Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park in La Fortuna, Costa Rica is a paradise for nature lovers and birding enthusiasts.
In fact, La Fortuna is a birders paradise so I had a fantabulous time hiring a local guide and venturing out in search of colorful feathered friends every morning.
What to Expect at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park?
Mistico Arenal is spread across 250 hectares of stunning rainforests. When we first stepped into the park, along with our experienced local guide Daniel – it was like love at first sight. It started pouring and trust me, a rainforest looks simply breathtaking with the misty canopies and the lush greenery.
Well apart from 16 stunning hanging bridges, you can expect to find a plethora of flora and fauna. Over 350+ species of birds, 120+ Mammals, +250 amphibians and reptiles, and a whopping 700+ plants. With such rich biodiversity, hiring an experienced local guide for your Arenal hanging bridges tour is your best bet to enjoy the park to its fullest.
Tips for Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Hike
Here are few handy tips from my own Mistico Arenal hanging bridges park guided tour –
Spotting wildlife
Always be vigilant and keep your eyes peeled for flora and fauna. Some great ways are to peek under the leaves (for the cute sleeping red-eyed tree frogs), inside holes in tree barks (for Tarantulas), on top of tall trees (for sloth bears and Toucans).
If you know what kind of wildlife you are looking for, you can ask your guide a bit about their habitat and ensure you play a part in actively looking. Rainforests can be very dense it is impossible for one person to spot everything, work as a team and you will accomplish much more.
Go Early
“The early bird catches the worm” – it holds true even more so in the jungles. We were lucky to find a couple who had rented a car for their stay in Costa Rica so we got them with us on the tour and ensured we were the first ones to reach at 6 am, as soon as the park opened.
This was a BIG plus as we were the only ones who spotted a band of around a dozen Coatis scurrying to find shelter from the rain in the parking lot itself. This was also my first time seeing a Coati (from the raccoon family) so I was very excited and went after the lot with my camera.
As soon as we paid the fees and entered, we saw a spider monkey and over 10 different species of Hummingbirds. Our guide himself admitted, he hasn’t spotted a Spider monkey in Mistico in several trips so this was extremely lucky.
Since buses and organized tours start later in the day between 7-9 am, it can get extremely busy at that hour. On our way back, we stopped for a bite and coffee in their restaurant and it was packed to the brim. I would highly recommend a stop there too as the views from the restaurant are unparalleled and you can easily spot raptors in the valley below.
Carry your Rainjacket
It’s a rainforest, duh! Keep your expensive cameras in the car (like we did, unless you have covers) or carry a waterproof bag for your essentials.
Nonslippery footwear
Another thing which I was missing was a pair of good and sturdy non-slippery footwear. Since I was traveling across North and South America for over 3 months, I had packed the bare minimum and was on this Arenal hanging bridges hike wearing my old sports shoes (they might work well on cheap artificial grass but not on slippery rainforest paths). I almost slipped while going to the waterfall so this is something to consider for your trip to Mistico Arenal.
Hire a guide
Hiring a local knowledgeable guide is a big plus. Guides in most parks of Costa Rica won’t charge over $20 per person. It is a small price to pay after spending hundreds of dollars on your air tickets and hotels. You learn about mammal habits, you can also use their telescopes and zoom cameras to take photos and watch your favorite birds and sloths from a distance. There are umpteen reasons I feel hiring a reliable guide (also for security from snakes, tarantulas, etc) in any sort of jungles is an absolute must.
One incident that pops into my head regarding the safety aspect of hiring a guide is from my time in Minca in Colombia when I did a birding tour with Jungle Joe. As we all were looking eagerly up in the treetops for birds, we didn’t even notice that we almost stepped on the most venomous snake in South America.
The snake was well camouflaged and playing dead. Our guide Joe told us he was alive and as he carefully lifted it with a stick and moved it out of the walking path, it suddenly moved and scurried in the undergrowth. That was one of the many instances in nature when I felt like I did a great thing to hire a guide – apart from that, the birds which we saw would’ve never been possible to spot on our own. Guides know the spots and habitat of many species along with bird calls, so always take an expert with you.
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park Information
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park Entrance Fees – Fee is currently $20 for adults, you can see their updated entrance fees and all tours here.
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park Opening Hours – Daily 6am to 4pm
For a guided tour we paid around $15 per person but we also booked as a group and used a local guide who accompanied me on all my birding adventures in La Fortuna.
Pro Tip – You can get in touch with Daniel through his Instagram if you have any questions about birding in and around La Fortuna or if you would like to use his services. I would highly recommend booking your Arenal hanging bridges tour through him.
Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park Map
Have you been to Costa Rica and tried this stunning Mistico Arenal hanging bridges hike? If not, add it to your Costa Rican itinerary now.
This alongside regular visits to Indian jungles in search of the Royal Bengal Tiger, fueled her zest for adventure, nature and wildlife.
Now she is a renowned travel blogger, outreach expert and has worked with over 500 travel brands in the last 15 years.
I’m envious!!! You got to see a coati! They’re friggin adorable; I would have loved to see one.
P.S.: Your suggestion to “work as a team” made me laugh, since I was completely useless. Haha! I’m so airheaded it was a surprise that I was even able to spot the trees on my own!
I know they are adorable – I also saw sloths and Toucans for the very first time in CR. Was so exciting.
LOL Ok we aren’t going birding together hahaha.
I hear so many good things about this place. I am going in two weeks. Can not wait
Wow you will LOVE it. I am so jealous though 🙂 Have fun!