Children’s Eternal Rain Forest: Bajos del Tigre and Pocosol Station

Children’s Eternal Rainforest or Bosque Eternos de los Niños is the largest private reserve in all of Costa Rica with 23,000 hectares (56,834 acres).

However, it surprisingly is also one of the least visited reserves in the country. If you love hiking, nature and off the beaten path places, then you have to go to Children’s.

In this post, you’ll read about Bajos del Tigre and Pocosol station (our favorite) in Children’s Eternal Rainforest.

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Children’s Eternal Rainforest History

The reserve’s name, Children’s Eternal Rainforest comes from the founders, a group of Swedish children who campaigned to gather support from countries around the world to protect this unique piece of land in Costa Rica.

Thanks to them, the Children’s Eternal Rainforest is now an important watershed and houses an enormous variety of flora and fauna.

There are 4 stations in the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Visitors can go for the day or stay over night at Pocosol and San Gerado stations.

The easiest and most accessible is Bajos del Tigre in Monteverde.

Bajo del Tigre Station

Even though it’s the cloud forest, the climate at Bajo del Tigre is considerably drier than the other stations and reserves. They call it a “rain shadow forest.”

Location and Getting There

From Santa Elena town, drive on the road that takes you to Curi Cancha Reserve and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. You can find Bajo del Tigre on Google Maps as “Children’s Eternal Rain Forest Bajo del Tigre.”

Tours

You can visit the Bajo del Tigre station on your own to do a self guided hike or book a guided walk. We did a self guided hike during the day and a guided night walk at the station.

Both were great experiences and we highly recommend a night walk in Monteverde, especially if you’re staying at least 2 days in Monteverde.

Want to book a night walk at Children’s Eternal Rainforest? Go to our Monteverde tours booking page to request your tour!

The Trails

The trail is very well maintained and this section had no elevation climb, just a very straight forward path. All their trails are less than 1 kilometer so it’s quite easy and short.

We could hear so many birds around us and saw a couple of hummingbirds. It’s quite dense so it was hard to see them but we could hear toucans and hummingbirds everywhere!

In certain areas, there was a hand rail and every few hundred feet or so was a bench which I thought was extremely nice, especially if there are older folks on the trail.

Sendero Mirador

Since we wanted to go to the mirador, we continued onto Sendero Jaguar and then to Mirador.

Here is where it gets a bit steep so it’s not recommended for those who have issues walking. They do have a nice guard rail to hold on to but it is steep with some loose rocks.

Once you get down to the bottom, there is a bench and a look out spot with a beautiful view of the forest.

The last kilometer back to the entrance was fairly easy. It was just a little bit steep in one part which is why I assume they labeled it “moderate.” It took us about 1 hour total to walk these trails.

What to Know About Bajo del Tigre Station

• You can go on a guided or self guided hike. For guided hikes, reservations are required or must book through a tour company.
• It’s much drier in this area so bring sunglasses, sunscreen, mosquito repellent and a hat.
• Closed toed shoes required but hiking sandals will work fine since it’s not as wet or muddy as the other Monteverde Cloud Forests.

Pocosol Station

We visited the Pocosol station as a day trip from La Fortuna. This station is in between the rain and cloud forest so it’s completely different than the Bajos del Tigre station.

It is closest to La Fortuna, not Monteverde.

You can visit Pocosol Station as a day visit or stay overnight at their cabins.

Location

The Pocosol station is on the completely other end than Bajos del Tigre. That shows you just how big this reserve is.

Getting there

It’s about a 1.5 hour drive from La Fortuna and a 4×4 is absolutely mandatory. You can find it under the Pocosol biological station on Google Maps and Waze. You’ll pass by the Penas Blancas rivers and two hydroelectric dams.

Lake, Waterfall and Volcanic Vents

For our day trip, we hiked to the lake, Pocosol waterfall and volcanic vents. In total, we hiked about 2.5 hours on 3 trails.

However, as you can see there are 12 different trails available! You can spend days hiking different trail which is why they have the rooms for guests to stay overnight.

If you absolutely love hiking, nature and going to places that not many tourists go to, then staying a night or two would be a wonderful choice for you.

Here are some photos we took on our hike.

You can really see how lush and pristine the reserve is from that angle. The waterfall is simply stunning as well!

The Pocosol station at Children’s Eternal Rainforest was definitely one of our favorite Costa Rica hikes.

We were the only ones there, the scenery was absolutely incredible and I loved that they kept it as pristine and untouched as possible.

Although we didn’t see a lot of wildlife (a couple snakes and frogs), I felt like we were transported deep into the jungle!

Pocosol Station Rates

$18 USD per adult, $10.80 for children ages 6-12 and $16.20 USD per student for the trails entrance fee only. Lunch is an additional $17.50 USD per person extra.

Reservations not required for self guided day hikes.

Reservations required for lunch and/or overnight stays. For the rooms, a private single is ~$100 USD per night per adult. Rates include 3 meals, internet and taxes.

Reservations required to stay in their rooms which you can do on the Children’s Eternal Rain Forest website.

What to Know About Pocosol Station

• Need to be in moderate physical shape. There are steep stairs on many of the trails and there are a lot of rocks and roots everywhere.
• Do not touch anything in the forest. It is a good idea to get a stick and clear away big leaves and bushes on the trail. Snakes, insects and other critters can be there!
• Don’t expect a ton of wildlife. Since this reserve is so big, you may not see many animals as they have so much room to roam. One of the reasons why it’s recommended to go with a guide so they can find animals and share information about the flora and fauna.
• There are no facilities on the trails. The office has bathrooms and water.

Children’s Eternal Rainforest La Fortuna Day Trip

If you don’t have a car, you can go as a day trip from La Fortuna. Just make sure you have a 4×4. If you want to book this as a tour with roundtrip transportation, get a discount for this tour here.

Read about other hikes in Costa Rica!

Corcovado National Park: A huge national park in the Osa Peninsula, one of the most biodiverse places on earth. Excellent hiking and tons of wildlife.

Rincon de la Vieja National Park: A national park in Guanacaste with dry tropical forest, volcano, rivers and waterfalls. Very close to Liberia Airport.

Manuel Antonio National Park: A small popular national park in the Central Pacific with white sand beaches, wildlife and hiking trails.