With Hawks Aloft and Holbrook Travel
February 9 – 19, 2025
From $3625
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It will have been 10 years since our inaugural visit to the wonders of Costa Rica, with its incredible biodiversity found in 12 different climate zones and numerous ecosystems packed into a small country. We are excited to return again! We will begin our journey with a stay at Selva Verde Lodge, owned by Holbrook Travel since the mid-1980s. The lodge protects 500 acres of primary forest in the Sarapiqui region. It was after a visit to explore Costa Rica that Andrea Holbrook wanted to take an active part in preserving the country’s natural resources. As a result, visitors might view some of the country’s 900-plus bird species, including toucans, macaws, motmots, quetzals and trogons. Our journey will take us to the cloud forest, Caribbean lowland rainforest, arid mountain peaks, and dry Pacific forests.
Costa Rica’s natural wealth is no accident. In the mid-20th century, leadership determined that conservation was the future of the nation. Now, 23 percent of Costa Rica’s land mass is under preservation. Rather than developing a military, officials instead built educational and social security programs. Despite the ensuing growth of tourism, the country remains peaceful, friendly and open. Costa Ricans continue to exude appreciation and joy for the treasures of their country.
Highlights include:
- Take guided hikes in the private rainforest reserve at Selva Verde Lodge, home to more than 350 bird species, including the endangered Great Green Macaw.
- Ascend the 328-foot suspended walkway at Tirimbina Biological Reserve for the chance to see species that spend their time high within the forest canopy layer. Enjoy an evening talk about the lives of bats!
- Bird the trails of the world-renowned La Selva Biological Station, where more than half of Costa Rica’s species have been recorded, including the Great Tinamou, Ornate Hawk-eagle, Pied Puffbird, and Spectacled Owl.
- Spend a full day in Carara National Park, an ecologically diverse hotspot due to its location at the convergence of northwestern tropical dry forest and humid southern Pacific rainforest with perhaps its most famous inhabitants, not birds, the enormous American crocodiles that lounge on the banks.
- Search for the Resplendent Quetzal, Slaty Flowerpiercer, Ruddy Treerunner, and other high-elevation species in the cloud forests of the Talamanca Mountains.
