Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin is a truly ecotourism lodge for adventure travel and nature lovers.
The hotel is surrounded by lush gardens with native trees, exotic flowers and many types of birds, and it has views to both the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano and the Pacific Ocean. Near the reception area, you will find our corrals, where real cowboys and ranch hands begin working in the early hours each day. Also there are many adventure activities that awaits the adventurer that comes to Costa Rica to do different things like horseback riding, canopy tour, tubing tour on the Rio Negro, and trekking among many other attractions.
Natural hot springs, rivers, natural pools, virgin forests, jungle waterfalls, thermal waters, tropical forests with birds, mammals, reptiles, insects; and volcanic mud pots are just some of the many natural attractions tourists can enjoy during a stay at the Hacienda. In the National Park exist countless attractions, more rivers, waterfalls, baby volcano, boiling mud pools, vapor vents, thermal waters, sulfur springs, a volcanic crater and a lake on the mountain summit.
For the adventurer, there are many activities in the lodge like horseback riding, the Canyon canopy tour, Rio Negro Tubing Adventure, bird watching, as well as trekking to the active craters of the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano. Besides these, there are many trails to explore by yourself hiking or mountain biking. At the park, however, access is only allowed on foot. You can even explore the pools and ponds in the rivers and at the base of the waterfalls with a mask and a snorkel. You can see different lava formations and of course, the bubbling swirl of the waterfall.
Together with its strong involvement in ecotourism, Hacienda Guachipelin continues its traditional work of raising cattle and horses. For over 100 years, it has been a working ranch. Originally founded in the 19th century, it covered from the tip of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano to the Pacific Ocean. In 1975, Tomás Batalla Esquivel, a renowned cattle and pure bred Spanish horse breeder acquired the property. In recent years, don Tomás's children have joined their father in his efforts to further the family legacy.
The hacienda borders Las Pailas section of the Rincon de la Vieja National Park.
The property comprises 1600 hectares of land, of which 700 hectares are set aside for the conservation of the tropical dry forest; 575 hectares are used as pastureland; and 325 hectares are being reforested with species in danger of extinction. The property is bathed by three rivers, Rio Blanco, Rio Colorado in the middle and Rio Negro at the end of the property. The Hacienda starts at an altitude of 400 meters, reaching up to 800 meters.
We are focused on being a self-sufficient community, which uses energy production methods that are ecologically correct. For example, the water heaters use solar energy and electricity is produced by a water wheel. We are currently working on a methane gas biodigestor to feed the hotel's kitchen.
