Mud pots bubble and fumaroles hiss at Las Pailas. Hike it with a naturalist guide, then soak off the dust in the hot springs at Hacienda Guachipelin.
Las Pailas is Rincón de la Vieja making itself known: boiling mud, steam pushing through vents, rock shaped by the volcano's activity. A naturalist guide walks the trail with you, covering the geology and pointing out monkeys, birds, and reptiles along the way.
After the hike, the day downshifts. Hacienda Guachipelin's hot springs run warm and mineral-rich, with tropical vegetation on every side. Stay in until your legs forgive you.
A traditional Costa Rican lunch is part of the day, and after that trail you'll have earned it.
Final price depends on your pickup point.
We pick you up at your hotel or the airport and handle the full route, door to door.
Driving times are approximate.
One of them plans your day, picks you up and brings you back. Who exactly depends on the date.
Around twelve years in Costa Rican tourism. On the drive between Guanacaste and Arenal he points out how fast the landscape and climate change, and shares the history of both regions along the way. His picks: the Palo Verde boat safari and Rincón de la Vieja's Pailas trail.
Twenty years guiding Costa Rica as a general and naturalist guide, with a special passion for botany: he points out plant adaptations, ecological relationships and the quiet work that trees, flowers and lianas do in the ecosystem. His favorite day is Palo Verde, where wildlife, tropical wetlands, cultural traditions and history meet — and the birdlife is spectacular.
Twenty-two years in tourism, from restaurants to tour sales to driving and guiding. Místico is his favorite trail: rich in wildlife, easy to walk, and full of the forest's secrets. On transfers north he loves the moment the dry Pacific crosses an invisible line into rainforest green.
