3-day hike in rural Costa Rica

Camp in Mollejones

On day one you get up early, have breakfast at your hotel and come to our Base Camp in Turrialba by 6:45am with your hiking gear (including your favorite snacks for the day); you’ll leave your car in our parking lot and we’ll drive to the trail head. If you don't have a car, we can also pick you up at your hotel by 7:00am.

The Santubal community will prepare you a box lunch to take with you. The hike goes through terrain suitable for all types of hikers; you’ll hike through rural farms and forests with breathtaking views such as the majestic Pacuare River. Plus, your knowledgeable guide will make the walk much more interesting. Around 11:00 a.m. you'll get to the town of San Joaquín where we’ll have a lunch break to regain some energy.

The second part of the hike takes you the community of Mollejones, cutting through the forest and crossing the river with the hanging bridges used by the locals to transport agricultural goods and cattle. Once you get there, you’ll be greeted by the friendly people of Mollejones and you’ll be able to take a shower, change clothes and get some rest.

Camp in Mollejones

You'll kickstart the day at 6:30 a.m. with a delicious breakfast prepared by the community. Then you’ll walk from the campsite to a traditional sugarcane mill where things are still done the old-fashioned way like our grandparents used to. “Don” Heriberto’s family will welcome you and explain their daily work, starting with an introduction to the raw material, sugarcane, and going through the entire process of preparing the final product: “Costa Rican tapa de dulce” (molded blocks of cooked sugarcane). A vehicle will then take you to the Mollejones community to visit a small butterfly pupae farm. You’ll learn about the different varieties, what they eat, how the eggs are collected and how they develop in to pupae that are then exported to other parts of the world. You’ll enjoy a delicious Costa Rican home-cooked lunch and then pay a visit the community elders, these folks have a few stories to tell, they have worked, grown up and left a mark for the new generations.

In the evening you’ll visit a local family that will share with you the traditional way of making tortillas from scratch. You’ll help grinding the corn and through the whole process of preparation -and of course, tasting- of the delicious tortilla. Before dinner, the community will put on a cultural exchange presentation with traditional dancing and games, giving you yet another opportunity to learn about the Costa Rican identity.

Free morning, with no scheduled activities.

As a team, we'll break camp and pack up but before leaving, you’ll be served an energy-boosting breakfast prepared by the community. At 9:00 a.m. we’ll drive you from Mollejones to Turrialba, where you can pick up your rental car from the Explornatura parking lot and continue your journey, or stay at a hotel in the area.