When visiting Chirripó you need to take your time in order to fully enjoy its magnificence. The hike to the summit covers a vertical distance of 7,500 feet (3,035 m) but the rugged and densely forested terrain will be a true test of endurance.

Tour operators offer slight variations, but in general the journey will take at least three days:

• Day 1: Drive about 3 hours to San Gerardo the Rivas, the starting point for most tours. You need to start hiking before sunrise the following morning so it’s important that you find lodging and get plenty of rest.

• Day 2: Rise and shine as you begin the ascent to Mount Chirripó. The 10-mile (16 km) walk may take between 9 and 12 hours depending on pace and rest stops. As you explore the forest, ask your guide to point out the Aguacatillo trees, the preferred culinary treat of the emerald quetzal. You may arrange for horses to carry your luggage so you won’t have to, a commodity you’ll appreciate when climbing the steep Cuesta de Agua. Your goal on day one is to reach the Crestones ranger station, located 4 miles (6 km) from the top, where you will set up camp for the night.

• Day 3: Lakes, forests and moorland surround you near the summit. The final stretch takes 3 hours and leads you to the most extravagant view of the Caribbean Sea, Irazú and Turrialba volcanoes, the Talamanca Mountian Range, and the Pacific Ocean. The glance from above the clouds gives you a better understanding of why Costa Rica is an ecological paradise. After this breathtaking moment and depending on your tour, you may head back down to the Crestones ranger station or to San Gerardo de Rivas where transportation is arranged.

• Day 4: From the overnight camping site, you can follow the same trails down the mountain and back to the starting point with the satisfaction of a completed journey.

PARQUE NACIONAL LA AMISTAD
La Amistad International Park is a natural paradise filled with treasures beyond your imagination. Reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, this is what the world looked like before the destructive hand of civilization altered its perfect balance.

The largest conservation area in the country protects 479,200 acres (192,000 ha) of undisturbed montane rainforest. Eight different life zones can be found within the park, each one teeming with wildlife and vegetation. La Amistad is also significant from a cultural perspective because it shelters the largest Indigenous population in the country. Due to all these attributes, the Park was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

No other location in the world holds a more complete collection of wildlife with mammals, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibious wandering freely by the millions. Intermigrations from North and South America enrich the extremely diverse fauna and scientists believe that many species are yet to be discovered.

The Talamanca Mountain Range, where the park is nestled, is the highest and wildest non-volcanic formation in Central America. The area is marked by quaternary glaciers, the only signs of the ice age for thousands of miles around. Its rich soil also contains the largest tracts of virgin forest in the region. The native vegetation is adorned by 9,000 flowering plant, more than 4 non-vascular plant, 80% of the country’s moss and approximately 1,000 fern species.

Eight Indian reserves inhabit the territory (an estimated population of 10,000). When the Spanish occupied Costa Rica, the native indigenous people retreated to the valleys, where the survivors remain. Over the past 400 years they have managed to retain much of their folklore, language, customs, and subsistence agricultural, hunting and gathering lifestyle. Some of the reserves can be reached by four-wheel-drive, but most of their inhabitants rarely see outsiders.