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The ride up gives you your first glimpse of pristine virgin rainforest with velvet and feathery leaves of various patterns and textures. The final few kilometres you can get out and walk up to the lodge and the guide points out frogs and snakes and identifies trees and flowers. The forest gets thicker and deeper and then you come to a grassed clearing where the wooden lodge of Rara Avis sits.

You really are in the middle of the rainforest here, completely cut off in a pristine green wilderness. The ethos of this place is to conserve the rainforest in a truly natural environment. There is no electricity, no mod cons, the rooms are basic but clean with hammocks on private balconies, there’s no need to lock the rooms and a convivial atmosphere is encouraged with communal eating in the main lodge building. The food is plentiful and there’s an honesty bar. When you’re not walking around the forest you watch in amazement at the hand sized butterflies and moths in the butterfly house, look at the orchids in the orchid house, swim in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall or play football, Guests Vs the Rara Avis team or just hang out chatting to guests whilst trying to photograph hummingbirds or bats at the feeders or just relax to the sounds of the forest in your hammock!

The naturalists are knowledgeable and friendly and the lodge is even used for biological research, with much more of an array of flora and fauna than we saw in any of the other rainforests we stayed at, including stained glass palms – only found at Rara Avis, walking palms, 250 year old mahogany tree, bromeliads, leafcutter and bullet ants, eyelash vipers, frogs smaller that a one pence piece, coati’s and loads of birds. There are walkways through the forest but again these aren’t like the cleared wide pathways in other rainforests reserves such as Monte Verde. They are natural and very muddy (hence the need for wellies) and on one walk our guide was having to hack his way through the forest with a machete – this was a truly magical and authentic rainforest experience and nothing compared at the other places we stayed at in Costa Rica.

It’s not for the faint hearted though – this is a truly wild experience where you feel at one with nature.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25543 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25112
The bed was gorgeous – so comfy you didn’t want to leave and you could practically float in the bath it was so deep (not so good for water conservation, but there is a shower).

Breakfast is served in a homely country/modern style kitchen where the girls transfer from reception mode to chef / comedian mode – eggs and beans to order (although they were a little taken by surprise that we wanted our beans hot!)

This hotel truly made our stay in South Africa memorable, comfortable and unique with a personal touch often lacking in many hotels.

Cape Heritage is in my top three hotels to stay in the world – stay anywhere else and you’re missing a treat!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25112