the Natural History Tour (approx 3 hours) at Curi-Cancha was hands down my favourite experience in all of Costa Rica. at the time of visit, there were 8am and 1pm tours daily for US$45 (incl. US$20 park entry). we booked this tour in advance with the reserve on WhatsApp (thanks for the advice Guadalupe!) and highly recommend it if you’re looking for an all-encompassing tour for flora and fauna found on the trails. not only did we luck out with our guide David Madrigal, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable naturalist with a specific interest in birds, but also essentially got a private tour since it was only two of us that morning. he brought a binoculars and a spotting scope, catering to our varied interests and questions about Costa Rica’s conservation efforts to the ethics of using bird call recordings (often misused and should be limited by the way to avoid changing bird behaviour btw), discovering everything from strangler figs, a resting side striped palm pit viper, to Motmots digging their nests, even taking unbelievably pro ‘Nat Geo’ shots on our phone cameras. we made a whole day out of it and re-entered after lunch nearby. natural regrowth has restored past pastures into the tropical cloud forest it is today; a stunning environment for nature walks, wildlife spotting (we were unbelievably lucky—keel-bill toucans, bungee caterpillar, wild pigs, armadillo, agouti, white-faced capuchins etc.) only occasionally running into other visitors. thanks a lot David and Curi-Cancha for your efforts, PURA VIDA 🌞