About an hour southeast from the capital city, San José, lies a perfect escape, in the peaceful rural appeal and magnificent beauty of the Orosi Valley.

Dominated by the spectacular views of two volcanoes, the green mountains with breathtaking views, the freshness of the air, and the abundance that the valley conveys, this region, devoted mainly to coffee production, will invigorate even the most exhausted of travelers.

The ride through the river valley is a complete joy not only for the wonderful views it offers but also for the attractions the visitor finds along the way.  You may see charming colonial churches, get pampered in exclusive hot springs, visit the wilderness of Tapanti National Park, and rejoice at the view of Cachí Lake.

You can enjoy it all in a one-day trip, while you fill your senses with the sounds and sights of the valley and savor a delicious cup of fresh local coffee.

You enter the valley from Paraíso, in the province of Cartago.  As you drive, the landscape suddenly reveals the vast valley, covered with coffee fields and sprinkled with little villages, as you descend into its core and to the swirling river below.

The first stop should be the magnificent Orosi Lookout, just 2 kilometers along this road; its green hills are a perfect picnic spot.  From there, you move down to Orosi’s charming colonial town, where the simple yet gorgeous 1743 Iglesia San José de Orosi, the oldest church still open in Costa Rica, lies.  Next to it, there’s a museum of religious art and relics, which used to be a Franciscan monastery.

Orosi is famous for its natural hot springs, which attracted Spanish colonists to the region.  There are two public spas, “Los Balnearios” and “Los Patios”, and if you are of an adventurous nature, you can also try the hot waters along the Orosi River; however, these are popular among the locals, so it can get a little crowded and you may have to be careful.

Without a doubt, the best are the private options, like “Valle Caliente Hot Springs”, where you can enjoy a natural-rock hot spring pool right in the heart of one of the best coffee plantations in the area.  In this exclusive hideaway, you will enjoy a delicious lunch and full service experience with coffee tour included.  You just have to allow your senses to dwell where they have never been before.  This is a private paradise, so you have to make a reservation, because the place is all yours for the day.

Valle Caliente Hot Springs, private getaway

You can visit the Orosi Tourist Information and Arts Café (OTIAC) in town to find out what you can do and about other exclusive jewels in the area.

When leaving the valley you have two options: you can go around it to enjoy the never-ending natural beauty, or you can take a detour and visit Tapantí National Park, a 5000-hectare bird paradise that is considered one of Costa Rica’s wildest cloud forests and the wettest national park in the country, with more than seven meters of annual rainfall.

Back on the road, you cross the river at Palomo village and head north surrounded by gorgeous coffee plantations, the river and Cachí Lake, and the grandness of the Irazú and Turrialba volcanoes.  The manmade and truly spectacular lake can be seen at its best from “La Casona del Cafetal” restaurant, one of the best in the region.

Orosi is such a rich region that we have only scratched the surface; however, we hope it is enough to inspire you to visit it and feed your soul and body with the pleasures that await you only one hour away from the capital city.

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Look at this article that The New York Times published on January 7, 2010 that was written by Nicholas D. Kristof.

We wanted to share it with you!

The New York Times

Op-Ed Columnist
The Happiest People

By Nicholas D. Kristof
Published January 06, 2010

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica

Hmmm. You think it’s a coincidence? Costa Rica is one of the very few countries to have abolished its army, and it’s also arguably the happiest nation on earth.

There are several ways of measuring happiness in countries, all inexact, but this pearl of Central America does stunningly well by whatever system is used. For example, the World Database of Happiness, compiled by a Dutch sociologist on the basis of answers to surveys by Gallup and others, lists Costa Rica in the top spot out of 148 nations.

That’s because Costa Ricans, asked to rate their own happiness on a 10-point scale, average 8.5. Denmark is next at 8.3, the United States ranks 20th at 7.4 and Togo and Tanzania bring up the caboose at 2.6.

Scholars also calculate happiness by determining “happy life years.” This figure results from merging average self-reported happiness, as above, with life expectancy. Using this system, Costa Rica again easily tops the list. The United States is 19th, and Zimbabwe comes in last.

A third approach is the “happy planet index,” devised by the New Economics Foundation, a liberal think tank. This combines happiness and longevity but adjusts for environmental impact — such as the carbon that countries spew.

Here again, Costa Rica wins the day, for achieving contentment and longevity in an environmentally sustainable way. The Dominican Republic ranks second, the United States 114th (because of its huge ecological footprint) and Zimbabwe is last.

Maybe Costa Rican contentment has something to do with the chance to explore dazzling beaches on both sides of the country, when one isn’t admiring the sloths in the jungle (sloths truly are slothful, I discovered; they are the tortoises of the trees). Costa Rica has done an unusually good job preserving nature, and it’s surely easier to be happy while basking in sunshine and greenery than while shivering up north and suffering “nature deficit disorder.”

After dragging my 12-year-old daughter through Honduran slums and Nicaraguan villages on this trip, she was delighted to see a Costa Rican beach and stroll through a national park. Among her favorite animals now: iguanas and sloths.

(Note to boss: Maybe we should have a columnist based in Costa Rica?)

What sets Costa Rica apart is its remarkable decision in 1949 to dissolve its armed forces and invest instead in education. Increased schooling created a more stable society, less prone to the conflicts that have raged elsewhere in Central America. Education also boosted the economy, enabling the country to become a major exporter of computer chips and improving English-language skills so as to attract American eco-tourists.

I’m not antimilitary. But the evidence is strong that education is often a far better investment than artillery.

In Costa Rica, rising education levels also fostered impressive gender equality so that it ranks higher than the United States in the World Economic Forum gender gap index. This allows Costa Rica to use its female population more productively than is true in most of the region. Likewise, education nurtured improvements in health care, with life expectancy now about the same as in the United States — a bit longer in some data sets, a bit shorter in others.

Rising education levels also led the country to preserve its lush environment as an economic asset. Costa Rica is an ecological pioneer, introducing a carbon tax in 1997. The Environmental Performance Index, a collaboration of Yale and Columbia Universities, ranks Costa Rica at No. 5 in the world, the best outside Europe.

This emphasis on the environment hasn’t sabotaged Costa Rica’s economy but has bolstered it. Indeed, Costa Rica is one of the few countries that is seeing migration from the United States: Yankees are moving here to enjoy a low-cost retirement. My hunch is that in 25 years, we’ll see large numbers of English-speaking retirement communities along the Costa Rican coast.

Latin countries generally do well in happiness surveys. Mexico and Colombia rank higher than the United States in self-reported contentment. Perhaps one reason is a cultural emphasis on family and friends, on social capital over financial capital — but then again, Mexicans sometimes slip into the United States, presumably in pursuit of both happiness and assets.

Cross-country comparisons of happiness are controversial and uncertain. But what does seem quite clear is that Costa Rica’s national decision to invest in education rather than arms has paid rich dividends. Maybe the lesson for the United States is that we should devote fewer resources to shoring up foreign armies and more to bolstering schools both at home and abroad.

In the meantime, I encourage you to conduct your own research in Costa Rica, exploring those magnificent beaches or admiring those slothful sloths. It’ll surely make you happy.

A version of this article appeared in print on January 7, 2010, on page A31 of the New York edition.

Costa Rica is filled with wildlife!  And recently Los Sueños Resort in Costa Rica played host to a different kind of Wildlife - Country Superstar Wildlife!   Grammy Nominated, Billy Currington and his crew performed live on a tropical evening right here in the Marina Village!

This upscale resort village buzzed with activity…what an evening it was!

Take a look at this video recorded during his presentation that night!!

As casual and real as three guys with guitars on your front porch, country superstar Billy Currington and his two talented amigos captured the night.

The boys got up close and personal with music fans (some even sported their best hats) who all turned out for the first Latin American appearance which kicked off the group’s tour, promoting awareness and raising funds for Billy’s humanitarian organization; Global South Relief.

Whether you’re a seasoned birder seeking the world’s top birding locations, an eco    friendly nature lover, or trying to find a way to entertain the kids, birdwatching in Costa Rica is an obvious choice. With over 890 species recorded to date, the neotropical environment boasts the greatest density of bird species of any continental American country. The jungles, rainforests, mountains, mangrove swamps, and coastlines of the country offer a rich birding experience unlike any other. You can book a guided tour or take your sweet time ambling among the vegetation to discover the birds of Costa Rica.

Resplendent Quetzal
Touted as one of the most beautiful birds in the world, the quetzal has a shimmering emerald green body, red belly, and blue back, along with a long blue and green tail, nearly twice as long as its 15-inch body. Representing freedom and wealth, the bird was the Aztecs’ and Mayas’ most sacred symbol, and the tribes often traded the quetzal’s feathers.

Quetzals call the mountainous cloud forests of Costa Rica their home, spending most of the year alone, until they mate between March and June and produce two blue eggs. They feed on fruit–especially avocadoes–insects, and even lizards and frogs. Because the quetzal’s existence is threatened by the destruction of its habitat, Costa Rica’s protected land preserves provide habitat for the birds and give ecotourists and birdwatchers the opportunity to marvel at its magnificence.

Scarlet Macaw
The macaw is a sheer explosion of color: the plumage is mainly scarlet, with light blue tail feathers, yellow and darker blue on the wings, and dark red with metallic gold iridescence on the wing and tail flight feathers.

These birds prefer to live in the humid, evergreen forests of the tropical regions, and can live between 30 and 50 years in the wild. They eat mostly fruits and seeds and generally travel alone or in pairs. Very vocal, you will hear the distinctive loud, low-pitched, throaty squawks, squeaks, and screams of the macaw overhead.

Toucans
Costa Rica has six different toucan species found in the lowlands and tropical rainforests. Each has the hallmark bright-billed beak that it uses to forage into holes within trees and to pick fruit. The color and size of the toucan vary among the species, but all toucans like to eat fleshy fruits such as papaya, berries, and palm.

Toucans are very playful birds and provide hours of entertainment for birdwatchers as they use their bills to tussle with each other in the trees. They nest in tree holes and lay two to four eggs up to three times a year.

Hummingbirds
Currently, there are 51species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica. These birds are often described as tiny high-speed machines. The hum they are named for is made by the beat of their wings, which move so rapidly that the human eye cannot detect it. And they can even fly backwards!

In the tropical lowlands and cool cloud forests, you can find them hovering around flowers, where they extract nectar and insects with their long, hollow tongues. Their vibrant, shimmering colors and ability to magically hover in mid-air for long periods of time, makes the hummingbird a crowd favorite.