Daily Times

Hanging from one arm, a three-toed sloth is asleep in a tree in Tortuguero National Park, on the north-east coast of Costa Rica. ‘It was likely climbing higher,’ says our guide, ‘then nodded off on the move.’

Sloths, we learn, sleep for up to 20 hours of the day, turning narcolepsy into an art form. This cute, sleepy mammal has become the pin-up for Costa Rica tourism and it’s what visitors are most keen to encounter.

Costa Rica, sandwiched between Nicaragua and Panama, is ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world – so peaceful that its army was dissolved 70 years ago. Just like the habits of a sloth, this is a country to explore at a slow pace. Here you are encouraged to appreciate nature in an unhurried way and learn from the unusual mammals, reptiles and birds that call Costa Rica their only home.

From the moment you land, the cry of ‘pura vida’ (pure life) is heard – used as a greeting, a substitute for thank you and a replacement for cheers. So if you learn only two words in Spanish, make it these.

Flights from Europe tend to arrive in San Jose in the afternoon, so a night in the capital makes sense. Hotel Grano de Oro gives a hint of what beauty lies beyond the city in its flower- and palm-filled courtyards and an evening spent in the refined restaurant is a civilised way to cast off the jet-lag before your adventure begins.

From the capital, it’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive to La Pavona, your gateway to Tortuguero National Park – known as the Costa Rican Amazon – with 11 habitats to explore, including rainforest, swamps and mangrove. It can be accessed by boat and less frequently by small plane. Arriving by river is best because it provides the chance of spotting an abundance of wildlife, including green iguana, sloth and anhinga – a cousin of the cormorant that has a startling blue ring around its eyes.

Tortuga Lodge & Gardens is a luxurious eco-lodge that sits in isolation on the banks of the Tortuguero River. Rainforest provides the backdrop for stylish plantation lodges painted in vibrant hues of pink, blue and yellow.

The colonial-style rooms with wooden floors and whirring fans have balconies with large swing chairs and views to the river – the perfect perches from which to marvel over the nature. Keel-billed toucans raid the nests of smaller birds, montezuma oropendolas fly in and out of long woven nests that swing from palms and howler monkeys crash through the treetops. Their deep primeval bellows can be heard for more than a mile. For a real treat, book the Miss Florentina Villa with its plunge
pool and circular wooden deck, often visited by bare-throated tiger herons and kingfishers.

The lodge offers various nature excursions, but to get a toucan’s-eye view of the national park you can begin with a short hike to the top of Cerro Tortuga (turtle hill). Locals believe it acts as a beacon to turtles, guiding them back to their birthplace. Look out for the strawberry poison dart frogs that litter this mile-long path and spider monkeys that give aerial shows in the highest branches of monkey-pot trees.

From the summit you can gaze over a vast rainforest canopy, the purple liana vines the only break in this lush green scene.

A highlight is a trip by kayak deep into the park, where glimpses of otters and sleeping spectacled caiman can be caught amid the dense mangrove, ferns and palms. The inky black colour of the water is caused by nutrients leaked by vegetation and creates such perfect mirror images that you feel you are floating in a tropical upside-down world.

Across the river from the lodge lies the Caribbean Sea and a protected beach that is the world’s most important nesting site for the endangered green sea turtle. From July to October, more than 22,000 turtles lumber across the sand to dig a nest in which to lay an average of 70 eggs. The opportunity to witness this miracle of nature is strictly controlled with limited tickets issued daily, but the moment when the mother turtle appears is breath-taking and there’s a reassurance to be found in watching her replicate what turtles have been doing on this beach since time began.

The tourist hub of La Fortuna is home to Costa Rica’s youngest and most active volcano, Volcan Arenal. It’s currently quiet – last erupting in 1968 – but the surrounding old lava fields attest to its volatility. A one-night stay at The Springs Resort & Spa gives beautiful views to this sleeping giant, where smoke swirls at the summit – a reminder of what bubbles below. Take a dip in the hot, mineral-rich springs, then swing in the hammock on your private terrace to watch hummingbirds zip from flower to flower in search of nectar. If you’re inclined to be as busy, this is Costa Rica’s epicentre for zip-lining and rafting.