Rainforest · Northern Zone
Arenal
Rainforest trails across old lava flows and hanging bridges through the canopy, with the volcano above and hot springs to end the day.
Most stay 3 nightsRead the guide
Costa Rica's rainforests
Seven places to walk into the rainforest or the cloud forest, on one map. From the trails below Arenal Volcano to the canals of Tortuguero and Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula.
The short answer
Where is the rainforest in Costa Rica?
In more places than most people expect, and the forest changes with the height and the coast. Most of our clients meet it first at Arenal, on trails across the old lava flows, and again at Manuel Antonio, where it runs down to the beach. Up in the mountains it turns to cloud forest, at Monteverde and in the San Gerardo de Dota valley, home of the quetzal. The deepest lowland rainforest is at Tortuguero on the Caribbean and in Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula, which can only be walked with a guide. Guanacaste, in the dry northwest, has dry forest instead.
The map
Costa Rica rainforest map
Seven places to see it, numbered from the ones our clients visit most.
Seven places to see the rainforest
Each one links to our full guide: how to get there, where to stay and what our clients book there.
Cloud forest · Northern Zone
Monteverde
A cloud forest you can walk inside, protected by three reserves, where some 400 species of birds live or pass through, the resplendent quetzal among them.
Most stay 2 nightsRead the guide
Rainforest and beach · Central Pacific
Manuel Antonio
Rainforest that runs down to white sand, with capuchin monkeys and sloths often in the trees right above the beach.
Most stay 3 nightsRead the guide
Rainforest · Caribbean
Tortuguero
Quiet canals through one of the largest protected rainforests left in Central America, reached only by boat or small plane.
Most stay 2 nightsRead the guide
Rainforest · Osa Peninsula
Drake Bay and Corcovado
The way in to Corcovado National Park, home to 13 major ecosystems, monkeys, tapirs and scarlet macaws. Corcovado can only be hiked with a guide.
Most stay 3 nightsRead the guide
Cloud forest · Talamanca Mountains
San Gerardo de Dota
A cloud forest valley at 2,200 metres where the resplendent quetzal lives all year, easiest to see in April and May.
Most stay 2 nightsRead the guide
Rainforest · Northern Zone
Sarapiquí
River country in the northern lowlands, home to the La Selva Biological Station and one of the last places to see the endangered green macaw.
Most stay 2 nightsRead the guide
Good to know
Rainforest questions we answer every week
Is Costa Rica a jungle?
Not all of it, and not one kind of forest. There is lowland rainforest on the Caribbean and the Osa Peninsula, cloud forest high in the mountains at Monteverde and San Gerardo de Dota, and dry forest in Guanacaste, where it rains far less.
Where is the rainforest in Costa Rica?
The easiest to reach is around Arenal Volcano and in Manuel Antonio National Park, the two places our clients visit most. For deeper rainforest, Tortuguero is reached by shuttle and boat from San José, and Corcovado by boat from Sierpe or a short flight to Drake Bay.
What is the difference between a rainforest and a cloud forest?
Height. Cloud forest grows high in the mountains, where a thin veil of cloud drifts just below the canopy and turns to water on the leaves. Lowland rainforest is hotter and wetter: Tortuguero is one of the hottest and rainiest places in Costa Rica.
What animals live in the Costa Rica rainforest?
Sloths, howler and capuchin monkeys, scarlet macaws and poison dart frogs are some of the best known. Some 400 species of birds live in or pass through Monteverde, the resplendent quetzal among them. A guide finds the ones you would walk straight past.
When is the best time to visit the rainforest?
December to April brings the clearest skies at Arenal, and January to May the best weather in Monteverde. It rains in every month, so pack rain gear wherever you go. At Tortuguero, green turtles nest from June to October.
Do I need a guide in the rainforest?
We recommend one everywhere, because wildlife is hard to spot and a guide sees what you miss. In Corcovado National Park it is required, and every Corcovado tour we book includes one.
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