Luxury Travel to San Gerardo de Dota

The newly created Los Quetzales National Park named after its most famous and elusive resident, the resplendent quetzal, is a bird watching, hiking, fishing and general all-round and under-discovered mountain idyll.

Located just three hours south of San Jose in the Talamanca mountain range and within easy reach of the Manuel Antonio coastline, this charmingly pastoral town sitting in the Savegre River Valley is a great escape for nature enthusiasts and still largely unnoticed by mass tourism.

Breath in the fresh mountain air and hike steep forested hills spotting the 200 bird species that reside here including hummingbirds, woodpeckers, tanagers, peccaries and more. Fishing in the Rio Savegre is a popular pastime, as are ATV tours and trekking to the Naranjo Waterfalls.