Tucked away deep in the heart of Costa Rica's most pristine rainforest environment, on the banks of the Pacuare River, lies the Pacuare Jungle Lodge. Surrounded by nature in its purest and most primitive state, here you will experience that most coveted of travelers' rewards, an opportunity to savor the spirit of a place on your Costa Rica tour.
The Pacuare Lodge thirteen bungalows and main lodge were designed and constructed to blend with the surrounding environment, affecting minimal impact, and has been recognized by the World Tourism Organization as one of only sixty-five examples throughout the world of good practice in sustainability and ecotourism.
New Main Lodge
Inspired by its magnificent natural setting,the spacious main lodge has been thoughtfully designed for the comfort and pleasure of our guests, and sets a new standard in a Costa Rica nature experience.
Overlooking the Pacuare River,the palm-thatched, two-story structure boasts solid teak floors, tropical flowers and plenty of fresh air, enticing guests to come in and admire the timeless beauty of the swift-flowing river and millennial rainforest.
On the ground floor an open-air restaurant and kitchen are always bustling with activity as local chefs prepare delicious gourmet dishes, whole grain breads and fresh baked desserts. Freshly brewed coffee and an assortment of organic teas are available throughout the day and evening.
You will enjoy your meals on your Costa Rica trip as you are immersed within the sights, sounds and tantalizing scents of the tropical rainforest. An expansive pine-hewn deck opens onto the Pacuare River, offering you a panoramic view of a dense wall of green that literally soars to kiss the heavens. Dinnertime is a particularly memorable affair, where by the dim glow of candlelight you will savor haute cuisine served on fine china and accented with a homegrown medley of tropical herbs and spices.
Upstairs a spacious yet cozy open-sided lounge with a small bar invites guests to kick back and recount the day's adventures in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere. Locally crafted wood furnishings, hand-hewn timber beams and wrought iron chandeliers create a warm ambiance of rustic splendor as gentle breezes drift off the Pacuare river.
Here the views never fail to dazzle. Four lookout areas offer great vantage points for photos of the river and lush vegetation. Comfortable wicker sofa chairs, board games and plenty of colorful bromeliads make this a favorite area for our guests.
The lodge and bungalows are completely surrounded by tropical rainforest. Enormous trees and rainforest inhabitants live in natural harmony alongside the lodge itself.
Rooms
The Pacuare Lodge's philosophy of simplistic luxury and oneness with nature is enhanced by the romance of operating without electricity. Our distinctive palm-thatched bungalows and suites are carefully designed to blend into the surrounding forest. Each features a canopy king size bed, hardwood flooring, private veranda, and a spacious private bathroom adorned with brass fixtures, private alfresco shower with solar heated water, and a nearly 360º rainforest view—all within an area seemingly removed from time and the worries of the outside world, yet just two and a half hours from San José, Costa Rica's capital city.
Garden View Bungalow:
Your spacious palm-thatched garden-view bungalow features a canopy king size bed, futon couch, hardwood flooring, private terrace, and a spacious private bathroom adorned with burnished copper fixtures, private alfresco shower with solar heated water, and a nearly 360º rainforest view—all within an area seemingly removed from time and the worries of the outside world, yet just two and a half hours from San José, Costa Rica's capital city.
River View Junior Suite:
Your spacious (670 sq ft./ 62sq. meters ) palm-thatched river-view suite includes a private terrace that opens on to landscaped native bush gardens and towering vine-draped trees. Around the corner a raised hardwood deck offers you a stunning view of a massive wall of thick rainforest that cascades down a mountainside opposite the Pacuare River.
A luxuriously appointed canopy king size bed with crisp 300-thread Egyptian cotton linens, and superior Beautyrest mattress® caters to a serene, restful night's sleep.
Honeymoon Suite:
Set high on a lush jungle hilltop overlooking the main lodge, the honeymoon retreat offers newlyweds and nature-lovers alike an exclusive haven in which to surrender to the romantic spell of the Pacuare rainforest. A cobbled path leads you and your partner from the main lodge up to a knoll overlooking the other facilities.
This exquisitely appointed palm-thatched bungalow offers wide screened windows, teak floors, hand-crafted rattan wicker chairs and plenty of natural light. A king size canopy bed with crisp 300-thread Egyptian cotton linens is perfectly situated to offer you a nearly 360 degree panoramic view of the rainforest as it plunges to the river below.
The 1290 ft² (120m² ) suite has, in addition, a teak floor ensuite bathroom with a solar heated shower and two hand-painted ceramic water basins set in a marble sink top. Nearby, a hardwood deck opens onto a magnificent alfresco shower ensconced within the rich vegetation that seemingly cascades down the mountainside. Step into your spring-fed infinity pool overlooking a sea of emerald green.
In addition, a one hundred and twenty foot hanging bridge will lead you from your bungalow deck to a platform high in a towering tree, whose roots are grounded in the main camp far below. This private treetop platform offers you and your partner your own private immersion in the world that is the rainforest canopy.
The Honeymoon Suite Features:
* One king-size bed with Simmons Beautyrest mattress®
* Spacious private bathroom with solar heated shower
* Outside solar heated shower
* Private deck and terrace with hammock
* Spring-fed infinity pool
* Private hanging bridge to treetop platform
Linda Visa Suites:
Perched on a ridge amidst exuberant tropical greenery, the four Linda Vista Suites offer unforgettable views of the Pacuare River and surrounding rain forest. Those bright and spacious (230-square-meter) suites are the Pacuare Lodge's premier accommodations, with a simple, natural design and exquisite décor that perfectly complement the verdure and profusion of the surrounding jungle.
Pacuare Protected Zone
In the Caribbean region of Costa Rica there is a protected zone of incomparable beauty that begins near the town of Siquirres and covers approximately 25,000 acres as it descends down the Talamanca Mountain Range.
This is the area known as Pacuare, which constitutes one of the most important protected areas in the region. Its proximity to the lowlands and its high annual rainfall combine to nurture the complex life systems whose abundance makes for extraordinary scenic beauty.
Located within this zone, the Pacuare River forms the northern border of Central America's most important network of national parks and reserves and offers some of the finest white water in Latin America. Officially designated a “Wild and Scenic River,” the water flows deep inside remarkable primordial rainforest, coursing through a wilderness of dense vegetation that covers the sides of steep gorges rising above the riverbanks. The rainforest's thick undergrowth provides shelter to jaguars, ocelots, monkeys, sloths, and numerous other species of mammals and birds.
Deep inside the Pacuare Protected Zone, perched on the banks of this enchanting river, lies the singular Pacuare Lodge. Visitors to the lodge can enjoy a truly memorable Pacuare Adventureas they soak up the natural beauty and tranquility of this magical jungle hideaway.
Sustainable Tourism
The Pacuare Lodge is dedicated to sustainable tourism, which means limiting the negative impacts of its operations while supporting conservation and providing benefits for nearby communities. This policy is by no means limited to the Lodge – it extends through the entire company, from the main office to the warehouses where rafts are stored. The following are some of the steps Pacuare Lodge has taken, or are taking to improve their relationship with the environment:
The Pacuare Lodge was built with a minimum impact on the surrounding forest and river. No trees were cut to accommodate the bungalows and main lodge, which are built of lumber from a reforestation project run by small farmers. The thatch roofs were made by local Cabécar Indians in their traditional style using palm leaves collected in our forest reserve.
* Aventuras Naturales was the first adventure travel company to acquire parcels of primary forest in this area solely for the purpose of conservation Over the years, Pacuare Lodge purchased 260 hectares (642 acres) of primary rain forest along the Pacuare River for conservation and in order to offset the atmospheric carbon created by our vehicles, which makes their tours carbon-neutral. Some of that forest was in danger of being cleared before it was purchased, but is now strictly protected in order to conserve the flora and fauna that lives there.. Near the site of the eco-lodge they own close to 30 hectares of primary rainforest bought because it was in danger of being cleared. Because the goal is preservation of this untouched virgin rainforest, no visitors are allowed into this area.
* The lodge's bathrooms are equipped with biodegradable soap and shampoo and the water for their showers is solar heated. All the lodge's wastewater flows into state-of-the-art septic systems to avoid pollution of the nearby river.
* Bungalows are illuminated with lanterns and candles and what little electricity used at the lodge is clean energy generated by a turbine in a nearby stream.
* Pacuare Lodge uses organic products as much as possible in meals served at the lodge and on rafting tours.
* With the help of guests, Pacuare Lodge is reforesting former pastures in the Pacuare River watershed with native tree species to offset carbon emissions by our vehicles and to improve the area's environmental health. As those trees grow, they will absorb tons of atmospheric carbon while providing habitat for an array of wildlife.
* Staff is helping biologists to study of jaguars in the forests along the Pacuare River by providing them with food, lodging, and logistical support, and by the purchasing digital cameras that researchers place on game trails to photograph those shy animals.
* Hotel staff is reintroducing howler monkeys, which were wiped out in the area by indigenous hunters years ago, to the forest reserve. They rescued the first troop of 8 monkeys that were reintroduced from an island in a nearby river where they'd become stranded after a flood.
* The rigorous recycling program extends from the main office to the lodge. At the lodge, they compost organic waste and separate recyclable materials for transport to recycling companies. For lunches served during our Pacuare River trips, they use reusable plates, cups and cutlery rather than the disposable plates and cups used by other rafting companies.
* The lodge is installing a bio-digester to produce gas from organic waste from the Pacuare Lodge's kitchen. Gas produced will be used for cooking and heating water for bungalows.
* In the company's laundry, they conserve water and use only biodegradable detergents. All the laundry is rafted out every day to the company`s warehouse, located in the river take out at the Siquirres town.
* The lodge is trying to get the Costa Rican government to award the Pacuare River a Blue Flag, in recognition of its clean environment and we are in the process of obtaining the CST ( Certification for Sustainable Tourism).
Socially Responsible Tourism
Sustainable tourism should improve the lives of local people, and the Pacuare Lodge has made donations and initiated projects in the communities nearest to the Pacuare Lodge. Infrastructure in this remote area is sparse and poorly maintained, and there are few employment opportunities, which is why the lodge makes a point of hiring local people. Here's what they've done so far:
* All Pacuare Lodge staff is from nearby communities and 95% of the rafting guides are from Turrialba, the closest city to the lodge.
* The lodge donates school supplies and other materials to three primary schools in the communities nearest to the lodge and they accept donations from guests, transferring them to the schools in their entirety (no administrative fees deducted).
* They are helping an isolated Cabécar Indian community near the lodge to install a potable water system.
* The lunch spot on the Pacuare River the lodge uses on their tours is rented from a Cabécar family, who feed the organic waste to pigs.
* The lodge provides environmental education and explain sustainable practices to local people, staff and guests.
* The lodge purchases food and other goods from local providers and supports organic agriculture.
