The trail into the forest reserve below Rancho Naturalista, walked for a few hours or for the whole day.
Birders come for one bird. The valley has a reputation as the most reliable area in the country to try your luck at the Lanceolated Monklet, and three of our Caribbean trips give it a full guided day for exactly that reason. Whether it shows depends on the morning and on the guide's luck holding, and we tell people so before they come.
The birding is good all along the trail, with tanager flocks moving through while you wait.
The Lanceolated Monklet first, and it is the reason for the day.
Around it, the tanager flocks of the wet foothills.
| English | Scientific | Spanish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lanceolated Monklet | Micromonacha lanceolata | Monjito Rayado |
Fly into San José. Turrialba is about two and a half hours from the airport by road, Rancho Naturalista half an hour beyond the town, and the trail starts below the lodge. It has mud, so bring boots you have already walked in.
All year. The foothills are wet in every month, so bring a rain layer whatever your dates. Our Caribbean Lowlands trip, which spends a day here, runs September to November.
The ranch at the top of the trail, and a twelve-room country hotel on a working farm a few minutes from Turrialba.
Photo: Hotel Casa Turire
Turrialba
Intimate Location full of luxury in Verdant, Exotic Turrialba!
★★★★
A twelve-room country hotel on a working farm a few minutes from Turrialba, beside La Angostura lake, with toucans and parakeets in the gardens and Rancho Naturalista's forest up the valley. Where we put birders who want a proper bed between the foothill mornings.
Photo: Rancho Naturalista
Turrialba
A Birder's Paradise Awaits in the Central Valley Near Turrialba
★★★
125 acres of protected Caribbean foothill forest half an hour from Turrialba, hummingbird feeders on the balcony from the first breakfast, and resident bird guides our clients called "absolutely stellar". Five of our 45 recent birding itineraries sleep here, behind only Arenal Observatory and Trapp Family Lodge.
A few minutes on the form, and one of our Costa Rica specialists comes back to you personally with a first itinerary: the foothills 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.
