Corcovado National Park

2/17/2016

National Geographic: The most biologically intense place on Earth

The nature, scenery & wildlife are absolutely amazing and it gives you the chance to be for a while alone with the nature.

There are several tour options and starting point locations so depending on your time, money and preferences you can pick. I'll give you all the details of our trip.

We booked a 2 days (one night) trip.
Entry point Puerto Jimenez (Carate)
Exit point Drake Bay

We checked the information on http://www.corcovadoguide.com/. We contacted them via e-mail for more information and they have put us in contact with a private tour company Tamandua Eco Tour . We had Alvaro (who is the founder) as a guide. I absolutely recommend him. He is knowledgeable, very well prepared and makes a lot of jokes.

His WhatsApp: 0050687050046
Facebook: Tamandua Eco Tour

! You do need a guide, as of end of 2014 this is compulsory for who wants to go into the park. you can pick him and he will arrange everything else needed for the trip. There are only a limited amount of people allowed in the Park/night (35-40) so you would need to book in advance.

Costs:
- guide/per person/day: 50$
- transportation to the entry point: 45 $
- sleep: one night in Sirena Rangers Station
- admission park*: 95.92$ for 3 persons
- night in park*: 16$ for 3 persons
* you need to pay this via bank transfer, you will receive the reservation as in the picture on your right,

as we exited from a different cost we also paid
- 30$ for 2 backpacks to be carried by car to Drake (optional)
- 25$ per person for the Boat from the ranger station to Drake.

Take with you:

as less as possible but don't forget:
- water (we had 1L but maybe get 2L if you can carry it)
- sun cream
- hat (cap)
- mosquito repellent
- some food (we had some bread and cheese and ham to make sandwiches)
- photo gear
- comfortable walking shoes (waterproof if possible)
- head-lantern (you can do it also with the flashlight from the phone)

How the days went on

We met Alvaro the night before the trip to pay all the remaining parts (except the boat) and discuss a bit how the days will be. You have to leave at a certain hour in the morning as the trip depends on the flux & re-flux (you have to cross some rivers).
The trip is not easy and for girls if possible highly recommend not to go when you have your period (First question I got from the guide :S).

- we had to leave at around 4AM, your guide will give you the details.
- with a 4x4 we drove till Carate.
- from Carate there are about 3 km to La Leona Rangers station

- at La Leona is the last place to use a toilet before Sirena so take advantage
- from La Leona to Sirena you have 17km left & 2 rivers to cross.
- before the first river we took a break to have breakfast
- half way to Sirena there was a spot you could take a swim in the Pacific and relax, the water was calmer and next to the rain-forest there was a river you could wash the salt off. Here we also took our lunch.
- it gets harder with the sun getting stronger and without water our guide cut us some coconuts for hydration
- Rio Claro is about 1km away from Sirena, it can get deep enough at high tide and there is a possibility to see bull sharks & crocodiles.
- around 4PM we arrived at Sirena

! Water is expensive here, be prepared to bay for 2L 5000 colones
! WiFi is available at the Station

- we went to sleep quite early, and woke up again at 4ish to search the Tapir
- we did not find him at first, but spotted some Tucans, a baby crocodile and other birds
- later on, around 12 PM we found him eating and then he took a long nap
- boat picked us up close to Sirena at around 2PM and brought us to Drake