Rio Perdido
Words Ashley Bowling | Photos Eric Morales & Will Bowling
Further inland, you’ll find a place similar in their attention to detail, yet on a more intimate scale. This is a place with excellent locally sourced food, a community-centric spirit, immersion in nature, and also surrounded by water. This is Rio Perdido.
Rio Perdido’s eco-lodge, with soaring wooden ceilings and exposed trusses in the open-air dining room, is the only building on the property that peeks beyond the rough foliage of the 1500+ acre reserve. Stand-alone bungalows are hidden within a dwarf forest, connected by well-lit paths—each their own private getaway with floor-to-ceiling forest views, some with outdoor showers.
“This was no accident,” says Gabriel Saragovia, founder of Rio Perdido. Coming from a lineage of architects and designers, Gabriel had each of the 30+ bungalows and the main lodge designed to fit within the existing forest’s ecosystem without disturbing their indigenous environments. It’s obvious upon walking the grounds that “life finds a way,” and this eco-conscious team has respected this way of life.
Flowing in perfect harmony with the sounds of howler monkeys and chirping songbirds, two rivers collide below the property perched on a cliff. Hidden beneath the 160-foot deep tree canopies, the masculine energy of Río Blanco and the feminine energy of the peaceful thermal waters flow to eventually intertwine in rhythm. The soothing thermal pools along the rocky river bed vary from hot to warm, perfect for a long, secluded, mineral-rich bath in the forest. A day trip to Miravalles Volcano, Llanos del Cortés Waterfalls, Tenorio Volcano’s Río Celeste, or rafting the nearby Tenorio River are all an adventure seeker’s dream come true.
Adults Only: Rio Perdido welcomes children over 12, and their bungalows are designed to sleep up to three people.
At Rio Perdido, however, the Canyoning Adventure propels guests through zip lines that scale the gorge of the Río Blanco canyon. Blue waters rush below as we glide through the air on cables that begin and end at the lodge without seeing another soul on our voyage. Our group of three has three guides and a photographer to document our thrilling adventure of swinging through the stunning canyon, over suspension bridges, an actual “Tarzan swing,” scaling rock formations, and soaring above tree canopies. If visiting during the rainy season, Río Blanco canyon’s rushing waters offer another thrilling adventure: white water tubing. Their guides help you safely traverse the river on inner tubes through several intense rapids, revealing the canyon’s magic once more.
The local and friendly team at Rio Perdido has thoughtfully curated every detail of the stay, from an elevated dining experience to craft cocktails at the mineral-rich (warm, hot, and cold) pools that connect to the bar and hug the lodge. You can indulge in relaxing activities from cliffside yoga to bird-watching hikes to calming spa treatments. For outdoor enthusiasts, they offer a mountain biking circuit and arguably the best zip-lining experience and white-water tubing adventure in Costa Rica.
