
Puma concolor in Corcovado National Park La Leona
Puma concolor in Corcovado National Park La Leona
This full three-day tour is the best way to discover the park. You hike into Sirena on the 1st day, the 2nd day you explore the area around Sirena, and on the 3rd day, you hike out of the park. You can choose either the route La Leona or Los Patos.
The price for groups from 3 to 6 people is $333 (per person).
This full three-day tour is the best way to discover the park. It's a combination of coastal trails, riverine forest, and beach hiking. You cover a vast area of secondary forest, excellent for spotting all kinds of wildlife.
First day, we start early in the morning in Puerto Jimenez, taking the shared taxi to Carate, where we'll start the 20 Km hike to the Sirena Biological Station. This 7 to 9-hour hike is known for its intense biodiversity and adventurous river crossings.
Second day, you get to explore the trails around Sirena, less hurried and without any weight on your back. This is a slower day where you get to observe and learn more in detail about tropical lowland rainforests, and you visit Sirena's ancient primary forests.
The third day, wake up to the call of the howlers and start getting ready for the long walk once more. The 20 Km walk back to Carate offers one more chance for the best wildlife spotting before you say goodbye to the park.
In the summer (December to April), if you're up for a challenge and you're an experienced hiker, we do recommend hiking the 24 Km in via the Los Patos Ranger Station. This way you'll get to see a completely different area of the park and visit the pristine primary forest of the higher mountains.
In the rainy season (May to November) you might have to hike in and out back through La Leona due to weather conditions.
You can choose either route to enter or exit, La Leona or Los Patos, depending upon the season and your hiking level. If you want to do both, we recommend starting at Los Patos and ending in La Leona. This tour starts in Puerto Jimenez and ends in Puerto Jimenez.*
* If the group size is 2 or 3 pax and you choose to start or end in Los Patos, the transportation included is from La Palma to Los Patos or vice-versa, so you must take a bus between Puerto Jimenez and La Palma or pay the extra rate for the full taxi.
All packages include a shared guide, if you want a private guide for your group, you must add $23 per person per day and include the guide's meals.
* If you choose Los Patos and you are 2 or 3 people, the transport included is from La Palma
* All these prices are per person.
** Private guide service can only be booked 15 days or more in advance.
Puma concolor in Corcovado National Park La Leona
Ficus Buttress Corcovado National Park
The Sirena Biological Station is located 800 mts from the beach. It has two roofed wooden platforms with 18 bunk beds each. Space between the beds is less than one meter apart, resulting in little privacy. The beds are furnished with sheets, a pillow, and mosquito net.
There are nice and clean bathrooms and showers (no hot water available), plus a souvenir shop where you can buy cold drinks, coffee, and snacks.
At the open-air dinning room, you will enjoy a typical Costa Rican meal, big enough to recover all the energy after lots of hiking.
There are lockers where you can store personal belongings for $4 per day. You may also rent towels for $5.
No, it’s not allowed to cook or heat water at the station.
For the walks we recommend: lasting fruit (apples, oranges, tangerines, etc), tortillas, bread, mashed beans, tuna, lasting vegetables (carrot, cucumber, onion, avocado, etc), mixed seeds, energy bars, cereal, dry meat (beef jerky), and dry fruits.
We don’t recommend this path in the rainy season because conditions can become very dangerous. The river level rises, so the transportation does not reach the station and you must walk an extra 6 Km to reach the park’s entrance. On top of that, the trail gets very muddy and many trees fall on the trail, making it difficult to keep going. If you really want, you can do it, but with all the mentioned difficulties and more.
There's an specific tap in the station where you can refill your bottle with potable water. The water supply for the stations comes from a well, it is then filtered and treated. You can also buy cold bottled water at the souvenir shop. If possible, we recommend carrying a water filter or purification tablets for use on the long walks.