• Savegre RiverCold, clear water between boulders under the forest. Walk the bank in the morning. It is not a swim. The birds are in the trees above it.
  • Quetzal morningThe useful hour is first light, with a local guide who knows the trees. A quetzal is not guaranteed. By late morning the forest is quieter and the cloud is lower.
  • Los Quetzales National ParkThe gate is the marked trail, not a wander up the ridge. Mud is normal even in a drier month. Ask the hours that morning, and come down before the rain sits on the road.
  • Trout lunchFarms along the river raise trout in the cold water. Lunch is the visit. It is not a hike, and it is not the birding hour.
  • Valley lookoutPull off only where the shoulder is wide. The valley and the Talamanca ridge show when the cloud lifts. There is no ticket booth and no platform.
  • Side waterfallA short trail drops to a fall on a side stream. The rock is slick. Go down in the morning and climb out before the afternoon rain.
  • Garden birdsHummingbirds work the flowers by the lodges at first light. Stand still. Do not play a bird call into the forest.
  • The nightAfter dark the valley is cold and quiet. There is no town strip and no late restaurant. Eat where you are sleeping.