If you like nature, walks in the forest and spotting animals, this should be your next destination.
Located 3 km to the south of the main town of Sarapiquí, Puerto Viejo, La Selva Biological Station is an incredible center for research into neotropical biology in the province of Heredia. It is situated in the Central Volcanic Cordillera and borders Braulio Carrillo National Park.
Tourists visit the station for its bird tour, which begins around 5:45 a.m. and the night tour in which they can spot animals like snakes, frogs and more.
The station also has accommodations and a restaurant where you can spend a weekend surrounded by nature.
La Selva was established in 1954 by Dr. Leslie Holdridge, who dedicated his farm to forest research with the aim of improving natural resource management. Later, in 1968, the property was transferred to the Organization for Tropical Studies (OET), who founded the station and private biological reserve.
Every year, the station hosts over 250 scientists and researchers from 26 countries. It offers tourists and nature lovers a unique opportunity to learn and enjoy this incredible ecosystem and the biological station, a world-renowned research facility.
The reserve stands out for its species richness, with over 2,077 species of plants species, 125 of mammals (72 of bats alone), 470 of birds, 48 of amphibians, 87 of reptiles, 45 of freshwater fish and tens of thousands of species of insects, arachnids and other arthropods. It’s truly a living wonder.
The Academic Center includes a conference room, four classrooms, four laboratories and temporary offices for visiting academics.
The center has an extensive network of paved and unpaved trails (61 km), which provides convenient access to a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats.
If you’d like to choose from even more activities in and around Sarapiquí, we recommend the article below, which is sure to get you excited about everything there is to do in this canton of Heredia province.
15 tours to experience in Sarapiquí
Additional information
- Tel: 25115100 / 88574999
- Email: info@tropicalstudies.org
- Facebook: Estación Biológica La Selva
- Location: Google Maps
- Admission fee for Costa Rican nationals: $28 for adults and $17 for children (consists of 3-hour tour).
- Hours of operation: 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. / 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Price of lunch: $13.
- Price of bird or night tour: $60
- Price of accommodations: $68 per person, includes hiking and 3 meals
*Visits require prior booking.