Nature and Birding Tour Leader
Co-Author and Consultant – The Reader’s Digest Book of North American Birds
Having escorted hundreds of birders and nature enthusiasts to Costa Rica over the past decade, I am often asked if I have a favorite place there. The fact is I do. It is Bosque de Paz Cloud Forest Lodge and Preserve. The simplest way I can explain choosing this place is to say that whenever I take people there, or send them there on their own, I am 100 percent certain they will enjoy an outstanding experience.
Many factors combine to assure consistent quality at Bosque de Paz. These include excellent wildlife viewing, expert and friendly guides, delicious food, wonderful service, spectacular surroundings and unequaled hospitality. Just a few kilometers from Poas Volcano National Park, Bosque de Paz is a private preserve of 3,000 pristine forested acres at around 5,000 feet in elevation. Driving time from Costa Rica’s capital of San Jose is 90 minutes. The lodge at Bosque de Paz is lovely – 12 spacious, well-appointed rooms in a strikingly beautiful setting, surrounded by misty slopes in the morning, warming into the 70s by afternoon. Miles of well-marked trails weave through the preserve, some traversing a lightly forested mountain valley, others scaling the deeply forested slopes surrounding it. Some trails are steep; others moderate. A sparsely traveled public road adjacent to the preserve also offers good walking and birding, including opportunities to look down into the top of the forest canopy. Guides are available at Bosque de Paz but not required. Wildlife around the lodge itself is outstanding. Hummingbird feeders are everywhere. They attract a constant swarm of hummers – magnificent, green-crowned brilliant, violet sabrewing, green violet-ear among them – totaling a dozen species. More than 330 species of birds have been recorded at Bosque de Paz in the past decade. Black guans, blue-crowned motmots, coatimundis, agoutis, pacas and other beautiful creatures venture out of the forest to visit additional feeders around the lodge. I have seen resplendent quetzal there many times. Dippers and torrent tyrannulets skim above a racing mountain stream that runs directly in front of the dining room. I have photographed both species at their nests within 50 yards of the lodge. The preserve also maintains an impressive orchid garden that has garnered international attention and draws visitors from around the world. If one were to never stray more than 50 feet from one’s room, one could experience so much at Bosque de Paz.Owners are Federico Gonzalez-Pinto and his charming wife, Vanessa. The Gonzalezes bought this forest with only two goals in mind: preserving it and sharing it with others. They are lovely people, fluent in English, gracious, attentive, truly in love with their surroundings. They are, in essence, perfect hosts. Food at Bosque de Paz is excellent. Mr. Gonzalez attended the Cordon Blue School in Paris. He supervises preparation of all meals, which are healthy and delicious.Another wonderful feature of Bosque de Paz is the option of day excursions. Options include day trips to La Selva Biological Research Station (wonderful lowland rain forest birding; miles of paved, relatively flat trails), Cano Negro National Wildlife Refuge (fabulous jungle boat ride for wading birds, including jabiru stork and others), Poas and Arenal volcanoes (both active yet safe). For the adventurous set, white-water rafting trips also can be arranged.
On all these trips, you leave the preserve in the morning and are back by dinner that evening. No packing your bags and unpacking. No meals in less-than-ideal restaurants. Each night finds you back in your wonderful home-away-from-home at Bosque de Paz – sleeping under a warm blanket in a clean and tastefully appointed room with private bath and all the hot water you want, and hearing that racing mountain stream out the window. I have visited Bosque de Paz many times, with groups, on my own and with my family (it was the first place I wanted my children to see when they came to Costa Rica for the first time.) This place never disappoints – anyone. Transfer from the San Jose Airport to Bosque de Paz is easily arranged. Bosque de Paz transfer agents meet arriving guests in sparkling clean vehicles. Transfer back to the airport at the end of your stay also is easily arranged. Arriving at Bosque de Paz is, for me, like arriving at my second home. That is how warm and welcoming this place makes its visitors feel. I am honored to offer this unsolicited testimonial and hope you will see Bosque de Paz for yourself very soon.