Coto Brus Canton, Costa Rica

In the south of Costa Rica, bordering the Panamanian border is a valley full of natural riches. Rivers, mountains, and forests coexist in a temperate climate along with a small community of Costa Ricans.


Around 44,000 inhabitants, in an area of 944 square kilometers, enjoy these blessings thanks to a geography that has been difficult to conquer.
This place is called Coto Brus, canton number 8 of the province of Puntarenas.


We will explain in this article why Coto Brus is part of our Sour Tour and some of the special places we will find there.

The Mountains of Coto Brus canton

Coto Brus Valley

To the east are the mountains of the Cordillera Central Sur, with hills that reach 2000 to 3500 meters. Like the Pico Blanco mountain of 3560 meters, from which you can see both oceans.


As you travel east, you will find depressions between the steep mountain slopes, created by the hundreds of streams and rivers that run along the slopes.
This has made the creation of roads and bridges to access the Coto Brus valley very difficult.


The area was conquered in the 20th century. A group of indigenous people, the Boruca, inhabited the area, taking advantage of the difficult access and lived in peace for centuries. However, almost the entire area was uninhabited by the beginning of the 20th century.

Many of the roads in Coto Brus will be the delight of offroad motorcycling enthusiasts

Coto Brus Canton begins to take shape

During the second decade of the 20th century, the first Costa Rican families began to arrive, attracted by the promise of new lands. However, before this colonization, a small war was fought between Panama and Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans found a small village under the jurisdiction of the neighboring country. According to Costa Rica, that village was in Costa Rican territory according to a previous treaty, the White Ruling.


The war ended quickly with the signing of a treaty that returned Bocas del Toro to Panama and Coto Brus to Costa Rica.


In 1940, the first families settled in the area, seeking to be part of the jobs generated by the construction of the Inter-American Highway.


In 1951 the famous Italian colonization took place. The SICA company brings a group of families from that country, who together with Costa Rican families, developed the industry that would make Coto Brus a prosperous canton: Coffee!

Coto Brus in our days

Growth was slow, due to the lack of roads and infrastructure, the export of products to other areas was difficult. It was not until December 10, 1965 that the area became the canton of Coto Brus.


In 1982 there were already 10,000 inhabitants. The foundation of San Vito contributed a lot to the development. The city founded by Vito Sansonetti made it possible to centralize the exchange of products and services in the canton.


Thanks to the creation of an airfield, access to the area has been facilitated, especially for tourists.


The area is relatively new to tourism development. But this has allowed the hotels to be more artisanal, offering unique experiences to selective clients who shun mega-hotels.

What to do around the area

Despite the presence of coffee farms, most of the area is still cloud forest. This guarantees sightings of rare species of animals and plants.


There are also coffee tours, the farm owners set up hotels on their properties. They offer interesting tours about coffee production and the history of the canton.


The presence of hot springs up the Coton River has created a small hotel industry near the community of Agua Caliente.


Further north, the presence of Pittier Hill is a must for those who love hiking.


There are many protected areas, such as Las Tablas, a special area that protects a very important montane rainforest. It is great for offroad enthusiasts, as the access is a mud and ballast road through forests and rivers.


Coton Altura communities will delight those looking for beautiful rural villages that live in harmony with the surrounding forest.

Conclusion

Coto Brus is tourism for connoisseurs, people looking for legitimate experiences, without artificial ingredients. Unique places that remain untouchable. Places that have survived the passage of time, maintaining their traditions, culture and idiosyncrasy.


A land of farmers, ranchers, artisans and land lovers.


If you lack some services, you can find banks, dentists, mechanic shops and even a hospital in the city of San Vito.


There are also public and private health services in the district capitals.


SIf you want to explore this beautiful area, remember that our South Tour makes a stop here. If you want a more in-depth exploration, we can customize a motorcycle tour to your liking. Contact us if you want more information about our motorcycle tours in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama.


Disclaimer: This is content created by a human being, to help and guide other human beings with reliable first-hand information.

Naiyaca Waterfalls en Barù, Perez Zeledon

The south of Costa Rica is a geographical area with many natural gems. The region is still very agricultural and has livestock growing at this point. Thanks to this there is an atmosphere of mystery that only little-explored places can offer.


The most important city in the Southern zone is San Isidro de Pérez Zeledón. Once in this city, you can continue to the south and to the west of the country.
Both routes contain many destinations, but for the purposes of this article, we are going to take the route to the west. This road will take us to the Pacific coast, strictly to Dominical, a place well known by the surfing community.


Between Dominical and San Isidro hides one of these jewels that we mentioned before, the Barú River.
On this river, there are two beautiful waterfalls 20 and 40 meters high called Nauyaca.

From the entrance to the Nauyaca Falls

The falls are located inside a private property where a consortium manages everything related to access. You can access within a local tour or by yourself. From the entrance to the waterfall there are 6 kilometers one way and 6 kilometers back. The prices to enter vary but do not exceed 10 to 15 US dollars.
If you go on one of our motorcycles, you can get to the parking lot and save 4 kilometers round trip.
The tours have the great advantage that they take you to both waterfalls, if you are not in the mood to walk.


However, you would miss a lot of the charm of the property full of the Costa Rican Pacific dry forest, with hundreds of species of animals, birds, insects and plants.
The first waterfall, the highest, in Nauyaca is the typical waterfall with the water in free fall.
Meanwhile, in the second, the water slides down the rock in a more subtle way. There are refreshing natural pools where you can take a dip.

Why go to Nauyaca Falls

When it comes to falls, not much can be said. You have to be there in the face of the shortage of words that can describe the beauty of the place. The best thing is the hike, since the forest is part of the experience, and getting to the falls is the cherry on the cake.
If you are going as part of one of our motorcycle tours or on one of our rented motorcycles, we recommend making the trek from the parking lot to the falls.
If you go in winter during the afternoons we recommend you to see the falls at a prudent distance since the heads of water are normal in this area.
After going to the falls, Dominical, a beautiful beach, is very close. A perfect beach to watch the sunset.


You can get to Nauyaca Waterfalls or any other destination in Costa Rica with our tours or by renting one of our motorcycles.
If you want a motorbike tour with us that includes Nauyaca as a destination you can order it for one of our tours or you can rent one of our motorcycles to get there by yourself.

Los Chorros Waterfall

Near San Gertrudis Sur, a small but nice community in the canton of Grecia, one of the most beautiful wonders of the nature of Costa Rica lies almost hidden. It is a 50-meter waterfall named by locals as Los Chorros.

About Los Chorros

The Prendas River meets a rocky ledge and falls through until the water meets a pond. The water does not fall straight but must pass through a rocky wall which spreads the river’s stream.
Next to the waterfall, we can see a steep slope from where streams of water come from the rock, hence the name of Los Chorros.

At the bottom of the waterfall, two streams join into a confluence. If you follow the other stream upriver, you’ll find another waterfall. This one is not as high as the other one, but the fall is stronger.

Be careful as you must go through a canyon to get there, and some landslips could happen.

How to get to the cascade

The waterfall is inside the recreation park of the same name, which is officially close in June 2024 so far. Do not worry about this, a nice neighbor allows people to access the trail leading to the cascade through his estate while charging you a small fee. You can park there, and he and his assistant will take care of your motorcycle.

The estate is magnificent, the owner will guide and point you out to the trail entrance.

The trail to the waterfall is like 20 minutes walking down. No concrete here, it is just dirt and mud, so it is much better to go with the right shoes.

You’ll go through a beautiful forest with plenty of animal life, just try to be careful when walking as the trail floor could be slippery.

Once in the waterfall

Once you get down the waterfall, there are some small ponds where you can get a refreshing bath in the cold waters.
The river is small but be careful, mostly in winter, as flash floods are common. The best way to enjoy is to sit down on the riverbank, take some photos, and relax.
If you feel adventurous you can try and reach the second waterfall but you need to cross a pond to reach there. If you have a change of clothes or do not mind getting your pants and your shoes soaked, it is a good option.

Conclusion

Los Chorros is a very accessible destination while traveling on a motorbike. From the entrance to the waterfall and going back it could be 2 or 3 hours. Once you are once again on the road, visit the city of Grecia for brunch or dinner, then keep traveling to your next destination with your bike.

Costa Rica’s Metropolitan Area

Costa Rica has a very curious geographical distribution. Bathed by two oceans, some will consider this a blessing good enough to consider building your cities near the coast.
However, the first Spanish settlers considered the coast unstable mostly because natural disasters like floods and hurricanes affected the first settlements.

San Jose Street, Costa Rica’s capital city.

The colonization of the Central Valley

The first colonizers decided to explore further inside the country and found what we nowadays known as the “Central Valley”. There they founded the first successful establishment, Cartago, which became later the capital city of Costa Rica for 250 years, until 1823.
Surrounded by mountains and with many rivers crossing the land, the Central Valley has become the right place for settlers. The mountains protect the area from hurricanes and the weather is cool, in contrast to the hot humid areas.
The soil is fertile. This allowed townspeople to perform agricultural and cattle activities, vital for settlements to survive and towns to thrive.
More villages and towns were founded in this area, making it the most populated one in the country since then.

Alajuela City, the second most important city in the country.

The modernization of the Central Valley

It was during the XX century that locals started to call this valley the “Gran Area Metropolitana”, in English, Metropolitan Area, because most of the country’s industry was and is still established here.
The first International Airport was constructed there, near Alajuela. Since then, most tourists have arrived in the country at this airport but many of them neglect the Metropolitan Area because Costa Rica’s tourism authorities rarely promote this area.

Music concert in San Pedro de Poas Park, road to Poas Volcano

Reasons to stay around the Metropolitan Area for a while

You are missing some good spots if you decide to skip this area to go straight to the beaches.
If you want to have a glance at Costa Rica’s popular culture, you can visit San Jose, Alajuela, and Heredia parks. Some of them are nice, others aren’t that much.
Some of these parks have statues of important people in the history of the country.
Smaller towns like Ciudad Colón, Santa Ana, Barva, Grecia, Poas, and Orosi, among others, are charming. They are on the way to attractive tourist spots, so you can spend a while on those towns for a drink or meal.
As we mentioned before there is a mountain range surrounding the valley. Many of these mountains are volcanoes inside national parks.
We have the Poas, Irazu, Turrialba, and Barva volcanoes. Previously we mentioned towns you need to pass by to get other attractions. To get to Poas Volcano, you need to go to Alajuela, then Poas first. For Turrialba Volcano, you pass near Orosi, where you can see the Cachí Lake.
To get to Braulio Carrillo National Park, where the Barva Volcano is located, you need to go to Heredia and then to Barva.

Final Notes

It is wise if you make a brief stop in these towns when on the road to your preferred natural sites. At the same time, you can check out how Costa Ricans enjoy their lives day to day. Also, you can support local businesses like pulperias (small grocery stores), cafes (restaurants specializing in serving coffee and pastry), and other amenities. These places are way cheaper than the traditional tourism oriented destinies.
Remember that we rent motorcycles. With them you can roam around Costa Rica as you please. But if you want a guide, we have guided tours on our main page ready for you.

Panama, the land between oceans

Panama is the youngest of the Central American nations. It became an independent nation in 1903 after struggling a lot against the odds. Located between Costa Rica and Colombia, the geographic position of the country makes it of great interest to the world.
A single strip of land won’t allow both Ocean Atlantic and Pacific to merge together. A beautiful land with thriving wildlife and friendly people. Still, humans needed to connect both water bodies for commercial and transport reasons. Because of this, this land now become the host of one of the most brilliant architectural achievements of the human race: The Panama Canal.
But Panama today remains the wild land that it was in the past and it is up to you to come and discover it with our Panama tour on your bike.

What Panama can offer

Panama has white-sand beaches, mighty rivers, exuberant jungles, and green mountains, among other attractions.
When it comes to water activities, Panama has a lot of places for these kinds of activities. Surfing, kayaking, scuba diving, sailing, fishing, snorkeling, etc, are just available in every main town near the coast. This article could take hours to read if we speak about any of these topics. For example, when it comes to surfing, there are a lot of beaches with different kinds of waves for every skill in this sport.
National parks and private reserves are scattered around the country offering nature lovers a source for good photos of the local fauna.
Then, canopy, trekking, and other services are offered in these reserves.

Other details about Country

There is plenty of info about Panama’s nature around the Internet. So, it could be better to speak about some less know details about the country.
For example, when it comes to sports, Panamanians are huge fans of baseball. Worthy to watch is any match between the biggest clubs in the country. Crowds attend these matches to support their team of preference. Soccer or football is just behind baseball but it is getting more popular as their national team has qualified for the World Cup.
Also, Panama is modernity, with Panama City being the vibrant home of more than one million people. Huge buildings, big malls, museums, parks, and populous neighborhoods with restaurants and cafes are just part of the array of appeals.
Other important cities are Chitra, Santiago, Colon, and David, every one of them being unique. Different tourist services are offered around these cities.
You can still find colonial architecture all around the country. For example, in Portobelo, many colonial forts and buildings remain there, visited by those interested in the rich story of Panama.

Is Panama Safe?

Panama’s political and social stability has improved a lot in the last 20 years. The country is safe if you follow the basic recommendations:
Travel light, only with the necessary stuff.
Use apps to look for transport.
Avoid suspicious people in the street offering “services”.
You can visit restaurants and bars at night but check the reviews and avoid low-reputation sites.
Always keep your belongings in your pockets when out, do not let them on the table or any other surface.
Avoid crowds in small places, perfect for pickpocketers.
If you plan to drink alcoholic drinks, try to be in a safe place, for example, your hotel room. If you are outside, just do not get drunk.
With these basic topics covered, you can travel to Panama safely. There are no such things as terrorist attacks or dissident militias here. The country is safe too for motorcycle riders.
Only friendly people.

When to visit Panama?

The region is inside the tropics, so expect only two seasons. From December to April the summer season keeps the jungle dry and the beaches sunny. The rains visit the country during the green season. This is between, May and November.
Still, the green season is an excellent time to look for offers and lower prices in hotels and other services.
Also, the jungle looks more vibrant in the green season, with trees and plants blooming. You can still enjoy sunny mornings, sometimes rain won’t appear for days.
The green season is preferred by many species of animals to mate. These animals become way less shy, driven by the need for pairing. So, nature lovers will have more probability of taking some good pictures of the Panamanian jungle fauna.
In the summer season, the Panamanians celebrate fairs and bull riding championships all around the country. The fairs are accompanied by food stalls, rides, contests, and other amenities.
So, no matter what season you choose to visit the country, there is fun guaranteed.
Our Panama Tour is ready to take you to the most interesting known, and not well-known places. The best way to explore Panama is on a motorbike.
Check out more info about our Panama tour here.