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One of the best things to do in La Fortuna, Costa Rica is going to look for sloths. Sloths can be very hard to see for the untrained eye. You might get lucky and spot one, but chances are you won’t. If you really want to see one, you need to go to the Bogarin Sloth Trail in La Fortuna. It’s the best place to see a sloth in La Fortuna.
Bogarin Sloth Trail
The Bogarin Sloth Trail might be seen as a sloth park in La Fortuna, but it is actually a private nature reserve, near the Arenal Volcano. Aside from it being the best sloth trail in La Fortuna, it has a very interesting history.
When you go to see a sloth and other animals nowadays, it looks like a rainforest filled with wildlife. However, just 20 years ago it was a flat cattle farm with no trees, animals, or much of anything else.
The owners of the Bogarin Trail have restored the natural landscape that was destroyed for the cattle farm, which brought back much of the wildlife that originally lived in La Fortuna. You can hardly tell that it used to be a cattle farm, especially with all the frogs, birds, plants, and sloths along the trail.
Location
It is located on the outskirts of La Fortuna along the main road, 142. The Bogarin Sloth Watching Trail is only a 13 minute walk (1.1 km or 0.68 mi) from the park in the center of La Fortuna. The road is safe to walk on too as there is a wide shoulder.
Price
Going on the sloth watching trail at Bogarin will cost $45 per adult and $25 per child. This includes the entrance fee and a bilingual guide with a telescope and binoculars.
You can pay a lower fee to just enter the sloth trail without a guide, but unless you know how to spot a sloth and where to look, you may not see one.
Getting the guide is absolutely worth it. We wouldn’t have seen a single sloth without the guide. Plus, the guides are extremely knowledgable and personable. You will get to know a local, and they can teach you way more about the history, culture, and wildlife of La Fortuna and Costa Rica.
Experience
The experience at Bogarin Trail was absolutely outstanding to say the least. With the guide, we saw about 7 sloths and many other animals.
The guide knew generally where the sloths would be located, so they were easy to see. His telescope and binoculars really helped too. Without them, the sloths and other animals would have been hard to see.
The entire tour of the sloth trail in La Fortuna took about 1.5-2 hours, including a small snack afterwards of freshly cut pineapple.
The trail itself was flat and very easy to walk on. There were no hills or difficult terrain, so it is accessible to most people looking to se a sloth in La Fortuna.
Overall, the experience at the Bogarin Sloth Trail was above and beyond what was expected, and it was so incredible to see so many sloths and learn so much about the Costa Rican wildlife.
Animals Spotted on the Bogarin Sloth Trail
The Bogarin Sloth Trail in La Fortuna in the best place to see sloths in this area of Costa Rica. This private nature reserve is not a sloth park, but rather operates in a responsible, environmentally friendly way to restore and protect the habitats on sloths and other native animals.
The guides are exceptional, and you are guaranteed to see at least one sloth. On top of just seeing sloths and other animals, the guides provide so much more background and history on the animals, wildlife, La Fortuna, and Costa Rica as a whole ensuring you get to know the local culture.
If you want to see a sloth while staying near Arenal, there is one place to go, and it’s the Bogarin Sloth Trail in La Fortuna.
Check out our Travel Planning Services if you are visiting La Fortuna and want help planning other fun things to do!
