Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
A small lodge in the foothills of the Talamanca mountains, above San Isidro de El General, and higher than the other lodge we use in the valley. That height is the point: its gardens bring in birds of the cooler slopes that you would not find down by the river.
The Black Guan, the Silver-throated Tanager and the Red-fronted Parrotlet, a regional endemic, all come into the gardens here. Below, in the El General valley, Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary is close by, and the whole area round San Isidro is good ground for a birder.
It is named for the tayra, the tolomuco in Costa Rica, a forest weasel that lives in the woods round the lodge.
What our files hold about the land is its gardens, in the foothill forest of the Talamanca range, and the birds that come into them. The lodge's own site could not be read on 4 November 2026, so trails, feeders, guides, reserve size and elevation are left off until it can (see To verify 2).
Photo: Bosque del Tolomuco
San Isidro de El General
Forest of the Tayra and Birdwatching Haven in Costa Rica's Southern Zone!
★★★
Gardens in the Talamanca foothills above San Isidro where Black Guan, Silver-throated Tanager and Red-fronted Parrotlet come in, with Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary close by. Named for the tayra, the tolomuco, that lives in the forest here.
In the gardens, the Black Guan, a regional endemic of the mountains, the Silver-throated Tanager and the Red-fronted Parrotlet, with the Slate-throated Redstart at the forest edge.
Down in the valley round Los Cusingos, the Fiery-billed Aracari, the cusinga the sanctuary is named for, the Bay-headed Tanager and the Gartered Violaceous Trogon, with the Ornate Hawk-Eagle overhead. By the Chirripó river at the valley floor, the Red-legged Honeycreeper in the fruit trees and the Slaty Spinetail in the thickets.
| English | Scientific | Spanish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Guan | Chamaepetes unicolor | Pava Negra | Regional endemic |
| Silver-throated Tanager | Tangara icterocephala | Tangara Dorada | |
| Red-fronted Parrotlet | Touit costaricensis | Periquito Alirrojo | Regional endemic |
| Slate-throated Redstart | Myioborus miniatus | Candelita Pechinegra | |
| Fiery-billed Aracari | Pteroglossus frantzii | Tucancillo Piquianaranjado | Regional endemic |
| Bay-headed Tanager | Tangara gyrola | Tangara Cabecicastaña | |
| Gartered Violaceous Trogon | Trogon caligatus | Trogón Violáceo | |
| Ornate Hawk-Eagle | Spizaetus ornatus | Aguilillo Penachudo | |
| Red-legged Honeycreeper | Cyanerpes cyaneus | Mielero Patirrojo | |
| Slaty Spinetail | Synallaxis brachyura | Arquitecto Plomizo |
Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary and the El General valley around San Isidro: two of our lodges, over 200 species at one, Black Guan at the other.
See the placeNo fixed trip stays here yet; we build it into a custom trip.
Want to add a luxury stay to your trip? See every hotel we represent on CostaRica.Org (opens in a new window). We plan birding lodges and beach resorts in one trip.
Tell us the birds you want, your dates and how you like to travel, and we will come back with a first itinerary: the lodges in the right order and how many nights each one 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.
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