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Sloths, Surf & the Stunning Rainforest

Avid traveller and author Rosie Millard recently went on our Active Costa Rica tour – here’s what she thought.

Costa Rica doesn’t introduce you to nature; it takes you by the hand and plunges you into it.

This small Central American nation, which borders on both the Atlantic and the Pacific, famously luxuriates in not only a lush, verdant rainforest at the coast; but high on the mountains there is a cloud forest through which you can challenge yourself and fulfil your dreams, whether they be flying on a series of zipwires hundreds of feet up in the air, or white-water rafting down a wide, peppermint green river. That is after you have dangled over a canyon on a hanging bridge, taken a Tarzan swing, camped out overnight in a luxurious jungle lodge or snorkelled above shoals of fish over a coral reef.

Quieter thrills include walking through clouds of butterflies, hearing a chorus of frogs or wading through rushing water on a horse. Looking up, you might see a toucan perched high above you, or a monkey swinging through the trees, her tiny baby clinging to her back. The sheer volume of animals, birds and plants in Costa Rica is astonishing. This is a nation which enjoys 35 micro-climates and an astonishing array of enchanting wildlife, from bright butterflies to adorable, peaceful sloths and the curious, creeping armadillo. This is a place which is not like anywhere else, and where you can have totally new experiences and achieve life memories with your family.