Osa Corcovado Camping

Walking trails within Corcovado National Park tend to begin near the entrance gates and ranger stations: from El Tigre gate (20 minutes) there’s a three- to four-hour route taking in some of the region’s former gold mining heritage, and giving you a chance to pan for a few nuggets yourself, plus a day-long circuit for stouter souls. Another pair from the Los Patos entrance (40 minutes) lead hikers deep into the jungle via the Rincón river. For a very different view of the Corcovado and its rare residents, it’s worth the hour and half trip to Drake Bay, where a canopy walk takes you right over the treetops. Many guided day trips can be arranged in on the edge of the park in Dos Brazos, or in Puerto Jiménez, both 20 minutes away, including kayaking through the mangrove swamps, snorkelling off the coast or heading out to sea to spot sharks, whales and dolphins. The Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve (40 minutes) presents very different terrain: one of the planet's wettest spots with some of the tallest ancient trees, bands of monkeys up above, poison dart frogs and jaguars nearer to the ground. An hour and 10 minutes away, the Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland is less wet, but no less full of life, from iguanas and Pacific green turtles to herons and cranes, alongside a scattering of mysterious, almost perfectly circular stone spheres, carved by a people long since vanished.