La Fortuna was our third stop in Costa Rica and we drove in from Monteverde, along the twisting, mountainous dirt roads.
The 40 kilometre drive to Tilaran took an hour and forty-five minutes, because we weren’t comfortable travelling faster than 30 kilometres an hour. Although is was a nice drive at that speed, with beautiful vistas looking out the west side of the mountain range, it got even slower as we got stuck behind a truck transporting cattle .
But from there, the two hour drive around Lake Arenal was well paved and enjoyable.
We arrived on a rainy, cloudy day and found our way through town. The little house we rented made everything brighter for me. It was exactly as we had hoped. A cool modern tiny-ish house tucked away behind a gate on a small tropical property.
The inside was spotless when we arrived and we loved it.
The next morning, we set off to Mistico Hanging Bridges.
The day before, the Arenal Volcano was covered by clouds and nowhere to be seen, however, on our morning drive, it dominated the skyline.
Mistico Hanging Bridges
Set within a rainforest, the Mistico Hanging Bridges Park offers a quiet easy way to step into the layered world of a tropical canopy. It’s quite beautifully done and a gently graded trail loops for just over three kilometres through the protected forest, crossing a series of hanging bridges that gradually lift you from the shaded jungle floor up into the treetops.
The hanging bridges themselves are solidly engineered—broad metal walkways with non-slip grating underfoot and high mesh railings on both sides which gently sway as you cross, reminding you that you are suspended 75 to 180 feet above the ground. From their railings, the view opens across a sea of green—towering trees wrapped in vines, and the distant profile of the Arenal Volcano rising beyond the forest.
What makes the walk memorable is the change in perspective.
At ground level, the rainforest feels enclosed and mysterious, with the sounds of insects and birds. But high on the bridges, you enter the world where much of the forest’s life actually unfolds. Hummingbirds dart among flowers, and Yim managed to video a small troupe of monkeys swinging through the branches along the trail.
Then we began to descend and look back up at the bridges we had already crossed, and the walk down made it clear that the rainforest is not just one environment but many stacked layers of life. The dominant species changed as we descended. More of some stuff, less of others.
Since we try and enjoy these hikes without a guide, we get to move at our own pace, which allows us to pause, listen for rustling leaves, and scan the foliage, making our experiences feel more like a quiet exploration together through the rainforest’s world.
Although this is a popular tourist attraction, we found the trail very personal. The maintenance of the park is excellent – the best kept yet. It made the rainforest seem more accessible to me than the two extreme hikes of Monteverde, where your senses are overloaded. This trail system was more curated and I enjoyed it more but in a different way.
Sky Adventures Zipline Tour.
This outfit has their act together. After checking in at our designated time slot, we had time to store a few things in the lockers they provide free of charge.
Then we were geared up and received a quick lesson on how to sit back with the harness on once we were attached to the line and more importantly, how to stop. From there, a gondola took us an additional 750 feet up – the equivalent of 60 stories – into and then above the rainforest. At that point, we all had the chance to stand and be photographed in the giant hand before testing our skills on a short test run.
Then it was time to go and Yim went first.
There are a total of 7 zip lines and the first takes you directly through the rainforest canopy with a big view of the forest below and the Arenal Volcano. Woo hoo! I watched from above as Yim disappeared into the clouds before re-appearing far, far below on a small platform.
This was a great day of fun. Soaring 650 feet above and across the rainforest canopy, and reaching speeds of 70 kilometres an hour, we both ended the day with water dripping down our faces and big grins.
After the first five, we both felt pretty exhilarated and ready to take on ‘Big Daddy’, the longest of the zip lines at 2,460 feet or more than a half mile, together. I was the main anchor and Yim was hooked in behind me with her legs wrapped around my waist and off we went, reaching a speed of 70 kilometres per hour! WOW… it was exhilarating, especially since the clouds had come in and our faces were dripping wet while we stood on the last platform with stupid grins on our faces.
After getting our gear off, we treated ourselves to some French Fries and a cappuccino to warm up and headed home. This was a fun day and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area.
FYI: There is also a photo package available where they take between 70 – 90 photos of you and provide you all of the photos at the end of the tour for a reasonable price.
Sloths Territory.
During the tour, we learned quite a few things.
1 – It is against the law to feed wild animals in Costa Rica, but it is okay to plant the type of trees that sloths consider part of their diet in order to attract them. The small 30 acre property this tour was held on had a river winding through it, and the owners are committed to developing a corridor of fruit trees along both sides of the river to allow the sloths to access all the food and water they require.
2 – It is also illegal to cut down trees within 30 feet of a river in Costa Rica, regardless of whether you own the property or not.
With those two tidbits out of the way, our Sloth Tour was highlighted with five sloth sightings. Three of them were two toed sloths (brown) and two were three toed sloths (gray). Our guide had a high powered scope and when my iPhone was placed on it, it allowed me to take photos using the scopes magnification. Otherwise, there would be little chance of seeing any detail of the slow moving critters.
Here are a few fun facts;
• Sloths are incredibly slow on purpose because their all leaf diet is low on nutrients. Being slow also makes them harder to spot as they resemble clumps of moss by their main predator, the eagle.
• Sloth hair grows backwards, From belly to back, which helps rain run off while they sleep upside down. And their hair acts like a mini ecosystem, allowing algae to grow within it, which gives them a greenish tint, providing another layer of camouflage.
• They are surprisingly strong swimmers and can swim three times faster than they can move and can hold their breath for 40 minutes by slowing their metabolism.
• They poop once a week. Scientists are not sure why but theory believes that is because they are so slow moving, they want to minimize their time exposed to big cats on the ground.
• They sleep up to 15 hours a day.
We took the two hour tour with Sloth’s Territory, if you are interested.
PS; That cute little guy shown below is an juvenile Arboreal Porcupine.
La Fortuna is a tourist town. From miles away, coming in towards the town, billboards were advertising hot springs, the Arenal volcano and the adventure tourism scene. It was normal to see small groups of ATV’s barrelling down the centre of the main road. The streets are lined with souvenir shops and restaurants, and there are a ton of mid-range and higher end hotels. The town is fairly run-down – perhaps not surprisingly for a town built beside a volcano. Sidewalks were cracked and uneven, making walking difficult.
The major draw here is the surrounding nature. Activities like the Mistico Hanging Bridges, Sky Park Zip lines, and Sloth Territory, the three we visited, are the highlights. Beyond those, the town itself doesn’t offer much cultural depth — there’s no historical district, no museums, not even a local vibe.
If you are visiting to enjoy the nature, there are lots of good grocery stores, vegetable and fruit stands and a few good bakeries but the bakery located in the middle of town is an absolute rip-off. We did manage to find a couple of restaurants we enjoyed. And there were quite a few gas stations, which come integrated with outdoor mechanic shops. This came in handy as we had to have a tire repaired due to a slow leak. It was quick, easy and inexpensive. I was in and out of the repair shop in 30 minutes for $12.00 CDN.
But we were ready to move on after our three days. I think we wanted to get back to the hot weather.
If you are in town and hungry, try these two spots:
The Green Spoon. Located downtown, they offer healthy, fresh and organic Costa Rican cuisine with an extensive vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free menu.
Italianissimo La Fortuna. A charming, highly-rated Italian restaurant known for its authentic trattoria vibe, featuring fresh, locally sourced ingredients and a variety of pastas and pizzas.
I loved our little house in La Fortuna. The details were very cool and the upstairs featured thick curtains which closed at night, enveloping the upstairs in darkness. Here is where you can find it on Airbnb.
Where we stayed.
Every morning at exactly 5:55 am, a brown bird would fly up to our bedroom window and begin knocking. The first morning Yim heard it first and I leaned over to check the time. The next morning, I heard it first and leaned over to see that it was the exact same time and on each successive morning, there he was, making sure we got up to make coffee. He made me smile.
We enjoyed our quiet time in this house and enjoyed making a couple of good meals but take note, the listing says the house has a stove but it’s a countertop hot plate, not a stove and any actual cooking is difficult. That’s my only gripe.
The home is very comfortable. We felt very safe here and enjoyed being able to watch Netflix for the only time during our two month adventure.
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