Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge

Overview

Description

Beneath towering Pacific clouds, rolling surf laps the shore of southwestern Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, wetting the toes of a pristine primordial jungle. From this white sand and rock-strewn shoreline to the cloud-brushed peaks on the eastern horizon stands the tallest rainforest in all of Central America. This is Corcovado National Park -- protecting 41,788 hectares (103,216) acres of fresh water lagoons and swamps to cloud forest.

Constrained within this tropical wilderness is an immense bio-diversity. Braced by impressive wall-like buttresses fanning outward across a darkly shaded forest floor, rainforest giants centuries old stretch skyward upon massive trunks, wrapped in woody vines and leafy climbers. In the lowlands stands of giant cashew trees impart a cathedral-like magnificence.

Caño Island Biological Reserve is located 16.5 km (10 miles) off the western coast of the Osa Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of 300 hectares of land and 5,8000 hectares of protected marine reserve.

The country's Pre-Columbian inhabitants, who buried their chiefs there,and left behind important artifacts, considered Caño Island, a biological reserve near Corcovado National Park, to be sacred. Today, the crystalline waters that wash against its cliffs and beaches hold the marine life that draws divers from far away. Caño Island is a fully protected natural paradise with an exceptionally beautiful reef bordering its shores. With depths ranging from 15 to 70 feet, these reefs offer an incredible diversity of fish life and marine creatures, including mantas, whitetip reef sharks, whale sharks, and schools of jacks and sea snakes.

Rooms

14 bungalows

Making a Difference

Number of employees: 50

Percentage of local employees: 90%

Eco-design:

• Following the walkways, you will find intimate individual bungalows nestled in a green sanctuary of natural beauty that ensure the privacy that our guests require. The bungalows at Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge are designed to optimize the natural circulation of air with large louvered windows let in the tropical breezes.

Energy:

• Casa Corcovado since its beginning in 1994 has tried to be an example of responsible and sustainable tourism. We have made great efforts to show that alternative energy sources can be practical and are the best option for remote locations. Our solar electric system using photovoltaic panels may have higher start up cost but in the long run is more economical and is non-polluting.
• The micro-hydroelectric, "Pelton Wheel" turbine, that we use to produce a good part of our energy is very cost efficient and does not alter stream flow to any considerable extent. We use a very unusual type of "Induction Generation" that uses an electric motor as a generator, an interesting idea for rural communities. It has worked flawlessly for over 10 years.
• Some of our bungalows get their hot water from a hybrid solar convection and propane gas heater system and the others from propane gas heaters. Propane gas is a by-product of oil drilling and burns very cleanly.
• Many of our refrigerators also burn propane gas, equipment that is imported from Brazil.

Ecological sustainability:

• The lodge is working on our new systems to compost organic material and recycle non-organic materials.
• We created ''Ecological Islands''-- re-cycling points -- to encourage the proper disposal of solid waste.
• We financed the building of a recycling center in Sierpe, collaborating with the local high school. The center can handle all of the recyclable materials from the hotels and communities in the area and the earnings from this project go to help the school. Currently all our aluminum and glass in being recycled.
• Part of our ''Working with Nature'' program is our policy to wash guest bed linens every three days and towels when our guests feel it is needed, This practice can save large quantities of detergent and literally thousands of gallons of water.

Conservation and communities:

• The hotel is actively working on two different programs of sustainable tourism, one with a non-profit organization, the Rainforest Alliance and another with the Costa Rica Tourist Board. This entails managing education programs in many different areas including best practices in sustainable tourism and environmental protection, emergency response and first aid, handling of solid waste and recycling, and imparting information on protected areas and the socio-cultural realities of our communities.
• We have been involved in many projects to support the National Park and local communities over the years. The owner of Casa Corcovado is the co-founder and president of the non-profit Corcovado Foundation. He felt that "Eco-Tourism" had to move to become more pro-active and to take a lead in protecting the environment. With the support of other lodge owners, the local community and international conservation organizations' impressive results have been achieved. The Corcovado Foundation has taken a hands-on approach and is currently managing over 12 programs in the Osa Peninsula. Much work still needs to be done to preserve the natural heritage of Corcovado for future generations. If you would like more information on the Corcovado Foundation please see the web site: www.casacorcovado.com.

We invite you to visit the ''Green Corner'' located in the ''Salon Corcovado'' where our information board is located. You will find interesting news and articles about Costa Rica's and Casa Corcovado's efforts to protect our precious Natural Heritage.

Rates

$150 and up

For more information about rates, please visit:

• www.casacorcovado.com/EN/rates_packages/index.php (available in English and Spanish).

Getting There

Nearest international airport: San José (SJO)

Nearest local/national airport: Palmar Sur

Travel time to nearest airport: 25 minutes

Additional Information

Date This Information Was Provided

August 2010.

Photos courtesy of Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge, Costa Rica, for SustainableTrip.org.

• Casa Corcovado