Jungle of Costa Rica | Rainforest Night Tour | nearby Puerto Viejo

Discover the real lush jungle of Costa Rica during the rainforest night tour in the Bananito jungle, close to Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, and Limón.

You will encounter the natural lush Wildlife, and in a couple of days, if lodges are available, make the adventure fabulous, an enriched experience of your life.

When darkness falls over the Caribbean foothills in the jungle of Costa Rica, lots of nocturns awaken. Walking around in the wilderness now gives an entirely different feeling..

Some feel scared; others are more excited by what may be discovered. It is when the Kinkajou (night monkey) goes after small coconuts, Sloths stop lingering, and Owls fly around. Sound starts to change and intensify. You can hear a lot more Frogs, Toads, and other Critters. By their eye reflex, we can spot them and then take pictures.

This experience is more intense than the night tour in Cahuita. ‘So it boots on time’.

We can best start around 9 pm from bar ‘Monterrey’ in Banaga, the tiny village 3 miles from upstream Bananito. Then we cross the river to our jungle and farm.

Duration

Approximately: 2,5 hours.

What to bring with you

Closed footwear, swimsuit, mosquito spray. Long sleeves and take rain cover with you.

Our Tour guides

Our guides are genuinely local and experienced tour professionals. They harbor a sincere and profound passion for nature and wildlife, deeply respect Costa Rican culture, are thoroughly prepared, and are licensed by the ICT (Costa Rican Tourism Institute). They will love to show you through Jungle, Nature, and Wildlife Bananito has to offer.

Pricing

For pricing, see the shop product page and the “Additional Information” Tab; minimum group size [adults] = two persons. For youngster discounts, visit the product page!

What is included

The use of Flashlights, and course, a very experienced and dedicated local tour guide. Chocolate which is made from organic cacao and fresh fruits.

Optional

We have different lodges, with water and electricity, and some accommodations for groups [for fit people].

Lodges, if available, are priced upon request. Nothing is more natural than waking up in the lush nature of Bananito, and we can provide healthy local Costa Rican breakfast and meals on request.

If you want to stay in our Lodges, bring with your overstay equipment, like a toothbrush and some clothes.

Finca van Maare is located close to the local village of Bananito, away from the tourist track. First, you have to follow the Bananito river upstream, where nature takes the overhand.

After 3 miles there is a tiny village Called Banaga where most people live from their farms and there is practically no tourism. The local bar ‘Monterrey’ is our meeting point, from there we cross the river.

Now you have reached the property of Finca Taykü Land of our neighbor Johnnie Abrahams.  Finca van Maare, is 1 mile, located further inland and upwards the Bananito River. The Finca’s are a true ‘green paradise’, reaching from the edge of the river till deep into Primary Rainforest.

You can come with your own transportation. Upon request, we also can arrange this service.

Walking through the dense jungle of Costa Rica on the hills of Bananito during the rainforest night tour is not a ‘child splay’ nor for people that fear spiders and bats. This jungle night tour hike in the lush jungle of Costa Rica is for travelers that want to experience a true nocturnal ecosystem.

When the evening comes to Bananito Hills, near Puerto Limon, Cahuita, and Puerto Viejo, many animals awaken, go forage, or find a mate. This is the time for owls to screech through the sky and frogs to call their mates.

A place and time we have to be careful, not only for our own safety but also not to disturb Wildlife.

Thanks to the conservation of our lands, there is lots of nightlife to uncover many rare species in rural areas that have gone extinct.

We do not hunt or kill the snakes; some we relocate. We do not use pesticides or other chemicals contaminating the soil and water. Though the animals are not stacked together as in a zoo, we must search for them; who knows what we will find?

Practically any animal that belongs to this ecosystem, lowland tropical Caribbean slope, is on the list. You can think of the red-eyed leaf frog (Agalychnes), Kinkayou, or Tepesqintle (wild boar); probably the most famous is ‘Mata Hue’ or Bushmaster Snake.

It is a good chance to see animals closer up while they do not expect us in the dark; take lots of pictures of a sleeping Jesus Christ lizard or Tarantulas we found by their eye reflex.

Along the trail, there is much more to stumble into, a promising adventure for the ‘brave.’ We can use the Bar Monterrey as our meeting point, where you can park the car. We cross the river to step into another ambiance of our jungle domain.

Usually, we start with Johnnies Rancho (my neighbor and good friend). He is always very hospitable. I am sure we will get a hot drink and some conversation. The next 3 hours, depending on our flashlights, to find our way and anything crossing it. From his garden area, we track through an old cacao forest mixed with secondary growth.

We pass by a couple of man-made Iguanas, too, and shine our lights across to see spectacled caimans’ eyes reflect the light. I made a nice route through pioneer forest along the riverside up the hill to thicker rainforest and my own place so that we can find the max amount of species that have adapted to life in the dark.