The differences between Remote Osa and Corcovado National Park
Here’s the scenario: You’re traveling in an exotic land. You’ve got your backpack on and ready to go. Let’s say, for the sake of the example, you happen to be in a jungle. The path goes left or right.
To the right: A friendly guide is waiting to show you different areas all over the jungle. You will likely have these trails and this part of the jungle to yourself. Just you, your group, your guide, and your local host family or eco-lodge. From day hikes, up to 4 days of jungle expeditions, cultural immersion and amazing wildlife encounters. Easy, difficult, relaxing, and adventurous tour options. Night walks where the most desired birds, reptiles, and amphibians in all of Costa Rica could be found. Visit an indigenous village. Eat traditional meals, made from fresh local ingredients. Kayak across the golf, with whales and dolphins, to your private camping area where you’ll have the sunset all to yourself. Stay in jungle eco-lodges, at your local host family’s property or camp in the middle of the forest. Everyday you’ll be supporting the local people and communities and be able to see the land through the local lens, a true to nature and cultural experience.
To the left: In the same jungle with the same flora and fauna, a National Park, where you’ll share the trails with hundreds of daily visitors. In a dormitory set up with shared toilets and showers. Meals at a fixed time each day, in a cafeteria style. Bedtime is after sundown each night.
If you’re traveling for the love of nature, adventure, and a true cultural experience, you’ll be going to the right……this is REMOTE OSA.
With many of these routes and destinations unique to Selva Connections,
Remote Osa is the most authentic, true to nature, isolated jungle experience. Selva Connections proudly works with the local people in these remote areas that will reward visitors with their raw authentic beauty while also giving back to the communities.
In my last blog, I talked about the Osa Peninsula and how to know if this journey and true jungle experience was right for you. Now I want to zoom in on the peninsula, and share why we specialize and created our Remote Osa tours, what makes this experience so much different and personalized from Corcovado National Park, and why it provides a once in a lifetime experience.
Corcovado National Park is a beautiful park and a great place to see wildlife. It’s no wonder it gets hundreds of visitors each day. Because of this, there are a lot of conservation efforts to limit human impact. You will be sharing the trails, cafeteria, and dorm style accommodations with hundreds of other tourists. You and your guide could hit the trails just before sunrise, however you must be back in the station by sunset. Once the sun goes down, dinner is served, and it is prohibited to go back in the jungle for an exhilarating night walk.
In an attempt to spread and balance the human impact, we have created our Remote Osa tour packages. Here are two main reasons why we felt the need for these, and chose to specialize on Remote Osa:
A more authentic and adventurous jungle exploration:
Same jungle, less traveled, local cultural interactions, and opportunity to visit different ecosystems and different forest types.
Remote Osa tours take you to various parts of the Osa Peninsula. From visiting an indigenous village in the north, to Carate, the small town on the ocean, just before entering Corcovado National Park, and many places in between. This takes you through different eco-systems and jungle types, through dense primary and secondary forests, from the highlands of the north to the ocean on the south. Many of these routes and packages are unique to Selva Connections, sometimes making it feel like you have the jungle to yourself. Because of this, you can personalize your experience and choose between many different areas, routes, difficulty levels, and specific interests. From easy to difficult day tours and adventures, to multi day backpacking adventures & expeditions, you could stay at hidden eco lodges throughout the jungle, paddle across the golf, camp on the ocean beaches or in the jungle, and even stay at a local host family's property.
Remote Osa benefits and includes the local people, local communities, and focuses on cultural involvement as part of your jungle adventure.
Corcovado primarily focuses on wildlife. Besides your tour guide, there aren’t really any cultural aspects or benefits.
What I love the most about our Remote Osa packages, is the daily interaction with our local people, community, and culture. Our packages are purposely created to include and empower the local people and community. Each location you will be hosted by a local provider or family; whether visiting an indigenous village, staying in a lodge, or our guest camping areas. Experience Selva’s style of ‘Farm to Table’ as you prepare, cook, and eat traditional meals, made from the fresh local ingredients. At night, explore the nearby private trails on fascinating night walking tours, led by your host expert, where your adrenaline will be on full, trying to find vibrant snakes, frogs, and many other nocturnal animals. During the day, visit private trails and even have a private waterfall all to yourself.
In conclusion: before visiting Costa Rica, it’s important that you determine exactly what you want your jungle experience to be, that you understand exactly what you're getting, and how. If you want your Costa Rica jungle adventure of a lifetime to be personalized, to include the hundreds of thousands of animal and plant species, to include cultural journeys, and support the local communities, the Remote Osa tour packages are perfect for you!
Written by: Mitch Kanter
