Silencio Valley Great Hike   4D/3N   Day 1  You will be picked up at the lobby of your hotel in San José to drive you to Costa Rica’s South-Pacific. Enjoy the stunning views as you are driven along Los Santos Cloud Forest. After a seven hour drive, arrive to Palmar Norte, where you will take a local transfer to La Amistad de Asoprola, an idea in Altamira de Biolley, near the main entrance to UNESCO declared La Amistad International Park. An outstanding feature of this community is the creativity, good taste and artistry with which they incorporate recycling and reusing into all their activities, demonstrating that farming, building, decorating and tourism can be done in an environmentally friendly manner. Have dinner at Soda Arcoiris, a small restaurant which showcases the creativity of Altamira community with its floor to ceiling mosaic work made of broken ceramic tiles and recycled bottles. Most of the produce used in the delicious local cuisine is from the area and 80% organic. Have dinner and overnight at La Amistad Lodge.   Day 2     After an early breakfast, start the hike into La Amistad! Let’s hike! The trek starts at 5 a.m. in order to avoid the heat of the day. It helps to bring a walking stick- it will be your best friend for the 8-hour hike. Because La Amistad is a protected area, you won’t be able to cut yourself a walking stick once you are in the Park. Along the trail you’ll see signs that will tell you the distance from El Refugio. Many hours of work have gone into placing these signs. Our first stop, after two hours, is Casa Coca, where we will take a break and enjoy a light breakfast of fruit, bread and coffee. The path between Altamira and Casa Coca is adorned with wild strawberry and blackberry bushes, and their fruits flourish in the cool climate at this altitude. • Casa Coca: 6175 feet above sea level For many years, Casa Coca was an outpost for a rancher who used the surrounding area for pasture. Today, cattle ranching and deforestation are prohibited. Little by little, the area has recovered and now Casa Coca is surrounded by abundant regenerated forests. The trees around Casa Coca are often visited by the scissortail hawk. After breakfast, we will continue on to Cerro Frantzius. • Cerro Frantzius: 6935 feet above sea level Cerro Frantzius is named after Dr. Alexander von Frantzius of Germany, who, with Carl Hoffman, led several biological expeditions to Costa Rica between 1847 and 1869. They were some of the first scientists to undertake the systematic study of Costa Rican biodiversity. We will take a short break at Cerro Frantzius in order to have energy for our trek to Cerro Quemado. • Cerro Quemado: 7312 feet above sea level Cerro Quemado, or Burned Mountain, got its name after a fire that happened here over 20 years ago. After Cerro Quemado, we will hike through spectacular oak forest, where it is possible to see the Resplendent Quetzal. We will have to walk carefully and silently as we try to spot them in the oldest oaks. We will also hear jilgüeros (brown-backed or clarín solitaires) and bellbirds, and will see many hummingbirds. Spider monkeys have been seen in these forests, as well as the tracks of tapirs and jaguars. One of the most difficult parts of the trail lies before us. We will go up in altitude by 300 meters in only 2.4 kilometers. For this reason, it will be better to rest when we get up the hill. • The Continental Divide: 7312 feet above sea level Here, on Division Ridge, the streams flow down to the Pacific on one side and to the Atlantic on the other. Because of this, we will see that the land takes on the more humid characteristics of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Further ahead, the Río Terbi is a good example ofthe rivers that are protected by La Amistad Park. • Río Terbi: Our arrival at the Río Terbi will indicate that we are getting very near our final destination. This river originates in the forest. The rain that accumulates on the leaves, mosses and other vegetation, runs together, drop by drop, to form the river. It is a living example of the importance of preserving forests as unending sources of water. We will use an andarivel to cross the river. Be careful! The andarivel will keep us from having to cross on the slippery rocks. This area is very special, because quetzals are visible. • El Refugio: our final destination at 8125 feet above sea level After our 8-hour hike, we will arrive at El Refugio and enjoy a delicious lunch. This is a rare experience, to be so far from civilization and so deep in the forest. At night you will hear the sounds of the forest animals. It will be easy to see and hear frogs. The Refugio is in a very moist cloudforest. After lunch, we can look for quetzals and trogons, or just rest, read or play games. Dinner and overnight at El Refugio. Day 3:    6:30 a.m. > Breakfast at El Refugio. 7:30 a.m. > Hike to El Jardín. Only four kilometers from El Refugio, El Jardín is a peat bog, where frequent flooding gives rise to grasses and thickets of many colors and shapes. It looks like a naturally landscaped garden. Very seldom will you see such unique vegetation. We will picnic in El Jardín. In the afternoon, you can hike on nearby trails in search or quetzals or just enjoy the tranquility of this marvellous forest. Dinner and overnight at El Refugio.    Day 4   7:00 a.m. Breakfast 8:00 a.m. Hike back to Altamira This day will be spent returning on the same trail, but this time we will be going downhill! We will make the same rest stops, but we will have more time to enjoy the beauty of the Valle del Silencio trail. Once back at the lodge, enjoy a delicious dinner. Overnight at La Amistad   Day 5     After breakfast, take take a local transportation back to Palmar Norte, where you will join a shuttle transfer. back to San José, or you can continue to Sierpe to start the Corcovado experience! What to bring? • Comfortable hiking boots and extra socks in case your feet get wet • Warm clothing. Temperatures can go into the 30s at 8000 feet • Enough water to keep you hydrated on the 15 kilometer trail. Carbonated beverages if you prefer. • Insect repellent, sunscreen and lip balm. The sun is very strong at high altitudes. • It is not necessary to bring water to drink while at El Refugio, because the water there is pure, clean and cold. Those who do not like to shower in cold water will have to take a sponge bath with warmed water. • There is no electricity at El Refugio, so bring a flashlight. Difficulty level: advanced Included: Bilingual naturalist guide, entrance fees to La Amistad International Park, all meals, lodging and transportation.