RARA AVIS

RARA AVIS is a new way to save rainforest, as well as learn about it, while you experience the richness and splendor of the most diverse environment on earth. Rara Avis was developed to show that we can make rainforest economically productive and so save it from destruction. In Rara Avis, you will be in a remote virgin jungle --- true wilderness --- bordering Braulio Carrillo National Park and the Zona Protectora La Selva. At 700 meters (2000 ft) above sea level, the climate stays cool and comfortable year-round (77 degrees F or 25 degrees C). There is a lot of rain (it's a rainforest!), but mosquitoes are not a problem.

Over 340 species of birds have been found at Rara Avis, including sunbitterns, umbrella-birds, great green macaws, parrots, and toucans. There is a good chance to see monkeys, anteaters, or coatimundis if you walk silently through the forest, or to spot the tracks of tapirs and jungle cats. The treetops are festooned with vines, lianas, bromeliads, and orchids, and there are more kinds of plants, birds, and butterflies than in all of Europe.

Your trip begins in the small town of Las Horquetas de Sarapiquí, accessible by bus, car, or taxi. There you can buy your last supplies (boots, hats, raingear, flashlights, etc.) before you board a tractor-pulled cart, for the three-hour, 15-kilometer voyage. First we cross two rivers, riding through if the water is low or crossing a bridge when they've risen with the rains. Rara Avis has remained pristine because of its inaccessibility: along the way you will see firsthand how rainforests have been cut down wherever they are near roads.

Soon you will arrive at El Plástico, the more rustic of our two lodges, named for an abandoned jungle prison colony where the prisoners slept under plastic tarps. Here we offer basic lodging (bunkbeds and shared bathrooms) in the administrative headquarters of the penal colony. There is a classroom for student groups and a spectacular view of the lowlands.

For those who want a little more comfort, the Waterfall Lodge lies another three kilometers through the forest at the end of a rough corduroy road. Many people choose to walk through the rainforest while their bags are delivered on the tractor cart. The Waterfall Lodge lies 200 meters from our spectacular double waterfall. Each room has its own bathroom (with bathtubs and hot water) and wrap-around balcony overlooking the rainforest and the lowlands. You can watch birds right from the balcony.

We also have a private, two-bedroom cabin overlooking a jungle river (with hot water and solar powered electric lights,) a ten-minute walk from the lodge through the rainforest.

Once you are at Rara Avis, your naturalist guide will take you into the rainforest and show you the plants and wildlife and explain their complex relations. Later, you may be able to swim in large crystalline pools at the base of the waterfall. You will need rubber boots (we lend up to size 43 [11.5 U.S.]) and clothes in which to get wet and muddy.

RARA AVIS offers clean and comfortable lodging, deep in the heart of the jungle, with home-style Costa Rican meals, plus an adventurous learning experience different from ordinary tourism. At the same time, you will be encouraging the wise use of the rainforest --- the reason for the existence of Rara Avis.

Because of the difficult access, we strongly recommend a minimum stay of two nights. The tractor leaves Las Horquetas every morning at 9:00 AM, arriving for lunch. Departure from Rara Avis is at 2:00 PM, arriving in Horquetas at about 5:00 PM. Prices include lodging, all meals, naturalist guides, the scheduled tractor ride, and taxes, and range from US$45 in El Plástico to $75 for a double or $85 for a single room at the Waterfall Lodge; children half-price (all prices per person, per night, and subject to change).

internet: raraavis@sol.racsa.co.cr

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