tirimbina biological reserve

...I did in all of the touristy type things in Costa Rica over two weeks. It helped to have a truly spectacular day weather-wise, but it's simply a gorgeous setting to walk through, see animals, birds, insects, spend some time "back to nature" (definitely go solo or with a small group). Even the demonstration of traditional chocolate making was just a perfect little touch in the midst of the preserve.

In this large reserve you can do walks from half an hour untill about five hours. You can do that on your own or with a guide. There are also some special tours.

This was our first stop on our 16 day trip to Costa Rica. It immediately plunged us into nature. The guides here are amazingly well informed and professional. Willie was our guide for two tours and he is very professional. The rooms are pretty spartan but the surroundings make it all worth it. We took all our meals here at their buffet. There are not a lot of choices, but one can find enough to eat if not too choosey. The food in general in Costa Rica we found to be rather bland. But, the cooks here take a lot of pride in preparing and serving the food. Be prepared to hike in all weather conditions. We were glad that we had brought our boots and rain gear. All the nature experiences involve crossing a very long hanging bridge over the rushing Sarapiqui river. This is really the jungle.

Tirimbina Bio Reserve is definitely worth a visit. Very well presented lecture about coco trees and the discovery of coco beans and ultimately the making of chocolate. The rain forest in that area seems in particular attractive. Visited with a tour group and we wish we had more time to hike and explore. Less crowded than other places which is a big plus. Traditional CR lunch was excellent.

We had a pleasant walk through the rainforest and across the suspension bridge with our tour group, and while we saw numerous birds and a few monkeys on the way there and back, the highlight of Tirimbina was the chocolate plantation presentation at the end of the trail.The two docents explaining how chocolate was cultivated and originally processed into a drink, and then food, were friendly and patient with their explanations, and passed around everything they talked about (leaves from the cacao plant, a cacao seed pod, a cacao bean, etc.). We got to sample cacao in several forms (roasted bean, processed powder, hot drink, chocolate bar), and were given a small bag of cacao beans as a keepsake (which we could then turn around and use as currency to "buy" some postcards).

In our Ara Ambigua lodge nearby we booked the chocolate tour in the Tirimbina Biological Reserve. The reserve appeared to be a beatiful part of the jungle of Sarapiquí. From the reception you cross a swing bridge across the Sarapiquí river, offering a great view at the river itself and the canopy of the forest. Within a 20 minutes walk through the forest we reached the chocolate tour. Our guides explained the history and traditional ways of making chocolate. They did this in a very attractive manner and they involve you in the making process, all in a light and entertaining way.After the chocolate tour we followed one of the trails through the forest. We watched the vegetation and were wondered by this beautiful rain forest. Visit this beautiful region and especially this park, it is worth a trip!

We had intended to just walk in the forest but were then told that by doing the chocolate tour it enabled you to stay in the reserve at no extra cost. We are pleased that we did as the chocolate tour was extremely interesting and our guide also explained about the reserve and pointed out flora and fauna along the route to where the chocolate demonstration is sited. We enjoyed several hours walking through the forest although there is limited wild life to see but as we were leaving several flocks of birds flew over. All the staff we had contact with were very helpful and polite, there is good wifi in the reception area.

Aside from being an up incredible place to walk through the rain forst and see the canopy of lushious vegetation while crossing rushing rivers on hanging bridges, the evening bat educational experience was an eye opener. I hated bats, really hated them, until I went with a group and learned about the research they're doing on bats at the center there. They taught us all about the differences between the major categories of bats and showed us some of the ones they caught that night, asking us if we could identify them before they released them. It totally changed the way I have felt about these creatures since I was a child. Now that's powerful.

we went to tirimbina to take part at a chocolate tour. after passing the longest hanging bridge in costs rica with great views we went to an open hut in the jungle to learn about chocolate. the guide was explaining a lot of interesting facts and was helped by a colleague who demonstrated the just learned on real cacao beans. in the end we all got to try one of the best chocolates we ever had. as a drink and as a melted sensation.the atmosphere was great an the guide was very nice and informative. after the tour we could still walk around several trails on our own and experience nature. it is really worth the visit (and the money).

This reserve is very close to San Jose, about a two hour drive. It give you the great opportunity to visit a natural forest, with good guides, with the facility of getting there through paved roads. You do not need to travel hours and hours to see a natural forest. It also has a variety of tours that you can take

We visited Tirimbina Biological Reserve on the 13th of september 2014.We e-mailed Tirimbina Biological Reserve a few weeks b4 our stay in CR.The respons on our e-mails was very good and really fast. ( within a day )The website is very good and well-structured. They have different kinds of guided tours in group. If you pay 50% more you can have the tours privately. You can also visit the reserve by yourself for $15. Groups leave @ 8AM, 10:30 AM, 1:30PM and 3:00PM.Once we were in the reception of the Tirimbina Biological Reserve we wanted to do the tour of 8:00 AM. Unfortunately there was no tour on 8:00 AM only @ 10:30AM. This was a bit disappointing. So we decided tot pay more and asked if we could do a private tour. Same answer : not possible. We wanted to visit the reserve so we went for the self guided tour. The reserve is very beautiful and well maintained. Concrete paths and good signs so you can't get lost.

The tour guide was energetic, smiling and nicely informative.We learned about the history of cacao and the process of chocolate-making. We had the opportunity to taste chocolate in various forms.

Tour guide was very informative. Good information about the history of chocolate-making and the procedure. Got to taste chocolate in various forms. After the tour we were able to walk on the center's trails. During our walk we crossed on a hanging bridge where we saw a sloth in a tree-top that was about 10-ft. away from us. At the top of one of the bridge's struts we first heard, then saw a howler monkey. We were able to watch the monkey climb the various cables and then walk off the bridge. These two experiences were great.

We did the self-guided walk on the rainforest trails and found it to be very relaxing and rewarding. We know you can always see more wildlife when you go with a guide, but we didn't want the pressure of a guided tour. The hanging bridges are fun to cross and the views of the Sarapiqui River are lovely. We were very fortunate in seeing lots of wildlife. We walked almost all of the trails and saw many strawberry poison-dart frogs, other small frogs, toucans, wild pigs, many birds, and a troop of howler monkeys right above us on the long bridge into the reserve as we were leaving. They stayed on the bridge cables and in the trees and let us take lots of photos.The forest is pretty with several big trees and lots of neat vines.We agree, however, with most of the recent comments that the trails are definitely in need of maintenance. They could use staff walking them at least once or twice a week to clear debris and maintain the paths.The self-guided tour is well-priced for a lovely couple of hours walking through the rainforest.

After a long time without visiting the Tirimbina Reserve, it was sad to see that has been transformed into a medium class hotel, with no interest on the conservation or research, and few interest in maintain the forest. To start the bad experience we want to book a night tour, but they do not have guides for this activity. Finally we do a self-guide tour, but no interpretation or stations that tell us what we are looking at the forest. The trails were bad, we took the "Corteza" trail, and it was trees on the trail, and sections were it was hard look for the right location, because the material accumulated on the trails. Still we enjoy the sight of some animals, but safety: cero. It was a Monday and we want to talk with the Administrator, but a young man told us that only we are able to find him on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, and we start learning why all this mess. It wasn't a cheap fee ($17 per person), so you expect to see investments on the maintenance of the forest and the trails.