Costa Rica
Rara Avis
Four hours by tractor through mud to reach where Costa Rica's eco-tourism revolution began.
The tractor lurches through mud for four hours before the canopy closes overhead and the engine cuts. Rara Avis begins where the road gives up. The sounds arrive first — the hollow knock of a woodpecker, the drip of condensation falling from bromeliads, a distant waterfall you cannot yet see. The air is thick, warm, and saturated with the scent of decomposing leaves and living wood.
Founded in 1983 by biologist Amos Bien, Rara Avis was conceived as proof that intact rainforest could generate more economic value standing than felled. It predates Costa Rica's ecotourism industry by a decade. The property connects to Braulio Carrillo National Park, forming part of a contiguous protected corridor stretching from the Caribbean coast to the cloud forest. The fourteen-kilometre tractor road is the only access — no trail bikes, no four-wheel drives make it through — and the isolation begins well before arrival. A fifty-five-metre waterfall cascades year-round from primary forest inside the property, and guest sightings of tapir, jaguar, and harpy eagle are recorded in the lodge logbook.
Solo
This is a pilgrimage for anyone who wants to understand what rainforest feels like without compromise. The tractor journey filters out casual visitors, leaving a lodge of serious naturalists and committed silence.
Couple
The total remoteness creates an intimacy that no resort can replicate. Days revolve around trail walks, waterfall swims, and meals cooked from whatever the surrounding forest and farmland provide.
- Rara Avis was founded in 1983 by biologist Amos Bien as a model for economically sustainable rainforest preservation — it predates Costa Rica's ecotourism industry.
- The property connects to Braulio Carrillo National Park, forming part of a contiguous protected corridor from the Caribbean coast to the cloud forest.
- The 14km tractor journey through mud road is the only access — no trail bikes, no 4WDs make it through — the isolation begins before you arrive.
- A 55-metre waterfall inside the property cascades year-round from primary forest — guest sightings of tapir, jaguar, and harpy eagle are recorded in the lodge logbook.
All meals cooked at the lodge from local ingredients — isolation breeds creativity in the kitchen.
The nearest road food is hours away — savour the remoteness with whatever the cook creates.
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