5 Reasons to visit Hacienda Guachipelín during the Green Season!
Guanacaste, Costa Rica´s north-western province, is beautiful any time of the year, but the Green Season brings some additional thrills, colors, and adventures that make it an excellent time to visit. While the beaches retain their white sand and refreshing turquoise water year-round, the mountains and inland bring new sights, sounds, and experiences to the Nicoya Peninsula that make it visit-worthy. Let´s explore five reasons to visit Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín during the Green Season.
Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín sits on the slopes of the majestic Rincon de la Vieja Volcano on the Guanacaste Volcanic Mountain Range. This impressive collection of volcanoes and mountains that work their way down the center of Costa Rica in the form of a backbone holds endless close-to-nature experiences on its forest-laden edges. This beautiful property replicates the traditional Guanacaste homestead with the comforts and conveniences of a modern hotel.
The spacious, well-appointed suites, the ”farm-to-table” gastronomy, and the wellness experiences are complemented by the renowned range of adventure activities that allow nature-lovers and thrill-seekers to enjoy nature from a myriad of perspectives. Every day is unique thanks to the ever-changing sights and sounds of the dry tropical forest. When the Green Season begins around mid-May, further transformations occur within the forest where the multiple hues of green burst through the dry-season hazels.
So, from mid-May through to mid-November, the Costa Rican skies grace us with daily afternoon showers that refresh, renew, and reinvigorate the air, the forest, and life. Known as the Green Season, the transformation it creates in Guanacaste is particularly evident thanks to the warmer and drier climate it lives during the other half of the year, where it receives little to no rain. A land of contrasts in more ways than one!
The contrasts that the dry, tropical forest on the slopes of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano undergoes in the Green Season are beautiful and exciting! Let the journey begin to explore why the Green Season is a fabulous time of the year to visit Hacienda Guachipelín!.
More waterfalls during the Green Season
1. Waterfalls are flowing
With rain comes more water filling the rivers, canyons, and flowing waterfalls that sweep down into natural pools inviting you to swim and explore them. Rincon de la Vieja has several impressive waterfalls that can be reached on foot or by horseback, and after a walk or ride through the forest, a dip in the pristine pool at the foot of the waterfall is a welcoming treat.
With its 25-meter drop, the Oropendola Waterfall is just a short walk away, and its pool is a beautiful turquoise color that contrasts the gushing white water falling from the canyon top. For the more adventurous, why not do some rock climbing, rappelling next to a waterfall, and then Tarzan swing into the pool below? This becomes even more adventurous in the Green Season but a true favorite for the adrenaline seekers.
River tubing is much more fun during the Green Season
2. River Tubing
If there is one thing Costa Rica does very well, it is white water rapids, and Rincon de la Vieja is not the exception. Add a tube to the risen water levels from the Green Season rain, and this is an unforgettable ride down the river. Hacienda Guachipelin´s river tubing on the Rio Negro (Black River) is so much fun on the water.
This signature river-tubing experience is 3 miles of Class II and III rapids that will take you down the river on a specially designed river tube raft through peaceful pools and fast waters where you flow with the rhythm of the ride. So, grab hold of the tube handles, sit back, and enjoy the thrills, the spectacular scenery, and the fresh mountain water that will take you down the river.
So green. So beautiful
3. Everything is greener
Green is definitely a beautiful color and even more so when there is a blue sky, shining sun, and tropical flowers to contrast it. After months of dry, rainless days, much of the vegetation changes its shades to hues of gold and brown. For this reason, from mid-November, through to mid-May, this half of the year is fondly called the Golden Season.
As the rain begins, Mother Nature, with her stroke of a brush, begins to paint Guanacaste and Costa Rica lush green, and it is a beautiful sight to see. So, as you hike, zipline, rappel, tube raft, or relax in the hot springs, green will embrace your every move and feeling.
More spaces to enjoy during the Green Seasons
4. Fewer crowds
Guanacaste gets pretty busy during the Northern Hemisphere winter months. As visitors escape the cold and head south to the warmer weather, Guanacaste and Costa Rica are favorites, and rightly so! This is made even more accessible with the convenience of the Guanacaste International Airport with its multiple, direct international flights from the major US hubs and beyond.
As the winter fades, the snow melts and temperatures rise back north, travel to Costa Rica slows down, and the Green Season begins. This translates into shorter lines, fewer hikers on the trails, more lounge chairs around the pool, and higher chances of enjoying the waterfall pool to yourself. Green Season is when you will connect with nature more profoundly as you will find opportunities to be at one with its beauty.
The turquoise motmot is one of six species that birdwatchers can find at Hacienda Guachipelin
5. Birdwatching galore!
Guanacaste is the permanent and temporary home to many birds, so for the avid and amateur birdwatchers, the beginning of the Green Season is an exciting time to view up to 260 bird species that inhabit the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano forests. So, in between catching waterfalls, scaling volcanoes, and tubing white water rivers, enjoy the symphony of bird songs that become music to the ears of enthusiasts and nature-lovers in general.
During the Golden Season, Guanacaste is quite windy, which means bird watching can become challenging as the wind and the rustling leaves can drown out or distort the singing, chirping, and cooing. Whereas, during May and June, when the trees and flowers bloom and burst with colors and scents, view the toucanets, three-wattled bellbirds, curassows, and eagles, among other species, during your exploration of the Hacienda Guachipelin dry tropical forest.
It is said that green symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and the environment. When staying at Hacienda Guachipelin in the Green Season, whether you view the outside forest from your spacious room or explore the tropical forest from above or below, all these meanings will come alive. So, enjoy the greens of Hacienda Guachipelin this season!