The Pacuare River Ecolodge 2-Day Trip gives you two incredible days of tropical white water rafting and a night at the Rios Tropicales Lodge. Treat yourself to an exceptional adventure vacation experience combining rafting with a stay at our remote ecolodge, nestled in the rainforest on the banks of the Pacuare River. The Rios Tropicales Lodge, complete with hydro-powered electricity, is a model of ecotourism and deluxe accommodations.
From our ecolodge’s remote, riverside location, you can enjoy ziplining through the canopy (additional cost), rainforest hikes with naturalist guides, self-guided walks to waterfalls and pools, relaxing in a hammock overlooking the beautiful Pacuare River, and birdwatching. Dine in the open air with wine and exceptional meals, more stars than you can imagine, and the vibrant sounds of the jungle.
Rated one of the top rivers in the world, you’ll experience the intimate nature of the rainforest as you raft right through it. The warm water, cascading waterfalls, and opulently lush rainforest with its brilliantly colored plants, animals, and birds indulge your senses on every level. Add in two sections of the exciting Class III-IV white water rapids and you have a tropical adventure packed with rich experiences that last long after you’ve returned home.
Got questions? Contact us!
Trip Length 2 Days
Experience Type Family & Adventurers
Price Dependant on lodging choice. Find options and details below.
Minimum Age 12, December – May.
Minimum Age 14, June – November.
26
3 1
From 3 1/2 to 5 hours depending on water levels.
When you stay at the Rios Tropicales Lodge and its 2,000-acre private reserve, you can choose from several different guided tour experiences, make a difference through tree-planting, and enjoy a host of other unstructured activities. Of course, the longer you stay at Rios Tropicales Lodge, the more likely you’ll get to experience everything we offer. And, the more likely you will return to your daily routine refreshed, rested, and restored. Availability of certain activities depends on the length of your stay at the lodge.
Hike up to the top of the Pacuare Gorge from the lodge plant a tree as part of our reforestation project at our 2000-acre rainforest reserve, the largest private reserve in Costa Rica. Reforestation began in 1990s, and by 2008 we participated in the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Billion Trees campaign. We are ongoing participants and have planted over 20,000 trees to date. Our local communities, Costa Rican vacationers, and international vacationers together participate in and support our ongoing tree-planting campaigns.
As of June 2013, we increased our pledge to 25,000 trees.
You will be amazed at the variety of plants, flowers, and trees that you will be able to identify in the rainforest, thanks to the in-depth training of all Rios head guides. Your bilingual guide will point these out, along with wildlife or birds you come across. Bring binoculars and cameras!
The larger Pacuare Protected Zone, of which we are a part, possesses a practically endless number of trails. Many of these trails were, and continue to be, used by the indigenous Cabecar Indian population to travel from village to village. These trails are not maintained and have existed for many generations. We offer maintained trails inside our reserve to access scenic sites such as natural water slides, waterfalls, and pristine pools in the rainforest.
Our hanging bridge across the river just below the lodge provides access to several waterfalls with private pools as well as our 1.5-mile trail with 45 identified species of trees that you can follow on your own.
Enjoy a wonderful 9-line zipline course through the canopy, high above the nearby lodge complex. This express course is by advance reservation only and is an additional cost.
Our half-hour Adventure Loop includes hiking through the rainforest, rappelling down the face of a waterfall and then three ziplines high over the river. You start right from the lodge and head into the Pacuare River Gorge. With views of the river, you’ll hike to the base of Wake-Up Falls.
Once at the foot of this Pacuare landmark, a 200-foot hike leads you to the safety platform. Here Rios Tropicales guides will fit you with professional climbing equipment and provide a safety orientation for this canyoning adventure.
Tours from our lodge to Bajo Del Tigre are available by hiking up the main trail and then riding horseback to this local community. Once there, community members will introduce you to their agricultural way of life. You’ll tour their sustainable farming projects, hear about what sustainable development means to them and their community.
You can also ride horseback all the way to Terciopelos farm, which is part of our reserve. There you can participate in our reforestation project by planting one or more trees and catch tilapia for lunch at our sustainable tilapia fishery (seasonal).
For those guests in sufficiently good shape, we can arrange a trek through the forest to visit an indigenous Cabecar Indian Village. They will introduce you to their traditional way of life, which continues today largely unchanged from earlier times. Several members of this village were the builders of our first lodge huts, and two village members continue to work with us here at the lodge, hiking to and from their village each day.
We call these activities “Old World” because it seems that we just don’t slow down enough to enjoy them anywhere but on vacation. They used to be a common part of life before 24/7 schedules…