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Outdoor Activities

Hiking	Ballooning	Horseback Riding
Mountain Biking	Bungee Jumping

Costa Rica has enough trails to keep serious hikers stepping for a long time, and the scenery those routes pass ranges from lowland rain forests to brisk mountain valleys. The routes themselves are as varied as the scenery, ranging from invigorating jaunts in the mountains near San Jose to backpacking adventures that lead you into the heart of the country's wilderness.

Nearly all of Costa Rica's national parks have short trails that can be hiked in an hour or two, while others have routes that take the better part of a day to complete, such as the trails to the top of Barva and Rincon de le Vieja Volcanoes. Santa Rosa, Corcovado and Chirripo National Parks have longer backpacking routes, which require several overnights in tents or Parks Service cabins. There are also plenty of well marked hiking trails in the country's growing number of private reserves.

For some people, a flight in a hot air balloon is a dream they've had for years, for others, it's something they've never even dreamed of. But for many visitors to Costa Rica, that dream has become a reality. And in Costa Rica, the excitement inherent in ballooning is complemented by unforgettable landscapes and close exposure to tropical nature.

Balloon flights have been offered to visitors for the past three years, with three possible flight routes to choose from. The Naranjo flight -- the only one that can be done from a San Jose hotel -- takes passengers over coffee fields, farms and scenic towns as on the slopes of Poas Volcano. The San Carlos option heads over a private rain forest reserve, where the balloon floats slowly through the tree tops past flocks of parakeets, toucans and troops of monkeys. The third option is a flight down the verdant Reventazon River Valley, over churning rapids and patches of wilderness. Multi-day packages can be offered. They combine ballooning with a variety of other outdoor diversions, such as rafting and mountain biking.

There are opportunities to go horseback riding almost everywhere in the Costa Rica, and climbing onto the back of a spirited equine can be a wonderful way to spice up your vacation. The selection of horseback excursions ranges from morning trail rides in the mountains above San Jose, which get you back to your hotel in after lunch, to all-day expeditions through the rain forest that will leave you walking like John Wayne.

Though you might not associate it with a tropical country, Costa Rica has quite a cowboy culture. The tradition is primarily based in the province of Guanacaste, one of the first parts of the country to be settled by the Spanish, where vast cattle ranches cover rolling hills and forest-draped volcanoes tower above it all. Nevertheless, mountain resorts and nature lodges located all over the country offer horseback excursions, which can head through pastures, tropical forests, or down beaches, and often stopping at waterfalls and swimming holes.

Horseback tours are also excellent opportunities for bird watching and getting close to timid wildlife, and the people who lead them often have eagle eyes peeled for interesting critters.

With its countless kilometers of dirt roads and paths traversing a variety of terrain, Costa Rica has enough mountain biking routes to keep a serious biker rolling for years. But you need neither be an enthusiast nor willing to deal with the hassle of dragging a bike along as luggage to enjoy the sport there. Mountain bikes can be rented at most resort towns, and several local companies offer mountain bike tours of the country's less visited areas, many of which are mellow enough for people who haven't been on a bike for years.

A good selection of one-day tours head out of San Jose to nearby attractions, such as Irazu and Poas Volcanoes, and the inspiring Orosi Valley. A more strenuous day of pedalling takes you through the forests of El Rodeo, a protected area near Ciudad Colon. There are also multiple-day mountain bike tours, which range from a two-day exploration of the area around Arenal Volcano to a six-day tour of the Osa Peninsula. Bikers who bring their own wheels will find no shortage of routes in Costa Rica. The southern Nicoya Peninsula, which is crisscrossed by sparsely travelled dirt roads, is the perfect region for mountain-bike touring, as is the southern Pacific Coast, especially the area around the Golfo Dulce.

Without a doubt, bungee jumping is one of the all time great adrenaline rushes. In fact, it's practically an adrenaline overdose. To most observers, it may seem like sheer lunacy, but at the heart of that act of madness is an opportunity to conquer your own fear, and in doing so, gain strength and self confidence.

Unless you've got heart condition, or some serious problems with your back and neck, you should be able to bungee jump with no fear of injury. Jumps should always be supervised by a trained jump master, and all equipment must be up to international standards. In Costa Rica, jumps are done from the "viejo puente sobre el Rio Colorado," an old bridge that spans a 300-foot-deep gorge located about half an hour west of San Jose. Jumps are usually done Saturday and Sunday mornings, but they can be arranged at other times for small groups. The jumps are done with 100-foot bungees, which means jumpers have dropped about 200 feet when the chord stretches to its limit.