Monkey Park la Fortuna — Attraction in Florencia

We've been in Costa Rica for about 3 weeks now, and we were looking for something unique to do today away from the crowds. I am so glad that we chose to visit Monkey Park! From the moment we arrived, Guillermo felt like he was a lifelong friend. We arrived at about 9 AM and Guillermo immediately asked if we had already had breakfast or if we were hungry. I told him we had already eaten, but I felt a bit sleepy from getting up early today, so I asked if I could have a coffee. He immediately went to work showing me how to make coffee in the traditional way with a chorreador. He made me an excellent cup of coffee and told us about the place. He told us he expected the capuchin monkeys to show up anytime, but since this is an open reserve, and not a zoo, the monkeys move around as they please. We decided to start our day by going on the jungle walk. The path is about a mile long, but there are shortcuts if you want a shorter experience. It is completely flat, so it is easy to walk, although there may be a bit of mud if it has rained recently. If you were to walk the path at a fast pace you could easily finish it in about 30 minutes; going slowly to observe the wildlife, it usually takes about an hour; we spent about 90 minutes on the trail because we found several howler monkeys, and stayed quite a while to observe them. We've seen and heard a lot of howler monkeys during the past 3 weeks, but this was the closest we've seen them. They were not bothered by us, and went about their normal monkey business. There were howlers of all sizes, including babies. While on the jungle walk, we also saw several poison dart frogs, butterflies, dragonflies, and a lot of birds, including oropendola and parrots. The group that arrived right after us had a professional guide with them who was able to find 2 sloths in the trees over the path that we missed. When we got back from the walk, Guillermo showed us how to make a bunch of tasty treats out of Yuca and plantains. Guillermo also had some rice prepared. The portions were plentiful, and these "snacks" served as our lunch, and kept us full until dinner. After lunch, Guillermo made me another coffee; I told him I didn't want to be a hassle, but he was just so happy to do anything to make us happy. Although we've been in CR for awhile and seen a ton of wildlife, we haven't had much luck finding toucans. Guillermo told us that if we stayed until the afternoon they would show up, and sure enough they did: we saw both yellow throated (the biggest ones) and keel billed (rainbow colored) toucans. Guillermo took us on a tour of the area garden, and gave us samples of cacao fruit (delicious - not at all like chocolate), blackberries, etc. In the end, the capuchin monkeys never showed up, but we had such an amazing day with Guillermo that we didn't even miss them. This was truly one of the best days of our vacation so far! It was such a relaxing., fun, and memorable day! Years from now, you may forget hiking to a waterfall or sitting in a hot spring, but you'll never forget a day at Monkey Park with Guillermo!

We spent over 6 hours here, and we were sad to leave when it was time for us to go. It's hard to find the words to express what makes this place so magical, but once you meet Guillermo,...

If you are in or near La Fortuna, you MUST visit the Monkey Park La Fortuna. It was by far the best and most memorable experience of my entire 10-day visit to Costa Rica, which also included Monteverde and El Coco beach. My friend and I happened to drop in on host Guillermo's birthday, which the crew was celebrating with a homemade cake and to which they readily invited us, as if they'd known us forever. The cake was by far the best we'd ever eaten - soft and spongy, which fresh fruits and a delectable chocolate cream. This cake had been made by assistant host Mariana's mother, whom we did not meet but who clearly wins the prize for cakes. For the tour, Alex was our guide, and he was exceptionally knowledgable, and got so excited as if he was seeing the frogs, ants, coatis and monkeys for the first time in his life. We didn't see a lot of monkeys, hence the name is a bit misleading because the tour is really one of a nature reserve in which you'll get to see all sorts of wildlife, not just monkeys. Of all the tours we took, and all the forests we hiked through, this one was the most pristine one, in which you civilization felt left completely behind and trees, foliage, scent and sounds absorbed you so thoroughly that the experience can only be described as a mystical one. In short, it cannot be rivaled by any other nature walk you might take there. After our tour, Guillermo invited us to a lunch he himself had cooked , yucca and tuna salad with fruits. It was refreshing, delicious, and sustaining. Then he walked a bit more with us in hopes of being able to show us some alligators, but no luck this time. He then helped rinse off our shoes and boots which had sustained their share of mud. Don't miss out on this remarkable experience if you are in Costa Rica...

We wanted to see monkeys and experience some of the incredible wildlife of Costa Rica, and Monkey Park was the perfect way to kick off our adventures. The park is a lovely place to enjoy a short, down-to-earth nature encounter. We saw Moro cariblanco (white- throated capuchin monkeys) within the first few moments, thanks to the incredible and thoughtful staff who seemed to really care about our experience. The nature trail is about 1.5 miles long, with a clear and mostly level pathway. Lots of signage to learn about the wildlife and flora along the way. While we opted to do the self-guided tour, I know the guided tour would have been awesome. At the end we enjoyed some fresh juices and had so much fun feeding plantains to the pizotes. There are picnic tables and bathrooms next to the parking area - perfect to chat with the host and other guests or to enjoy a quick bite.

For mobility concerns- the trail is mostly easy to navigate, with some areas of tree roots that need stepping over. Walking sticks made it so much easier. Families with younger kiddos would likely find it a fun visit, especially if you are able to go slow and take time to observe all the cool things, like ants carrying leaf bits down the trees and across the path. Be sure to bring lots of bug spray. The mosquitoes are serious here, as is to be expected in such a dense and humid environment. We had the...