Where To See Sloths In La Fortuna Costa Rica
Are you wondering where to spot sloths in La Fortuna? You’re in the right place.
Sloths live in the treetops of tropical rainforests, so La Fortuna is one of the best places in Costa Rica to spot them. However, sloths live high up in the treetops, and are incredibly good at camouflaging, so it’s not that easy to spot them on your own.
This article will cover all of the best ways to see sloths in La Fortuna, from animal sanctuaries to guided rainforest hikes.
Here are all of the best places to spot sloths in La Fortuna with or without a tour.
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Where To See Sloths In La Fortuna
The three main areas to see sloths in La Fortuna are the Bogarin Trail, Sloth Watching Trail, and Sloth’s Territory.
The Bogarin Trail and Sloth Watching Trail are small private nature reserves in downtown Fortuna, while Sloth’s Territory is a family-owned nature preserve located 10 minutes from downtown.
All of these sloth watching trails require a guide, with the exception of the Bogarin Trail, which offers self-guided tours for $20/person. However, it is very difficult to spot sloths on their trail unless you have binoculars or a superzoom camera lens.
On a tour, your guide will use telescopes and/or binoculars, so you’ll have a much better chance of spotting them.
Beyond the sloth watching trails, you can see sloths at Proyecto Asis’s Sloth Sanctuary. This is a small animal shelter that rehabilitates sloths, located 40 minutes outside of La Fortuna.
Here are details on all of the best places for sloth watching in La Fortuna.
Bogarin Trail
The Bogarin Trail is a beautiful private rainforest reserve in downtown La Fortuna that offers self-guided and guided sloth tours. Their trail is 1.5 miles long (2.5km) through the rainforest, and takes around an hour to hike.
Their self-guided tours are $20, and allow you to hike through a portion of the trail. Their guided sloth tours are $45, and last around 2 hours. They also offer night walk tours for $60/person.
I did their self-guided hike and wasn’t able to spot any sloths, but you may be able to if you have binoculars or a telephoto lens.
If you do the self-guided tour and don’t see anything, you can pay an extra $25 to do the guided tour.
On their guided tour, you’ll get to explore more of their nature reserve, and use telescopes to spot sloths high up in the trees.
Sloth Watching Trail (Sloth Park)
The Sloth Watching Trail is another private nature reserve located right next to the Bogarin Trail in downtown Fortuna. There’s a huge colorful “Sloth Park” sign in front of their office.
They offer guided sloth tours ($50/person), combination sloth and coffee tours ($80/person), and night walk tours ($50/person).
I went on a guided sloth tour here and was able to spot two species of sloths, poisonous frogs, owls, and other fascinating wildlife.
The tour was around 1.5 hours, and there was minimal walking. If you want to go on a sloth tour near downtown, I highly recommend this option.
Sloth’s Territory
The Sloth’s Territory is the last popular sloth watching trail in La Fortuna, located just 10 minutes from downtown. This is a private 30 acre family-owned nature reserve that’s home to everything from sloths to treefrogs, monkeys and porcupines.
They offer guided sloth tours ($45/person( that last around 2 hours, and they provide guests with fresh tropical fruit.
Proyecto Asis Sloth Sanctuary
Proyecto Asis is an animal sanctuary that runs a Sloth Rescue Center, where they rehabilitate both two-toed and three-toed sloths.
They offer guided tours ($30/person) of their sloth sanctuary Mon-Sat (8:30am, 10:30am & 1:30pm) that last around 1.5 hours.
If you’re looking for an educational tour or want to learn about rehabilitation, this is a great option.
3+ Hour Sloth And Wildlife Tour
If you’re looking for the most comprehensive tour, Callidryas Tours offers a 3 to 4 hour sloth watching tour.
On their tour, you’ll visit multiple locations through La Fortuna with a naturalist guide, and use telescopes to spot sloths and other wildlife. They provide hotel pickups if needed, and transportation to each location.
Combination Sloth, Coffee & Chocolate Tour
If you love coffee and chocolate, you can book a combination sloth, coffee, and chocolate tour.
Arenal Jungle Tours offers a 3 to 4 hour sloth tour at their farm, where you’ll get to spot sloths, and sample a variety of tropical fruit, chocolate, and coffee.
The Sloth Watching Trail in downtown La Fortuna also offers a combination sloth and coffee tour for $80/person at their cafe.
Their tour lasts 3 hours, and you’ll get to learn about the history of coffee and chocolate production.
Sloth Watching FAQs
What’s the difference between the Bogarin trail and Sloth’s Territory?
The Bogarin Trail is a private nature trail in downtown La Fortuna that offers self-guided and guided sloth tours.
Whereas the Sloth’s Territory is a family owned private nature reserve, 10 minutes outside of La Fortuna, that only offers guided tours.
Both of their guided tours are $45/person, require a short hike through the rainforest, and last 1.5-2 hours. For more details on how they compare, check out our article on the Bogarin Trail vs Sloth’s Territory.
What’s the difference between the Bogarin Trail and Sloth Watching Trail?
The Bogarin Trail and Sloth Watching Trail are two popular sloth watching trails in downtown La Fortuna that offer guided tours.
The Bogarin Trail is the only one that offers self-guided tours of their trail, and their guided tours are slightly cheaper ($45 vs $50).
Additionally, the Sloth Watching Trail offers combination sloth, coffee, and chocolate tours for $80/person.
Do you need a guide to see sloths in La Fortuna?
It’s best to go with a guide to see sloths in La Fortuna because they’re incredibly good at camouflaging. However, you can hike the Bogarin Trail without a guide ($20/person entry fee).
If you have no luck spotting any, you can upgrade to a guided tour for an additional $25. In my experience, it’s extremely difficult to spot sloths without a telescope because of how far they hide up in the trees.
Unless you have binoculars, a telescope, or a superzoom lens, I highly recommend going with a guide!
La Fortuna Sloth Map
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