# 12-Day Trek Hidden Costa Rica Tour from San Jose: San Isidro, Piedras Blancas, Dominical, Diamante Verde and Uvita | Small Group Tour

Tour in SO — San José → San José.
Listed and booked on Yatra For Fun (yatraforfun.com) — our Kathmandu concierge confirms availability, prices it in NPR, and sends a payment link within 2 business hours.

## Key facts

- Type: multiday
- Country: SO
- Route: San José → San José
- Duration: 12.00 day
- Price from: $1,899
- Rating: 4.90 / 5 (10 reviews)
- Operator: Tours4Fun Provider 1113

## Summary

• Trek into a remote community to live with the locals • Sleep in a cave behind twin waterfalls • Make your own sugarcane candy • Rappel down hidden waterfalls • Whitewater raft on the Savegre River

## Categories

Select Meals Included

## Itinerary

### Day 1: San José

Arrive at any time. There are no planned activities during the day, so check into the hotel and explore the city. As it is located in the central highlands, San José enjoys a moderate climate. Amid the hustle and bustle, San José has beautiful parks, museums and the ornate Costa Rica National Theatre downtown. Enjoy the view of the surrounding mountains from the downtown streets. The central plaza is a good place to people-watch. A mime, juggler, marimba band, magician, or storyteller may be performing for whatever is collected when the hat is passed. Artisan booths are common, creating a regular arts and crafts fair atmosphere. 【Your Welcome Moment: Welcome Moment - Meet Your CEO and Group】 Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Opt to join the group for a local meal afterwards. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.

### Day 2: San José - San Isidro

Travel by local bus over the highest mountain pass in the country. Arrive in the valley of San Isidro de El General and take a walk in the main plaza. Spend the day visiting some shops and stock up before the next day's trek into the jungle. Located near three rivers and Costa Rica's highest mountain, Mt Chirripó, this region is well-known but few travelers stay to find out why. 【Free Time】 A free afternoon allows you the chance to explore the main square, located around three kilometres from the hotel, and get geared up for tomorrow’s hiking adventure.

### Day 3: San Isidro - Piedras Blancas

Embark on a three-day, three-night excursion with a locally owned and operated adventure company to the community of Piedras Blancas, found in the heart of the Zona de los Santos region. The journey is always half the fun! Travel in the back of a pickup truck through lush green landscapes and end in the small town of Brujo. Enjoy a 4-hour hike to a jungle homestay while spotting tropical fauna and plenty of wildlife along the way. 【Jungle Trekking to Piedras Blancas】 Ready for a challenge? Gear up and head off for a six-hour trek through the jungle. Local English-speaking guides will point out flora and fauna and spot birds and wildlife in the thick forest canopy. Trek up, down, and around rocks and roots. During rainy season (May-Nov), bring walking sticks to support you in the slippery mud. Save your energy for 'la cuesta roja' (the red hill) -- 20-30 minutes of an uphill slog. The payoff? Howler monkeys and toucans as travel companions.

### Day 4: Piedras Blancas

Experience life in a remote community in and around a local family farm. Wake up with the sun today and get ready for loads of activities. Enjoy a delicious traditional Costa Rican breakfast to start the day off right. In small groups, make 'dulce' (candy) at the family's traditional 'trapiche' (sugar cane mill). Cool off in the river that flows right by the house while the sugar simmers over the fire and lunch is being prepared. Hike one hour to another household and stay the night. While there, local guides and members of the family will explain how to make fresh cheese and breads, play card games and enjoy tasty traditional Tico cooking. Once the evening winds down, head to bed for a well-deserved rest. 【Sugarcane Candy Making】 Roll up your sleeves and get ready for a nice arm workout! Using the traditional 'trapiche', a mill made of wooden rollers that helps draw out juices from the sugarcane, work those muscles to feed through the homegrown sugarcane and extract the sweet sugar. Let the sugar simmer over the fire and take a much-deserved break to cool down in the river and explore a 100-foot waterfall nearby. Towel off and get ready for lunch and try some of the sweet candy your hard work went into for a tasty treat afterwards. 【Your Foodie Moment: Bread Making】 Enter a traditional community kitchen and get to know the techniques and practises involved in making local style bread as well as getting to sample the results of the the hard work at the stove.

### Day 5: Piedras Blancas

Travel across the Savegre River to the next homestay with an included medicinal plant walk. Start the day with a delicious home-cooked breakfast and fortify for the two-hour hike through the rainforest to tonight's home stay retreat. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the rushing waterfall directly in front of the dining area. Watch wildlife and hummingbirds up close. Reward yourself homemade chocolate made from cocoa beans collected right from the garden. 【Hike to a local family home stay】 Hike through the rainforest for two hours to reach the home of tonight's host family. Stop along the watch to bird-watch, learn about unique plants and breathe in the pure jungle air. 【Your Foodie Moment: Chocolate Making】 There are few things more delicious in the world than chocolate. See this coveted treat produced from bean to bar. From the nearby cacao plant to your mouth, enjoy the tasty benefits of 'eating local'.

### Day 6: Piedras Blancas - Dominical

Raft the Savegre River and relax at the end of the day by stretching out on the beach. Try the local seafood at an optional group dinner. Today is a full, action-packed day. Set your alarm for an early morning start and a two-hour hike back to Brujo where we jump into rafts and head off on the Savegre River. Paddle toward the Pacific coast, then take a van to Dominical. Spend the rest of the day at the local bungalows, in the swimming pool or walking along the beach. 【Hiking】 Wave 'adios' to your home stay host family and trek for two hours back through the jungle to the town of Brujo. 【Savegre River Whitewater Rafting】 What better way to get from A to B then taking the natural route along a scenic and exciting river? Buckle up your life jacket, grab a paddle and head off to raft the Class II - IV rapids of the Savegre River. Its water is considered some of cleanest in all of the Americas. Enjoy a natural high!

### Day 7: Dominical

Enjoy a free day in beautiful Dominical. Take a surf lesson, hike to a local waterfall for a swim, go on a whale watching cruise, or kick back and relax. 【Free Time】 Get out there and get exploring!

### Day 8: Dominical - Diamante Verde

Trek to a unique fully equipped cave with twin 26m (85 ft) waterfalls. Go swimming in three natural pools and explore surrounding trails. Time to put the boots back on and hike to Catedral de Piedra ('Cathedral of Stone'). A free day for exploring the area, the local guides will plan a number of activities depending on the group’s interest and energy levels. Options include a number of hikes to the surrounding falls, waterfall rappelling, cliff jumping and swimming in the natural pools. 【Hike to La Catedral de Piedra】 Put on your hiking shoes, fill up your water bottles and set off on a two hour hike through ancient growth jungle. Feel the positive energy of the nearby Baru River which plummets 457m (1,500 ft) down a steep canyon to the Catedral de Piedra. This giant ledge carved into the cliff sits above the Diamante Falls -- Costa Rica's tallest waterfall at 183m (600 ft). No wonder this place is a sanctuary for shamans and those in need of healing vibrations.

### Day 9: Diamante Verde - Uvita

Enjoy a morning of waterfall rappelling before trekking out of the jungle and travelling to beautiful seaside Uvita. Opt to surf, whale-watch, horseback-ride or kick back and relax. Wake up early and set off on foot back to Las Tumbas. At the trail's end, hop in a private van and enjoy the ride to Uvita, a small beach town on the southwestern Pacific coast. Take some much deserved time to rest and relax. 【Rappelling near Diamante Falls】 Use ropes and scramble down through pools and waterfalls. Keep an eye out for wildlife as you descend down through the waterfalls strapped securely in your harness. 【Hike from La Catedral de Piedra】 Return rejuvenated from La Catedral de Piedra and hike through jungles, over rock, in rivers and around waterfalls to Las Tumbas.

### Day 10: Uvita

Spend the morning swimming, relaxing, and watching humpback whales off the coast of Ballena Marine National Park, before enjoying free time in Uvita. This is a perfect day for some quality hammock time. Still need to move? There's lots to do. Take a surf lesson, horseback ride, snorkel, SCUBA dive or take a trip to nearby Caño Island. 【Ballena Marine National Park Visit】 Ballena Marine National Park is set along a 15km stretch of coastline on the Pacific, with incredible water for snorkelling and swimming. With the largest coral reef on the Pacific Coast in Central America, this is the perfect spot to grab some fins or enjoy time to relax on the beach. This park also has prime humpback whale viewing as they migrate through the region between Dec and April. 【Free Time】 Unwind on the beach or try one of the many activities available in Uvita.

### Day 11: Uvita - San José

Transfer back to the capital for a final evening with the group.

### Day 12: San José

Depart at any time. Depart from San José at any time.

## Guide languages

English Live

## Links

- Yatra page: https://yatraforfun.com/tour/101686743-trek-hidden-costa-rica-tour-from-san-jose-12-day
- WhatsApp concierge: https://wa.me/9779708072951