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As someone who has visited this beautiful country 14 times in the last 3 years, I am not surprised by this outcome, but my hope is that travelers choose to visit in ways that help the local communities and surrounding environments. What began as an operation 30 years ago as a campground to help rafters have a place to sleep along the Pacuare River at night, to now hosting travelers on authentic Costa Rica travel experiences throughout the entire country.
When it comes to ecotourism in Costa Rica, there are a few lodges who are considered the pioneers. One of them is Pacuare Lodge , a unique lodge where guests are provided an opportunity to whitewater raft into and out of the property. Beyond the amazing adventure activities, what truly makes Pacuare Lodge are the people behind it. Founded in , it has been built up to the Virtuoso level and is an inspiration for other luxury adventure lodges around the world.
Böëna Wilderness Lodges officially began in , but their history as a hotel collection dates back from humble beginnings more than 30 years ago.
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Roberto Fernandez, the owner of Pacuare Lodge and now Böëna Wilderness Lodges, opened Pacuare Lodge in on the Pacuare River, actually known as one of the top 10 rivers in the world for white water rafting according to National Geographic. Roberto envisioned the Pacuare Lodge as a place where he could share the extraordinary uniqueness and biodiversity that surrounds the Pacuare River while going on rafting expeditions.
This is an example of what Pacuare Lodge began as, a few bungalows with no hot water or electricity, but a place to rest your head at night and enjoy the sheer beauty of this place. Same bungalow format as the original, but now with running hot water and electricity operated by solar energy. The land was purchased from a local farmer who had cattle on the property and was unfortunately destroying the forest.
Roberto saw this as an opportunity to save the forest through ecotourism, but to also offer the locals a way to earn a living without harming the biodiversity of this unique region.
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Once Pacuare Lodge was purchased and ready for operation, they placed a few raised platforms with overhead covers on the property for guests to sleep on. Eventually, they bought more land and grew Pacuare Lodge into a Virtuoso property formerly part of Nat Geo Unique Lodges of the World as well for travelers from all over the world to come visit. Still to this day, the Cabecar indigenous community borders the hotel and guests can meet members of the village by hiking with an expert, in-house guide from Pacuare Lodge, or by meeting one of the Cabecar staff members at Pacuare.
A few of the current Pacuare Lodge guides who have a lot of history working with this unique property.
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On the left is Ananias, who is part of the neighboring Cabecar indigenous community, and Luis on the right grew up exploring Pacuare Lodge since his father was one of the first employees. They have seen the forest expand throughout their lifetime and love telling guests how wildlife has continuously been thriving since Roberto and his family purchased the property.
Through their hard work and perseverance, Pacuare Lodge has remained one of the top eco-lodges in all of Costa Rica. In , they were presented an opportunity to acquire Lapa Rios , another lodge in Costa Rica known for being one of the best eco lodges in the world — which was also part of Nat Geo Unique Lodges of the World, but managed by Cayuga Collection at the time.
The owners of Lapa Rios wanted to ensure that it was sold to someone who was going to not only maintain their sustainability practices, but who would advance it as well. The vision of having a cluster of emblematic lodges in amazing destinations was achieved once they brought Lapa Rios, Monteverde, Tortuga Lodge to join Pacuare Lodge. Now, Böëna Lodges is locally owned by the Fernandez and Loeb families.
Originally, we represented Lapa Rios with Cayuga Collection, but once they sold to Böëna we continued working with them and eventually were honored to add Tortuga Lodge and Pacuare Lodge. After Lapa Rios was purchased, more opportunities to acquire eco-lodges in Costa Rica followed.
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Local guide at Lapa Rios happy to be guiding again after months of no guests during the Covid Pandemic. Boena Wilderness Lodges Timeline:. Recononstruction During the Pandemic. Once the pandemic began in March of , Böëna Wilderness Lodges was put into a tough position. However, instead of looking at the negative side of things, they took the opportunity to make major renovations which is why all of the properties are at the luxury level of Pacuare Lodge currently.
When visiting these lodges, its inspiring to talk to staff members who have been working there for decades and are so passionate about Costa Rica.
They make guests feel like family and are some of the most welcoming people you will ever meet. This money goes directly to programs that each hotel supports or has created. This is the main source of the budget. The Conservation Fee helps to make those projects more ambitious. On weekends or special occasions, the kids will come perform at Tortuga Lodge.