© 2018 Ocean Forest Ecolodge
The Osa Peninsula located along Costa Rica’s Southern Pacific coastline is a world premier tropical nature destination. The region is second in highest biological diversity on the planet renown for an abundance of birds and wildlife. Towering rainforest canopy trees, a pristine ocean and paradise beaches, mangrove estuaries and freshwater rivers is why visitors come from the world over, donned by National Geographic as “the most biologically intense places on earth.” A place we endearingly call, “The Little Amazon by the Ocean.”
Ocean Forest Ecolodge is a nature lovers paradise situated along a people friendly wilderness beach just south of Drake Bay and within walking distance of Corcovado National Park. The region is home of one of the last great stands of Central American tropical rainforests. Breathtaking untouched scenery, large expanse of rainforest wilderness, undeveloped country, secluded paradise beaches and abundant bird and wildlife is what you’ll find here.
There are miles of hiking trails and plenty of complementary activities you can do on your own while here as well! Arriving here is arriving to the pulsating heart of tropical nature itself! Many visitors enjoying soaking up the peace that permeates deeply this secluded nature sanctuary. Visitors also enjoy nature excursion to nearby Corcovado National Park or the Caño Island Oceanic Reserve for snorkeling or scuba diving. They renew themselves at the breathtaking Goddess Jacuzzi or appreciate a horseback ride to a giant Ceiba tree.
Located plumb on a remote mile-long, coconut laden beach, the property is situated looking out over the sparkling Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by botanical gardens and rainforest. There is no road along this beach and arrival is upon a 20-minute walk, a phenomenon that adds to the exquisite tranquility and abundance of wildlife. Our beach is a nesting site for three species of marine turtles. It is a nature sanctuary, abundant with Scarlet Macaws. Where Crab-eating Racoons, Coati-mundi, Tamandua, Tayra, Tapir, White-faced Capuchin, Howler and Spider Monkeys can be often seen. Where the Crab-eating Hawk, Greater Caracara, Grey-necked Wood Rail’s, Chachalacas, Toucan’s, Amazon Parrot’s, Tiger Heron and Great-blue Heron, Woodpeckers, Tanagers and many other colorful birds sing and freely live.
The Mesoamerican rainforest is a hotspot of mega biological diversity. Surrounded by thousands of acres of protected rainforest wilderness, the property borders the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve and the Punta Rio Claro Wildlife Refuge and is in close proximity to Corcovado National Park. This specific region has gallery rainforest with the tallest canopy trees registered in the entire neo-tropics! Trees here can reach a towering height of up to 60 meters, that’s 200 feet! Some prominent rainforest trees of the region are incense trees such as Guapinol, Camibar and Copal trees. Latex bearing trees such as the Vaco and the Chicle tree. Elegant and tall Cedro Bateo, Manu, Chiricano, Masicaran, Aceituno, Caraño, Amarillón, Burillon and Manglillo trees, as well as the mighty Ceiba tree, believed to represent the Tree of Life, here reach for the sky evolving Heaven on Earth.
The ocean here is safe for swimming most of the time, and picturesque San Josecito cove, a mere 20-minute walk north, offers a calm swimming beach with the best snorkeling aside from the nearby Caño Island, that is a scuba divers paradise! The Caño Island, known by the ancients of this land as the “Floating Butterfly,” can be seen as if “floating” in the sparkling ocean before the Ecolodge Retreat. This mysterious island was a sacred site of antiquity and is engulfed in a rich oral tradition and a mysterious past.
A walk north along this pristine coastline leads to the green Rio Claro, with idyllic pools fresh for swimming and canoeing, and the wave at the river’s mouth is a surfer’s favorite. Further north, at the Sierpe River there is the Violines Island that is surrounded by a giant mangrove estuary, an important area for fish spawning. The Corcovado coastline to our south is a wilderness stretch of profound beauty and oceanic marine diversity, rich in a vast array of marine and ocean life where Brown boobies, Frigate birds and Pelicans can be seen. Flying fish, Blue Jackfish, Rooster fish, Dolphin Fish and Parrot Fish are just some of the many species of fish that inhabit these waters. White-tipped Reef Shark, Bull Shark and the majestic Whale Shark here live. Sea turtles such as the Olive Ridley, Hawksbill and Pacific Black/Green turtles live and breed off these diverse and rich waters, among many more species of oceanic life.
The blessed waters of this coastline are among the richest on earth for whale and dolphins. Dolphin tours often come across mega pods of thousands of Spinner Dolphins, as well as families of Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin and the playful Pseudo Orca. Humpback whales come to give birth here and rear their cubs. Between August ~ October arrive the Southern Humpback whales, then from October ~ December arrive the Northern Humpbacks. During these months one can listen to their calls while swimming in the waters as their songs travel for hundreds of miles through the ocean, an auditorium of the Cetaceans where dolphins and whales play and sing!
Here is a graph of average annual rainfall and temperatures through the year for the Osa Peninsula. The Data is from Terry Conroy and Katya Ballanero Quesada studies at the Lookout Inn near Carate, Osa Peninsula Costa Rica.
| Month | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
| Max (F) | 91 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 89 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 90 |
| Min (F) | 72 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
| Max (C) | 32.7 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 32.7 | 32.2 | 31.6 | 31.6 | 31.6 | 32.2 | 31.6 | 31.6 | 32.2 |
| Min (C) | 22.2 | 21.6 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 22.2 | 21.6 | 21.6 | 21.6 | 21.6 | 21.6 | 21.6 |
| (inches) | 6.3 | 5.7 | 8 | 11 | 18.9 | 17.5 | 18.9 | 20.9 | 22 | 27.7 | 22.3 | 11.6 |
| (mm) | 160 | 145 | 203 | 280 | 480 | 445 | 480 | 531 | 559 | 694 | 566 | 295 |
Source: http://www.lookout-inn.com/weather-rainfall-lookout-inn.php
