San Jose Tropical Rainforest Adventure including Chocolate Tasting

Join your tour in central San Jose, then relax on the drive to La Virgen del Socorro, a private reserve with wonderful birdlife, including rare hawks, kites and hummingbirds.

After lunch at a local restaurant, continue to the Braulio Carrillo National Park in Costa Rica’s Sarapiqui lowlands region. Stop to take a walk across the mighty Tirimbina Suspension Bridge over the Sarapiqui River, then join your expert naturalist guide on a walk through tropical rainforest in La Selva Biological Reserve, one of the country's best spots for wildlife and birdwatching.

There's the chance to spot 400 bird species on your guided highlands walk, which takes you to La Selva Organization for Tropical Studies. Learn about the reserve's status as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, hear about the groundbreaking research, conservation and ecotourism being carried out here, and enjoy more birdwatching and photography at La Selva.

After your encounter with nature in the tropical rainforest, learn the secrets behind the history and art of chocolate-making on a visit to Tirimbna Rainforest Center. Learn how the cacao tree originated in Mesoamerica, see forest and wild species of the plant, and hear how chocolate is produced.

At the end of your visit, enjoy a tasting of organic chocolate and other cacao products made by the local Association of Women Amazilia del Caribe before visiting a leafcutter ant farm and learn all about these intriguing insects. Then, enjoy a relaxing drive back to San Jose.