Keel-billed ToucanPhoto: buteo
Chachagua's forest does not stop at its fence. The hotel's 94 hectares of rainforest border the Children's Eternal Rainforest, 23,000 hectares of it, and together with Arenal Volcano National Park they make one corridor for the wildlife.
So the reason to stay here rather than at the park lodge is the reserve itself and the rhythm: a guided bird walk leaves the lobby at 6 every morning, a night walk at 6 every evening, and you never get in a vehicle for either.
The national park is about 8 km away for the umbrellabird mornings. And for the birder with a partner who wants the hot spring pool and the tree house 20 metres up, it is an easy place to agree on.
The hotel protects 94 hectares of secondary rainforest with three hiking trails and a network of smaller paths. The birdwatching walk departs from inside the hotel every day at 6:00 and runs about two hours with a bilingual guide; bring your own binoculars. The night walk leaves at 6 every evening. The hotel says more than 300 bird species have been identified in the reserve. It names toucans, motmots, trogons, parrots and hummingbirds among them but no single species, so the birds below are the ones our own pages give for the forest a short drive away.
Photo: Chachagua Rainforest Hotel & Hacienda
Arenal
A sustainable resort above any other
★★★
Inside its own rainforest reserve near La Fortuna, with a guided birdwatching walk at 6 am and a night walk at 6 pm every day, and a warm spring pool kept for hotel guests. The adults-only tree house sits 20 metres up in the canopy.
A short drive away in Arenal Volcano National Park: the Bare-necked Umbrellabird, a regional endemic, the Lovely Cotinga and the Yellow-eared Toucanet, with Great Curassow on the trails and Bare-throated Tiger-Heron at the water's edge.
The Keel-billed Toucan and the White-necked Jacobin are birds of the whole Arenal side. On the Mistico hanging bridges, about 12 km off, the Slaty-tailed Trogon and Graceful Black-throated Trogon come close at canopy height.
| English | Scientific | Spanish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bare-necked Umbrellabird | Cephalopterus glabricollis | Pájaro-sombrilla Cuellinudo | Regional endemic |
| Lovely Cotinga | Cotinga amabilis | Cotinga Linda | |
| Yellow-eared Toucanet | Selenidera spectabilis | Tucancillo Orejiamarillo | |
| Great Curassow | Crax rubra | Pavón Grande | |
| Bare-throated Tiger-Heron | Tigrisoma mexicanum | Garza-Tigre Cuellinuda | |
| Keel-billed Toucan | Ramphastos sulfuratus | Tucán Pico Iris | |
| White-necked Jacobin | Florisuga mellivora | Jacobino Nuquiblanco | |
| Slaty-tailed Trogon | Trogon massena | Trogón Coliplomizo | |
| Graceful Black-throated Trogon | Trogon tenellus | Trogón Cabeciverde |
The rooms are freestanding bungalows and villas scattered through the reserve, so you walk a forest path to breakfast rather than a corridor. The couples' Deluxe Bungalow has 70 m² inside, a king bed, air conditioning and a covered terrace with a hammock and its own outdoor jacuzzi. Families take a Rainforest Bungalow with two queens and an outdoor rain shower, or a two-bedroom villa by the river. The day has a built-in shape: a bird walk at 6 a.m., a nature walk at 2 p.m. and a night walk at 6 p.m. In between there are the spring pools, the farm at Rancho Don Lelo, and yoga three mornings a week. Colibrí, the main restaurant, cooks Costa Rican dishes with produce from the farm under a high wooden ceiling.
Meals. Colibrí Restaurant, Costa Rican regional cooking with farm produce plus international dishes, breakfast, lunch and dinner; Morpho, a casual poolside lunch spot by the hot springs. Daily à la carte breakfast is included in the bungalow pages read.
Perfect for: a couple where one birds at dawn and the other wants a hot spring soak and a jacuzzi on the terrace.
Birding Arenal Volcano National Park from the lodge next to it: the umbrellabird, cotingas and toucanets, the hanging bridges and our trips.
See the placeThe Mistico hanging bridges near Arenal put you level with the canopy birds, with a local guide and the volcano in view. Over 350 species recorded.
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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