Nearly 50,000 people entered Corcovado National Park in 2015, but hardly any of the money they spent benefited villagers living on the park's boundaries. Taking visitors on three trails that skirt Corcovado, the Caminos de Osa project aims to realign this dynamic by focusing on community tourism.
Nearly 50,000 people entered Corcovado National Park in 2015, but hardly any of the money they spent benefited villagers living on the park's boundaries. Taking visitors on three trails that skirt Corcovado, the Caminos de Osa project aims to realign this dynamic by focusing on community tourism.
Daniel Allen
Corcovado is the crown jewel of Costa Rica's national park system, covering nearly 42,000 hectares (162 square miles) of lowland rainforest. The largest of Costa Rica's parks, it occupies about one-third of the Osa Peninsula, and is home to a mind-blowing amount of flora and fauna.
Corcovado is the crown jewel of Costa Rica's national park system, covering nearly 42,000 hectares (162 square miles) of lowland rainforest. The largest of Costa Rica's parks, it occupies about one-third of the Osa Peninsula, and is home to a mind-blowing amount of flora and fauna.
Daniel Allen
The elusive ocelot is the third largest of Costa Rica's six wild cat species after the puma and jaguar. With outsized feet, which help it climb trees, its Spanish nickname is mano gordo ("fat hand"). Nocturnal, they prey on everything from small rodents to iguanas.
The elusive ocelot is the third largest of Costa Rica's six wild cat species after the puma and jaguar. With outsized feet, which help it climb trees, its Spanish nickname is mano gordo ("fat hand"). Nocturnal, they prey on everything from small rodents to iguanas.
Daniel Allen
In the past, trapiches, or sugar mills, were used to make a series of sweet products from sugar cane. Yoked oxen or horses rotated wooden rollers, between which the cane was fed to extract juice. On the outskirts of Rancho Quemado, the Trapiche Don Carmen is a contemporary attraction on the Camino del Oro.
In the past, trapiches, or sugar mills, were used to make a series of sweet products from sugar cane. Yoked oxen or horses rotated wooden rollers, between which the cane was fed to extract juice. On the outskirts of Rancho Quemado, the Trapiche Don Carmen is a contemporary attraction on the Camino del Oro.
Daniel Allen
The Osa Peninsula is the only place to see all four of Costa Rica's monkey species. White-faced, or white-headed, capuchins are one of the smartest of all monkeys, with large brains and dexterous hands for manipulating tools. Omnivorous, they have a typical lifespan of about 50 years.
The Osa Peninsula is the only place to see all four of Costa Rica's monkey species. White-faced, or white-headed, capuchins are one of the smartest of all monkeys, with large brains and dexterous hands for manipulating tools. Omnivorous, they have a typical lifespan of about 50 years.
The Osa Peninsula has been one of Costa Rica's largest and most prolific gold-bearing regions for nearly a century. Juan Cubillo Gomez, an artisanal orero (gold miner), runs a gold mining attraction on the Camino del Oro, on the outskirts of Rancho Quemado.
The Osa Peninsula has been one of Costa Rica's largest and most prolific gold-bearing regions for nearly a century. Juan Cubillo Gomez, an artisanal orero (gold miner), runs a gold mining attraction on the Camino del Oro, on the outskirts of Rancho Quemado.
Daniel Allen
Cocoa goes back a long way in Costa Rica. Beans were originally used as a form of currency by native tribes in pre-Columbian times, and continued to be a form of money right up to the 1930s. Part of the Camino del Oro, Rancho Raices is a small-scale cocoa plantation that recently opened to tourists in the town of Canaza.
Cocoa goes back a long way in Costa Rica. Beans were originally used as a form of currency by native tribes in pre-Columbian times, and continued to be a form of money right up to the 1930s. Part of the Camino del Oro, Rancho Raices is a small-scale cocoa plantation that recently opened to tourists in the town of Canaza.
Daniel Allen
Run by American Lana Wedmore, Luna Lodge is one of Costa Rica's most popular eco-lodges, with a fantastic location right on the edge of Corcovado. Wedmore is also founder of the White Hawk Foundation, currently working to extend the park at its southern end.
Run by American Lana Wedmore, Luna Lodge is one of Costa Rica's most popular eco-lodges, with a fantastic location right on the edge of Corcovado. Wedmore is also founder of the White Hawk Foundation, currently working to extend the park at its southern end.
Daniel Allen
The Caminos de Osa aims to redirect some of the tourist dollars that are spent on the Osa Peninsula to villagers and farmers around Corcovado. As part of the Camino del Oro, Fredi and Yansi Rosales Mendes offer accommodations on their farm, Casa el Descanso.
The Caminos de Osa aims to redirect some of the tourist dollars that are spent on the Osa Peninsula to villagers and farmers around Corcovado. As part of the Camino del Oro, Fredi and Yansi Rosales Mendes offer accommodations on their farm, Casa el Descanso.
Daniel Allen
Costa Rica is home to about 1,250 species of butterflies, of which the blue morpho is one of the most spectacular. Adult morphos spend almost all their time on the forest floor. Their bright blue coloring is the result of microscopic scales on the wings, which reflect light with dramatic intensity.
Costa Rica is home to about 1,250 species of butterflies, of which the blue morpho is one of the most spectacular. Adult morphos spend almost all their time on the forest floor. Their bright blue coloring is the result of microscopic scales on the wings, which reflect light with dramatic intensity.
Daniel Allen
On the trail in Costa Rica
CNN  — 

Juan Cubillo Gomez, a veteran orero (artisanal gold miner) on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, is proud of el museo (“the museum”) that takes up one corner of his modest wooden house.

An array of artifacts, ranging from ancient weighing scales to a lump of rock laced with gold-bearing veins, pays testament to the long history of small-scale prospecting in the area. While Gomez feels a strong bond with the jungle surrounding his home, he has always eked out a precarious existence. The life of a Costa Rican orero has never been easy.

“Many people think being a gold miner is a romantic way of life, filled with thrills, riches and adventure,” says the weatherworn 50-something. “Let me tell you, it isn’t. There are still over 200 oreros on the Osa Peninsula, but their lives are unbelievably tough. Most live on the edge of society.”

But thanks to a new community-based tourism initiative, life has recently become a little easier for Gomez and his large family.

The Caminos de Osa, a trio of trails that runs though the heart of the Osa Peninsula, has brought a growing number of tourists to his door. They each pay a small fee to see Gomez pan for gold in a nearby stream, learn about gold mining and enjoy some traditional Costa Rican hospitality.

“As they walk along the Caminos de Osa, people can witness the same fantastic wildlife that exists inside Corcovado,” says Julieta Chan, the initiative’s executive director. “But more than this, they also get to immerse themselves in the peninsula’s traditional culture, and feel that they’ve given something back to local farmers and artisans committed to protecting unspoiled Costa Rican nature.”

Fringe benefits

Located close to the Panamanian border on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, the Osa Peninsula is a mecca for those into wild nature.

Barely twice the size of New York City, it boasts an astonishing 2.5% of the Earth’s total biodiversity.

In Corcovado National Park, which covers a quarter of the peninsula’s land surface, species such as the scarlet macaw, white-headed capuchin, ocelot, jaguar and harpy eagle inhabit a pristine tract of tropical lowland rainforest.

While such amazing biodiversity is a cash cow for Costa Rica, the communities living around the park have yet to really feel the benefit. Nearly 50,000 tourists visited Corcovado in 2015, but hardly any of their tourist dollars trickled down to villagers living outside the park boundaries.

Caminos de Osa, which began operation in late 2015, aims to realign this skewed dynamic.

The initiative’s three hiking trails, which each skirt Corcovado, connect locally owned accommodations and artisanal experiences. This means they can be marketed as destination packages, instead of stand-alone businesses.

“More than 40 grass-roots entrepreneurs based along these hiking trails have now been specially trained,” says Lana Wedmore, an American who sits on the Caminos de Osa’s board of advisers. “People like Juan Cubillo Gomez have been taught things like basic English and accounting. It helps, of course, when the people here are some of the kindest and humblest in Central America.”

Treasures of the trail

Some of the most stunning nature on the planet isn’t the only draw. The Caminos de Osa give hikers a chance to see the Costa Rican way of life up close.

In addition to Gomez’s gold mining, attractions on the Camino del Oro (“Trail of Gold”) include Rancho Raices, a small-scale cocoa plantation, and the Trapiche Don Carmen, a venerable sugar cane mill.

At the latter, hikers pay a small fee to see owner Johnny Rodriguez manufacture a range of dangerously moreish sweet products from locally grown sugar cane.

These include sobado, a highly addictive candy made with peanuts and powdered milk, and miniature mounds of compacted brown sugar, known as tapa de dulce (literally “sweet caps”), which Rodriguez sells for $2 each.

“The Caminos de Osa has helped us to preserve a custom,” says Rodriguez. “All the cane we use is grown organically and on a small scale, so there’s limited impact on the local environment. Nobody involved in this initiative is looking to get rich. We just want a way to live in harmony with nature.”