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Tropical Rivers

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The Lodge
The Tropical Rivers Lodge, located along the Pacuare River, offers a haven for relaxation and immersion in tropical sights and sounds. The clean energy, sustainable lodge offers you a variety of accommodation and activity options.

If you close your eyes and imagine what a genuine eco-lodge deep in the rainforest could be like, you might think of beautiful tropical gardens framing native wood lodge rooms, open air gathering pavilions with thatched roofs and comfortable hammocks swinging in a gentle breeze, ample viewing decks for watching the toucans fly overhead and the river dance along its rapids.

Good imagination! This is exactly what you will experience at Tropical Rivers Lodge. It is the first eco-lodge built on the Pacuare and the only one powered with hydro-generated electricity for a clean sustainable energy source.

The 1500 Acre Private Reserve:
Tropical Rivers rainforest lodge is located on a 1500 acre private reserve at the mouth of the Pacuare Gorge, inside the Pacuare Protected Zone. This private reserve borders the indigenous Cabecar Indian Reserve and contains more than 40 miles of hiking trails and numerous waterfalls, streams, and pools. There are two ways to access the lodge, via rafting in on the Pacuare River, or hiking in along a trail. The various accommodations are set on the mountainside at varying slope heights, affording fantastic views of the river and the dense rainforest surroundings.

Lodge Accommodations
This rainforest Lodge offers airy, elegantly simple and well-appointed rooms set in small clusters overlooking the Pacuare River. Each has a private bathroom with stone-lined showers, plenty of hot water, and electrical outlets. Additional lodging options include expanded family rooms with bunkbeds, twin beds, and double beds and private baths. There is a series of bunkhouses set back up the hillside, perfect for school and youth groups, with group bathroom facilities. All lodging options enjoy hot showers, electricity, and decks for viewing the jungle and/or river.

Premium Rooms:
The premium rooms were renovated in the winter of 2007/08 and enjoy the best views of the river, balconies, beautiful dark native wood furniture of beds and small bedside tables, ample screened in windows with roll-up bamboo shades, and native slate-lined showers. Artwork, furniture, rugs, and linens were, of course, all brought into the lodge via raft, as with everything at the lodge.

Standard Lodge Rooms & Family Rooms:
Additional lodge rooms are similar to the premium rooms, without the slate-lined showers and almost as good of a view. The family rooms are basic, clean, and have private bathrooms.

Bunkhouses:
The bunkhouses are perfect for school groups and other budget travelers. Each bunkhouse has between 4 to 8 bunk-beds to a room.

Central Community Areas:
All rooms are designed for you to enjoy a peaceful night's rest, but not to overly encourage you to stay in your room during your lodge visit. There are no regular tables in the rooms. Instead, ample tables for board or card games, reading areas with rocking chairs, and lazy colorful hammocks are intentionally placed in the open air dining and gathering areas. Prime views of the river, the rainforest, and even the overhead ziplines dominate these locations.

Amenities:
Complete Bathrooms with Hot Showers: Absolutely! Enjoy an aesthetically rich native stone-lined shower with plenty of hot water after your day of adventure. Ahh, roughing it was never this wonderful. All private rooms also have private bathrooms. The bunkhouses have shared bathrooms.

Electricity:
Recharge all of your equipment in the comfort of your lodge room, thanks to a hydro-powered, clean energy generator. The lodge knows it is stressful to the MAX to run out of battery power in the middle of a multi-day adventure vacation. At this lodge, you don't have to worry about it! Convenient & hassle-free, you won't have to worry about batteries dying with your equipment. (Ok, you do have to remember to bring your portable recharger. Regular 110V outlets - no adapters needed.)
Guests do dine by candlelight every evening, and it's believed that with clean energy guests can embrace those items that require electricity in a uniquely responsible 21st Century way.

Walking Bridges and Trails:
It is easy to get between cabins, rooms, and the main lodge area, as well as to other areas of the private reserve, through the carefully built walking bridges (including a hanging bridge over the river to access the far side of the reserve. Footpaths are well-cared for and well-marked. Hotel staff was careful to use existing Indian paths as much as possible, and minimized the building of new trails. A numbered nature trail of about one and a half miles one way highlights most of the trees in our reserve. Steps have been constructed into the steep hillside behind the main lodge area, that lead all the way to the beginning of the exciting canopy zipline course.

Meals
Tropical Rivers works hard to buy as much of their produce, meats, and fish from the local communities near the lodge. Doing so supports local economies, encourages sustainable farming practices, and guarantees the freshest foods on your table. All meals are part of your all-inclusive vacation package, with the exception of beer and wine. Both are available for purchase separately.

Breakfasts:
This tropical paradise delivers on fresh fruit like pineapple, papaya, mango, bananas, and melons. Besides a bountiful supply of fresh fruit at all meals at the lodge, breakfast includes banana pancakes, fresh bacon or sausage, farm-fresh eggs, juices, breads, and an assortment of international items like pastries. Enjoy a bottomless cup of fresh, handpicked Costa Rican coffee with milk or cream available. (Costa Ricans typically take milk with their coffee, not cream. Cream is provided as well, because you like it!)

Lunches:
Lunches are either at the lodge on a layover day, or as picnics during your adventure activity. Lunches include fresh tropical fruit, salad choices, deli sandwiches, juices, and healthy snacks to accommodate most diets and preferences.

Jungle Appetizers & Cocktail Hour:
Every day hotel staff serves Jungle Punch cocktails at 5pm, accompanied by an assortment of hor d'euvres. Did you know that because Costa Rica is located so close to the equator, sunrise and sunset remain at within an hour time frame all 365 days of the year? Sunrise falls between 5am and 6am, and sunset falls between 5pm and 6pm, depending on the time of year.

Dinners:
Classic dinner is Jungle Chicken, developed on the Pacuare River more than 20 years ago and cooked by your guides to perfection. A savory combination of vegetables, rice, and chicken, it is a favorite of our guests for years. Fresh produce, salads, breads, and a variety of locally farmed beef, chicken, and fish, are served at the lodge. Vegetarian options are always available.

Dinner is served by candlelight overlooking the river as the sun sets. The jungle transforms from its daylight personality to its nocturnal one, in the process coming alive with a rich cacophony of sounds. Dinners at the lodge are sure to be a highlight of your trip.

Conservation Partnerships
Tropical Rivers has developed partnerships with many organizations dedicated to protecting both the country and the planet's resources.
• The National Forestry Financing Fund (Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal or FONAFIFO) was established in 1996 to promote the management of forests and strengthen the development of the natural resources sector. Rios Tropicales works with them to reforest areas within the reserve to offset pollution in other areas.
• Through a partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Rios Tropicales has pledged to plant 10,000 trees to contribute to the reforesting of the rainforest as part of a worldwide UN-sponsored tree-planting program. They are more than halfway to their goal at 5,200 planted so far.
• In 1994, Rios Tropicales founded the Fundacion Rios Tropicales (FRT), a non-profit environmental organization to assist in the preservation, protection and restoration of the rivers, streams and watersheds of Costa Rica. The Foundation recently launched environmental education programs in elementary schools throughout Costa Rica, with the goal of educating children about the rivers of their community and their impact upon them. At the end of each course, participants are presented with a seedling, which is planted in the community as an effort to reforest the watershed.

What's Included During Your Adventure Lodge Stay:
• Great Meals prepared by your talented guides. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus cocktails and hor d'oeuvres, of course! Wine and beer is available separately.

Accommodations to Fit Every Aesthetic and Budget:
• From luxury lodge rooms overlooking the river to rustic bunkhouses set back on the hillside, with private bathrooms, hot showers, electricity, and decks for scenic views.

Sustainable:
Find out how the lodge was built and how it is operated, using sustainable business practices for environment, culture, and social well-being of surrounding communities

Community:
Meet the community members who live at and manage the lodge and private reserve.
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Photo Gallery

Itineraries

Pacuare River Whitewater
$429
EXPLORE

Pacuare River Rafting with Overnight

2 Day Itinerary
Activities:
Land, Whitewater Rafting
Activity Level:
Moderate
Tour Details
0
Visit the lush jungle and stunning waterfalls
$2,143
EXPLORE

Wild Costa Rica

8 Day Itinerary
  • Spend two days rafting the Pacuare
  • Camp along the river
  • Tour the jungle with a naturalist
  • Take a night walk to see wildlife
Activities:
Fishing, Kayaking, Land, Snorkeling, Whitewater Rafting, Wildlife Viewing
Activity Level:
Easy Active
Tour Details
0
Agami Heron at nesting site in Pacuare Reserve
$2,047
EXPLORE

Wild Costa Rica Corcovado

8 Day Itinerary
  • Whitewater raft the Pacuare River
  • Search for the scarlet macaw
  • Camp on sandy beaches
  • Hike along paths in Corcovado
Activities:
Hiking, Horseback Riding, Kayaking, Land, Rainforest Exploration, Snorkeling, Whitewater Rafting, Wilderness Lodge, Wildlife Viewing, Zip Line
Activity Level:
Moderate
Tour Details
0
Playing in the mist of the falls
$2,331
EXPLORE

Beaches & Rainforest

9 Day Itinerary
  • Climb a giant kapok tree
  • Relax on white sand beaches
  • Snorkel and kayak in the Caribbean
  • Raft the Pacuare River
Activities:
Beach Time, Fishing, Horseback Riding, Kayaking, Land, Rainforest Exploration, Snorkeling, Whitewater Rafting, Wildlife Viewing
Activity Level:
Easy Active
Tour Details
0
Rafting in Costa Rica
$1,658
EXPLORE

Pura Vida

6 Day Itinerary
  • Raft down the Pacuare River
  • Find wildlife in the rain forest
  • Explore the Arenal Volcano area
  • Hike along the old lava flows
Activities:
Rainforest Exploration, Whitewater Rafting, Wildlife Viewing, Ziplining
Activity Level:
Easy Active
Tour Details
0
Howler Monkey in the rainforest canopy
$3,721
EXPLORE

Corcovado Trekking

9 Day Itinerary
  • Spend two days rafting the Pacuare
  • Camp on the remote beaches
  • Hike trails in search of wildlife
  • Hike, snorkel, kayak or whale watch
Activities:
Hiking, Land, Whitewater Rafting, Wilderness Lodge, Wildlife Viewing
Activity Level:
Moderate
Tour Details
0

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Beyond expectations! Then again we weren't sure what to expect. Lovely stay at the lodge, met other like-minded travelers (many had their trips planned by Adventure Life) and the owner was a gracious hostess. It felt like you were one happy family, visiting with a favorite aunt.
Nancy Sin

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