3 Day Trek in Corcovado National Park

• All of our tours
• Hiking
• Wildlife

Known around the world for it’s impressive biodiversity and ecosystems, the Corcovado National Park is not only wild, but one of the most popular for tourists visiting Costa Rica.

Created in 1975, this historic park is in a remote area of southern Costa Rica so with no crowds, allows for better wildlife watching. Rare and endangered animals such as tapirs, pumas, herds of collard and white-lipped peccaries, coatis, venomous snakes, poisonous frogs, crocodiles and even hammerhead and bull sharks are at home here in the Corcovado.

The most common animals to be seen are the four species of monkeys (squirrel, white face capuchin, spider and howler), sloths, coatis and an impressive variety of birds including toucans, scarlet macaw, hawks, woodpeckers, tanagers, trogons, parrot and parakeet to name a few.

Depending on the weather, tide, moon and season there is always something fascinating to see on this wild adventure.

There are many itineraries available to enter and exit the park. The access points for a 3-day expedition are as follows:

• La Leona – Sirena – La Leona (mostly flat topography +/- 45 km) Option 1
• La Leona – Sirena – Drake Bay (flat and slightly broken topography +/- 38 km) Option 2
  
• Puerto Jimenez – Sirena – La Leona (flat and slightly broken topography: total +/- 38 km) Option 2
  
• La Leona – Sirena – Los Patos (flat & broken topography +/- 52 km) Option 3
• Drake Bay/Puerto Jimenez – Sirena – Los Patos (flat & broken topography +/- 42 km) Option 4
• Drake Bay – Sirena – Drake Bay (flat and slightly broken topography +/- 25 km)

Sirena Ranger Station provides:

• Rustic lodging in the wild rainforest
  • Twin bunk beds with mattress, bed sheets, pillow and mosquito net
• Food
  • Breakfast, lunch and dinner (upon reservation)
  • Snacks for purchase
• Bathrooms with toilet paper
• Potable water
• Shower with soap dispenser
• Souvenir Shop
• Light inside the installations (turned off at 8:00 PM)
• Electrical outlets to charge your electric devices
• Internet WiFi (weak signal)

Tips before embarking in this multi-day trip:

• Heat and humidity are extremely high. Dehydration and heat-exhaustion are common illnesses in the park. Be prepared and bring two liters of water per person and hydrating/energy drinks. If you feel your backpack is too heavy, keep drinking. The water is potable at each ranger station, refill your bottles every time you stop at a station. If you’re concerned about the water in Costa Rica, bring a purifier filter, but it is not honestly not necessary. Between Carate and Sirena, there are long stretches under the sun along the beach, we recommend wearing sunscreen, a hat and a long sleeved shirt.
• Hiking experience and a good physical condition is a must. This trip is not recommended for people with asthma, heart, knees and ankles problems and/or any other health disease.
• Meals are not mandatory, but highly recommended. There will be no meals available in the park without reservation. The meals in Sirena Station are equilibrated, made from local ingredients and served in generous portions (buffet style). Let us know if you have a special diet, any allergies or intolerance. The only food you can take with you to Sirena is limited to: nuts, dried fruit, energy bars, some snacks, hydrating drinks and water. There is no restriction for the other stations.
• If you have your own transportation to go to Carate or Drake Bay, you will need a 4×4, as you will cross rivers and drive on slippery and mountainous land. If you are staying in Puerto Jiménez, instead of leaving your car at your hotel and using our transportation to go to Carate, we encourage you to use your transportation for the following reasons:
  • Flexibility: Start the tour earlier or sleep an additional hour and come back from the park without rushing to take our touristic van.
  • Bring your guide with you: Most of the guides live in Puerto Jiménez. Having the guide in your car, he might show you interesting sights on the way and you will be free to stop whenever you want to take pictures.
  • Pay $5 a day for parking instead of $50+ per person for transport: The parking is located at the end of the road 245 in Carate by the beach. It is not a gated parking lot, but security is there at all times.
• Cross rivers carefully, quickly and at low tide. Otherwise, the currents and tides are quite powerful. In addition, beaches and the mouth of rivers are home to crocodiles and bull sharks. Follow the instructions of your guide to cross rivers.
• In case of any emergency, bring your medicine, a copy of your passport and your travel insurance information.
• If possible according to your schedule, accept to meet your guide the night before the tour either at your hotel or in a restaurant in town. The idea of this meeting is to allow you to ask all your last minute questions and to get an introduction of what is expecting you. Try to have your backpack ready before the meeting, some questions may occur while packing and don’t be shy to show your guide what’s inside. We want to make sure you have everything you need, but most important that you are not overloading your backpack with unnecessary stuff. It should wait a maximum of 10 kilos (22 pounds). If the meeting is not possible due to your tight schedule or location, we will give you your guide’s phone number the day before the tour so you can call him or chat with him via WhatsApp.

Some Rules and Regulation

• You must be accompanied by a certified guide to visit Corcovado National Park.
• You must have a printed prepaid reservation to get registered in the park at your arrival to any station (make sure your guide took care of this the day before).
• Respect the environment: trash in / trash out; no animal feeding or hunting; smoking or entering the park with any drug or liquor is prohibited.
• Traveling off trails or without your guide is prohibited.
• Bringing pets or horseback riding in the National Park is prohibited.
• At dark, for security, you can’t leave Sirena Station. Night tours are not allowed anymore in the Corcovado National Park.

To check availability and ask for a quote, let us know:

• Dates
• Amount of people
• Nationality
• Itinerary
• Do you need transport?
• Hotel name (or town)

Let us know your travel plans, physical capacity and expectations to design your custom itinerary in the Corcovado National Park with a professional naturalist and certified guide. For keen hikers, this is one of the wildest rainforest hikes in Costa Rica!

To book this exciting tour a deposit is required.

Contact us today to check availability.

Additional information