The charmingly named Uvita is a small village on the southern Costa Rican coast in Central America and is home to a breathtaking diversity of natural sights. A relaxing destination for both visitors, locals, and expats, Uvita is a great place to explore the country’s coastal rainforest, wildlife, and ocean.
The village is very close to the Marino Ballena National Park to head out on whale and dolphin watching tours. Between the months of December and April you can find humpback whales traveling here to mate, which is where the reserve earns its name of the ‘Whale Marine National Park’. This is also a great place to watch hawksbill and other turtles between the months of May and October when they visit the beach to make nests protected by the park boundary.
Uvita is also the choice for a less crowded tropical beach destination complete with iconic palm trees and beautiful white sand beaches. Enjoy beach walks, swimming, snorkelling, and scuba diving to find fantastic wildlife and views. Kayaking is also a great experience to explore the mangroves and riverways for contrasting and fascinating environments. There are many trails around the village where you can head out to find beautiful waterfalls either on walks or horseback. Horse riding is a favorite activity to explore the mountains and trails where you can enjoy incredible coastal views.
Some of the favorite attractions of the Uvita region include the famous whale tail beach and Caño Island. The island is much loved known among divers and snorkelers for its fantastic wildlife protected by the Caño Island Biological Reserve.
About 15 km off the Costa Rican coast, the island is in the top two of Costa Rica’s dive sites, second only to Cocos Island. Enjoy a diversity of colorful fish, grouper, eels, hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, rays, including giant manta rays, and the humpback and pilot whales.
Corcovado National Park then offers the land equivalent of the marine park. Corcovado is one of the most wildlife diverse protected areas on Earth and is thought to contain 5% of the world’s animals and plants. Enjoy exploring Central America’s old growth rainforest and cloud forest in one of the world’s most biodiverse areas. Corcovado protects many animals and plants, including close to 400 species of birds, 120 different mammals, such as 4 species of monkey, including squirrel monkeys and capuchins, as well as sloths, otters, anteaters, and over 100 amphibians and reptiles. This is a great place to stand a higher chance of seeing rarer wildlife, including harpy eagles, jaguars, puma, tapir, and the colorful macaws.
Intro to Rancho Pacifico
Our recommended choice for a very comfortable boutique accommodation near Uvita to experience Costa Rica’s rainforest and coast is the Rancho Pacifico Lodge. This award-winning lodge provides a very comfortable base to explore the surrounding region. With wonderful views of the pristine tropical wilderness perched on the mountainside, enjoy a variety of exciting activities and tours or simply choose to relax in your comfortable suite and enjoy the lodge spa, fantastic restaurant, bar, and outdoor jacuzzi.
Including a variety of suites and villas, such as ocean view vacation villas, treehouse hideaway villas, spa suites, and pool villas, choose your preferred accommodation suited to your requirements. Relax in the natural gardens and choose from many hiking trails that leave straight from the lodge grounds with rainforest and wildlife right on your doorstep.
Located close to the Corcovado National Park and only minutes to 13 different beaches, this is a great base to explore the region and is in the middle of some of the highest diversity. Also, because of its mountainside location, there are no mosquitoes to worry about compared with the lower areas.
Enjoy fantastic organic dishes with casual fine dining being part of the experience. Savor some of the best examples of tropical cuisine to explore a diversity of Latin American, Asian, and Mediterranean inspired foods. The region is perfect for growing some of the most succulent fruits, flavorful spices, and delicious vegetables sourced for your meals. Breakfast and lunch are then ala carte – and equally creative, healthy and delicious. You can enjoy a cocktail with your meal prepared with the freshest ingredients or wait to enjoy the bar before bed.
From Rancho Pacifico, you can then explore the region on a variety of tours and activities. Fantastic hiking awaits you with a variety of trails to see colorful butterflies, fantastic scenery, a variety of birds, and other plants and animals. Enjoy exploring the region on foot or horseback or choose for fantastic wildlife viewing on our “National Geographic Tour.” This is also a great base for whale watching and offers the best area for whales in Central America. To give an example of regularly seen wildlife near the lodge, you can expect to see three types of monkeys, sloths, jaguarundis, anteaters, tree frogs, tapir, toucans, eagles, parakeets, parrots, and more.
About the Author: Ash Card is a frequent visitor to the Tropics and has a passion for helping visitors get the best experiences from tropical locations. Ash is a contributor to both TourTheTropics.com and ThinkJungle.com writing about tropical destinations, rainforests and wildlife. Feel free to contact Ash for tour help in the tropics. When not helping tourists with tours and info, Ash can be found salsa-ing the night away or posing near waterfalls.