You will be picked up at your San José hotel between 6:00 and 7:00
a.m. and travel by microbus through Cartago, the old colonial capital
of Costa Rica. You will then continue along verdant rolling coffee plantations
to the town of Turrialba. The two and a half hour trip then skirts the
slopes of the Irazú and Turrialba Volcanoes toward the north, and
the Reventazón River Basin and Orosí Valley toward the south.
Feast your eyes on gently sloping fields of ornamental plants, coffee,
sugarcane, macadamia, and the jungle-covered mountains of the Talamanca
Mountain Range. En route you will stop to enjoy a delicious traditional
breakfast along with a beautiful view of the town of Cervantes.
In Santa Marta the microbus is exchanged for a four-wheel-drive vehicle
that will take you the remaining six-kilometers to the banks of the Pacuare
River. Splashes of color dazzle your vision as you enter ever deeper within
these jungle-covered mountains. The sounds and smells of the forest beckon
you along until unexpectedly you arrive at the Pacuare River, the Cábecar
culture’s symbol of life. The excitement continues as you leave
the four-wheel-drive vehicle and take a hanging gondola across the river
via a 100-meter cable running from riverbank to riverbank. On the other
side the real adventure begins as you forego modern conveniences and hike
parallel to the river the last 300 meters to the Pacuare
Lodge. Equipment is transported by our staff, and a refreshing cocktail
awaits your arrival.
