★★
On a 189-acre private reserve bordering Corcovado National Park, with early-morning forest-bird walks and canopy, shore and sea birds to look for.
Photo: Drake Bay Wilderness Resort
Drake Bay
Comfortable Accommodations near Corcovado & Cano Island at Drake Bay Resort!
★★★
The first hotel at Drake Bay, owner-run cabins at the water's edge with a dock instead of a wet beach landing, its own English-speaking guides and three meals a day, close to Corcovado National Park and Caño Island. Four of our recent birding itineraries stay here, and one client called it "our favorite" of the trip.
No fixed trip stops here yet; we add it to a custom trip.
A few minutes on the form, and one of our Costa Rica specialists comes back to you personally with a first itinerary: the Pacific in the right order with whatever else is on your list, and how many nights each stop really needs. That first version is just a place to start.
Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.
Keep going: add more birds, lodges or tours, then turn your Wishlist into a trip.
