BIRDING COSTA RICA: Monteverde and Caribbean Highlights
Monteverde and La Selva Area
2010
Saturday April 3 to Sunday April 11
Guided by Gary Rosenberg
Price: $2600
For those also taking the Costa Rica: Quetzals and Pacific Endemics tour, $200 can be deducted from the total price.
Short Saturday to Sunday tour that visits famous Monteverde, Arenal Volcano, and La Selva Biological Station in the Caribbean lowlands. Sensational birds such as Resplendent Quetzal and Three-wattled Bellbird. Wonderful hummingbird watching, including a visit to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. A visit to the Hanging Bridges at Arenal. Full days at La Selva and Braulio Carrillo National Park. Comfortable accommodations. Safe friendly country. Easy to get to. Great introduction to Neotropical birding. Tour can be combined with our Costa Rica: Quetzals and Pacific Endemics tour.
There are few countries in Central and South America that are as easy to get to, and as safe to travel in as Costa Rica. Less than three hours from Miami, Costa Rica offers the birder a combination of fantastic birdwatching and introduction to the joys of Neotropical birds, while at the same time staying at very comfortable lodges and hotels in what is accepted as the most democratic country in the region. The scenery is stunning, and the birding even better! This short tour compliments our Costa Rica: Quetzals and Pacific Endemics tour by concentrating on Monteverde, one of the most famous of cloud-forest reserves in the world, and on the Caribbean slope, where we will visit the Arenal Volcano area, the La Selva Biological Station area, and Brualio Carrillo National Park. The birding on this slope is amazing, with lots of hummingbird feeders to visit, and the rich tropical rainforest with loads of toucans, parrots, and tanagers!
The tour will begin by working our way to Monteverde, and eco-tourist paradise, by way of the Guanacaste lowlands in the northwest portion of the country. This will be our chance to see a number of dry-country specialty birds that range from Mexico south to northern Costa Rica. Monteverde itself is lovely. Just walking around in the lush cloud-forest that drapes over the ridge from the Caribbean slope is breathtaking, but the birding will be fun as well, with an excellent chance for Resplendent Quetzal. By running this tour in early April, we hope to coincide with the arrival of the first Three-wattled Bellbirds, which show up to display at this season. At Arenal Volcano, we of course hope to see the volcano itself (a sight to behold), but the birding is excellent there, particularly at the Hanging Bridges, which offers stunning scenery as well! It will then be on to the lowlands, where we’ll spend an entire day at La Selva Biological Station, where the birding can be fantastic, another full day in Braulio Carillo National Park looking for a variety of foothill specialties (including several mind-blowing tanagers), and will finish at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where more hummingbird feeders attract a very nice variety!
This tour can be taken in conjunction with the Costa Rica: Quetzals and Pacific Endemics tour. The combine list for the two trips should be close to 500 species.
