Sloth Sanctuary

I was walking through the Parque Nacional de Cahuita on the Caribbean coast one morning and this brilliant eyelash viper caught my eye from well off the trail. I have always wanted to see one of these unique snakes in the wild and now, after several trips to Central America, I got my chance. The snake stayed completely still accept for the occasional flicker of its tongue.

Even if you don’t consider yourself an animal person, it’s hard to resist the odd charm of the sloth, one of the most easily spotted mammals in Costa Rica. Easiest of all, though, is spotting them at this Cahuita sanctuary dedicated to their care. The founders stumbled into the rescue project when neighbors brought them a baby sloth whose mother had been killed by a car. That led to a vocation in sloth rescue and rehab and a full-fledged center that’s open to the public for visits.

As day breaks upon this tropical “oasis” the steam begins to rise into the atmosphere and the jungle is alive with noise. Cahuita, Costa Rica is a small town on the Caribbean and has easy access to the proportionately small national park that shares its name. You can walk the coastal trail through the park in a couple hours or find your own stretch of white sand to call your own for the day. The magic of Cahuita is that you’re guaranteed to see wildlife whether you go looking for it or not. Oftentimes, the wildlife will find you.

Who doesn’t love Costa Rica’s adorable tree sloths? From their upside-down yoga positions to their mellow “smiling” faces, sloths have a curious way about them that always inspires fascination. The Sloth Sanctuary undertakes valuable work to study and preserve two- and three-toed species as well as rescue orphaned or injured sloths. Though these herbivore mammals are very common in Costa Rica, it may be difficult to spot them in their dense, treetop habitat—making a visit to the sanctuary quite worth your time. The sanctuary relies on visitor donations to fund its medical mission. Remind kids not to touch the animals; stuffed animal sloths from the gift shop are much more squeezable.

If you are in Costa Rica looking to do zip lining and have an adventurous spirit, I recommend the company Extremo Canopy in Monteverde. The adventure includes 11 platforms, 1 repel line, 1 Tarzan Swing, and a Superman line 1 KM in length. It costs $45 and lasts a little over 2 hours.

La Fortuna is a great town for all sorts of activities in the cloud forest of central Costa Rica. The Catarata La Fortuna is one of many highlights. The waterfall is a short cab ride from town and offers a cool pool for relaxing and enjoying the powerful falls up close. You’ll need to cool off as much as possible, because the steep and slippery hike down is very exhausting on the way back up. In addition to the falls, La Fortuna is the jumping off point for river rafting, cloud forests hikes, zip lining and, best of all, a day at the luxurious Tabacon Hot Springs Resort. The springs are heated by the extremely active Volcan Arenal, which is visible and audible from the resort and La Fortuna. You can easily kill a week in La Fortuna exploring the central highlands of Costa Rica.