gannetmusic

We visited Rincon de la Vieja in November 2004 before
finishing our vacation at Playa Grande on the Pacific
Coast. This report covers the portion of our trip near
Rincon.

This was my 4th visit to Costa Rica. The others were
for 'hard core' birding while this one was more for
general tourism and to meet with a Tica friend of mine
who was visiting home from Europe.

Prior to my visit I had asked Gringo/Tica friends of
mine to check out Hacienda Gauchipelin for me, based
on their web site. I also asked them to visit Rincon
Lodge for me, since it is on the same road to the
Park. They kindly spent a day exploring the area and
emailed me photos and a note that Rincon Lodge was a
much better choice based on location, the lodge
facility itself, and that it is Tico owned.

Rincon Lodge's email was down at the time, so I had my
friends make reservations for me.

I arrived at Liberia airport on a direct charter from
Toronto Canada. This is a small airport and customs
clearance and collecting my baggage was very quick.

My friends were waiting for me and we set off for
Rincon Lodge which is about 20 miles north east of
Liberia in the foothills of the Rincon de la Vieja
volcano.

The dry season had just started so the rough road to
the lodge was easily [although slowly] travelled with
a 4WD jeep. It took close to one hour to cover the 15
or so miles from the main highway to the lodge. I
would think that a regular car could do the trip
without huge problems as long as the driver was
cautious and avoided the larger rocks.

Most of the trip to the lodge is slowly uphill through
a landscape of second growth woodland and cattle
pasture. This is in the 'tropical dry forest' region
of Costa Rica, although the lodge, at about 700 metres
elevation is high enough that there are some birds and
plants more typical of the moist forest. Views of the
Rincon and Santa Maria volcanos looming in the
distance are quite impressive. At one point a 'toll'
of 2 or 3 dollars is charged as you traverse a section
of the road owned by Hacienda Gauchipelin.
A Laughing Falcon perched in a tree near the road was
a nature highlight of the drive to the Lodge.

We reached the lodge grounds and I was most impressed
at the location. They are on a working ranch with
several hundred acres of primary and secondary forest
adjoining Rincon de la Vieja National Park. Buildings
are all of local woods and include a main lodge,
cabins, an indoor restaurant and open air bar.
The lodge is family owned and everyone we met was
smiling, friendly and very helpful. Several of the
staff spoke very good english.

Our cabin was beside a small pond overlooking pastures
and Rincon itself - a wonderful view! The bedroom was
large and bright, with a double and twin beds and a
ceiling fan. The bathroom was tiled and spotless. Our
porch had a hammock and rocking chairs. The are no
radios or TV in the rooms but there is a television in
the bar for those who can't do without.....

All meals are served buffet style. Food is simple and
tasty, the fresh fruits and coffee delicious. This
area has many swiftly flowing rivers and the drinking
water at the lodge was cool and delicious.
Rincon Lodge
was full every night of our stay with mainly european
guests.

One morning we walked the 20 or 25 minutes from the
lodge to Rincon de la Vieja National Park. Before we
had left the lodge grounds we had seen several
tropical bird species and a troop of White-faced
monkeys that passed through the trees directly in
front of us. Butterflies seemed to be everywhere.
After paying our National Park entrance fee we chose
to take the loop trail to a number of volcanic
features including simmering sulferous pools and
boiling mud pots. Along the way were rocky rivers,
including one we needed to ford, knee deep, and myriad
interesting plants and creatures. A highlight of this
walk was a Tamandua feeding overhead very close to the
trail.

Another day we did a longer walk in the park to
splendid waterfalls. Again the tropical forest was
filled with interesting sights including more
White-faced Monkeys, Coati and Agouti. Fruiting trees
were full of birds and butterflies were abundent.

Our last full day we set off on one of the trails
within the Lodge property. We were on the trail for 4
hours and saw not one other person. Highlights
included a huge swarm of Army Ants, many parrots and
parakeets, roaring male Howler Monkeys and the most
Blue Morpho butterlies I have ever seen. There were
often 3 or more in sight at once, dancing through
forest clearings. Our amazing 'bird of the trip' was a
SUNBITTERN at 10 meters distance in a rocky forest
stream. This area is outside this spectacular birds'
normal range. Maybe the most enjoyable
nature walk I have ever taken.

We did not do the zip lines / canopy tour, although
others said they were very good. Horseback riding and visits to local hot springs [on the lodge property] also seemed popular.

Rincon Lodge and the Park have joined my list of 'very
favourite places' and I certainly recommend them to
anyone who enjoys tropical nature without crowds or
commercialism.

cheers

Jerry

gannetmusic

OOPS ! Sorry - had problems posting this and it seems to have posted twice ........

Jerry

glover

Thanks for the great report on an area that we don't hear much about. Sounds right up our alley. And, by the way, what IS a Tamandua?

Molly2

Thank you, thank you - trip reports on this area are so rare. I'm even printing it out!

shillmac

What a wonderful picture of Costa Rican dry forest you have given us! Thanks, gannetmusic!

We've been there on day trips, but I would love to spend about a week there--at a couple of different ranches--just savoring the area. The hiking, doing some horseback riding, birding, etc. Oh for just a little more free time in my schedule! And $$, too!

gannetmusic

Glover,

A Tamandua is a medium-sized tree dwelling anteater. They are fairly often active during the day, so are the anteater most often seen in Costa Rica.
Another good place to look for them is at La Selva Biological Station.

Jerry

glover

Thanks, Jerry. Perhaps that's what we saw in Corcovado? The guide just pointed out "an anteater." I didn't get a great look, and couldn't really say how big he was, but he was in a tree.

TAGriffin

Jerry:

Thanks so much for posting your trip report on the lodge. You've completely sold me and my friend on staying there in May.

Terri

annmcd

Hi:
Do you have contact information for Rincon de la VIeja by any chance? I have not had any luck finding a working email, fax or phone. Thanks.

judyrose

I'm still looking for a way to contact the mountain lodge also. I called and emailed but was not successful. Anyone have any other idea?

Molly2

This is why my husband and I didn't book with them last summer! It took weeks for them to get back to us, an if we'd had had further questions, it might have taken more weeks!

If it was not for positive trip reports like gannetmusic's, I wouldn't even consider them for a future trip. I know communication can be slower in CR, but don't they want our business? I don't get it.

susadams

Thankyou for the summary. We are staying at Hacienda Guachipelin for 2 nights in March. I am tempted to try to switch over to the Rincon lodge however Hacienda Guachipelin has been so helpful in responding to my email questions. Anyway, I am looking for to visiting the park after reading your trip report.

Molly2

susadams, will you plese post a trip report? It will make it easier for Fodor Folk to compare lodges in this seldom-reviewed neck of the woods!

CherylC

I'd debated booking at Hacienda Gauchipelin because I also had a hard time contacting Rincon. However, when I went to the Gauchipelin web site, they had a picture of the most pitiful horse. Having four horses for almost 15 years, I can tell you that I would NEVER ride that horse; he was at least 50 pounds underweight, so he's overworked and/or underfed. (You shouldn't be able to see a horse's ribs).

I was persistent, and managed to get a hold of Rincon.

Cheryl