According to a global survey, Costa Rica is considered the country with the happiest people. And maybe that’s not a coincidence. At every corner, whether as a greeting, farewell, or thank you, and often in everyday conversation, you’ll hear the phrase Pura Vida (“Pure Life”). But it’s not just a casual slang expression with no real meaning. These words reflect the Costa Rican approach to life, their unique mindset and philosophy. The main idea is to enjoy life slowly, savor each moment, and not rush anywhere. Despite difficulties, they maintain optimism, appreciate what they have, and share their joy and positive energy with others.
To be honest, this worldview doesn’t surprise me in a country with no winter, breathtaking nature, one ocean on one side, and a sea on the other. You’d really have to try hard to stay negative in paradise.
Costa Rica is a country with a huge number of volcanoes. Many are dormant, but some are still active.
Since we had never hiked to the top of a volcano before, I made it a must-do on our route this time. So, the first major attraction we visited on our second day in the country was Poás Volcano. It’s an active volcano. For several years it was closed to the public, but we happened to visit in the year it reopened for tourists. If you ever plan to visit a place like this, I highly recommend going early in the morning, because the view of the crater only opens up during early hours. Later on, it gets completely covered in fog, and you won’t see a thing. That would just be money down the drain.
Next, we headed toward another volcano – Arenal. But on the way, we spent half a day in what can only be described as a true Garden of Eden, the La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park.
It’s not just a vast tropical wonderland with several waterfalls and a garden filled with rare, hand-raised butterflies and birds. It’s also Costa Rica’s largest animal sanctuary and one of the best spots for wildlife watching. And the number of different hummingbird species here? I honestly lost count!
By the time we reached our hotel near Arenal late in the evening, after running into a full-blown coati parade right on the road, we were so overwhelmed by everything we’d seen, we collapsed into bed completely exhausted… without even realizing just how magical the place we had arrived at truly was.
My husband (who’s really not a traveler at all) still talks about that hotel and dreams of coming back for a whole week just to relax. In the morning, still lying in bed, I opened my eyes to a panoramic view of Arenal Volcano in all its glory.
Stepping out onto the terrace, I was nearly deafened by the symphony of birdcalls greeting the sunrise and completely stunned by the lush greenery all around. But one thing puzzled me – something kept darting about with soft rustling and lightning speed. Turns out, they were bats! But I never did manage to catch a proper look at them.
We spent the whole day hiking the trails of Arenal National Park, admiring the volcano, meeting a few chubby local pheasants, and reaching the park’s crown jewel – the enormous Ceiba tree. Toward evening, we headed to La Fortuna Waterfall nearby, where swimming is actually allowed.
And now, let me rave a bit about the Tabacon Hot Springs. If there’s a better place for hot springs on Earth, I honestly won’t believe it. These aren’t some enclosed spa baths, it’s a full-blown tropical park with natural waterfalls, cascades, and pools of all sizes. The water is mineral-rich and heated by the volcano itself. Add to that the hummingbirds and exotic butterflies fluttering all around, and you’ve got a dream.
The park is huge, and you can easily find a hot spring all to yourself. Complete immersion in nature guaranteed.
The next must-see stop on our trip was Tenorio National Park, home to its iconic Rio Celeste. This river has a rich turquoise color, as if someone poured in watercolor paint. Swimming is strictly forbidden, but you can gaze at the stunning waterfall for as long as your heart desires.
There’s also a fascinating spot where Rio Celeste merges with a clay-colored river. The color contrast is mind-blowing.
Beyond the waterfalls and volcanoes, Costa Rica is also famous for its cloud rainforests. Getting to them, however, isn’t so easy, let’s just say the roads in Costa Rica leave a lot to be desired. We had to go off-road to reach the famously lush and misty Monteverde, where it’s worth staying for a few days.
There are tons of hiking routes, both day and night. One of the coolest options is a tour across the hanging bridges above the treetops. You can go solo, but without a guide it’s hard to understand what you’re actually seeing. With a guide, we spotted lots of rare plants and birds, even tarantula burrows (which, let’s be honest, we weren’t too eager to see up close). Monteverde is also home to rare two-toed sloths, though they hide so well in the canopy that even our guide had trouble spotting them. We also took a night tour to see poisonous frogs and other critters, but whether it was just bad luck or that’s how it always is: the night tour wasn’t all that thrilling. Aside from an armadillo and a few sleepy birds, not much else to report.
And finally, after a couple of days in Monteverde, we made our way to the coast — to my beloved Pacific Ocean (a love that started back in Mexico).
Along the way, we crossed the Tarcoles River, which is literally teeming with crocodiles.
Our last stop was Carara National Park, best known as a habitat for massive and rare scarlet macaws.
We braved this park just to see them, it’s not very popular with tourists, and we got lucky. Alongside the macaws, we saw a capybara confidently crossing our trail, sleeping bats in the trees, a basilisk, and of course, plenty of fat iguanas just hanging around everywhere.
And those endless sandy beaches of Costa Rica is rest for the soul and body. And how wonderful it is that there are no sunbeds or umbrellas cluttering the view — just pure wild nature.
Costa Rica is basically one giant national park. Yes, the country is expensive, even though it’s not rich. They definitely know how to make money off tourists. Eating out is pricey, but we bought fruit from locals for next to nothing (you’ll often find roadside fruit stands). If we can’t imagine a garden without potatoes, Costa Ricans can’t imagine one without pineapples. The ripest, juiciest pineapples I’ve ever tasted and just $1 apiece!
Places like Costa Rica stay with you for a lifetime. I just hope the photos do at least a bit of justice to this little piece of paradise.
Photo: www.larairis.com
