Tayutic Mountain Reserve

This place is amazing! Very comfortable bed. Awesome hot water shower. Great screens to keep the bugs out. Very peaceful and excellent birding on site. This is one of the nicest places we have stayed in Costa Rica and we have been to dozens. The hosts have excellent communication and responded very quickly to the several small questions I had. Highly recommend it!

Very nice hiking area, owned and run by very kind and inviting people. The trails are well maintained but also offer the right amount of wilderness and adventure, also because its the opposite of being crowded and overrun by tourists. So you can immerse yourself into nature and enjoy some solitude looking for some of the animals living in this area. Note that there is some elevation and it can get slippery when wet, so its a not a bad idea to have hiking sticks (we have improvised using long branches for the descent from the highest viewpoint). We had contacted the staff of the site in advance via Whatsapp and they were super kind and helpful to prepare our visit, e.g. by sending a map in advance. They also had time to have a chat on the site to show us around. We learned, that there is a couple of ocelots living in the area (they showed us videos), which was really amazing! The site is currently being developed, there is a chalet with a tidy restroom and some shelters for picknick. You can donate an amount of money (10-20 USD) which seemed fair to us.

My husband David and I had the pleasure of staying at Tayutic Mountain Reserve in May 2024 during our first visit to Costa Rica as novice birders. The cabin was very comfortable, providing everything we needed. Cooking on the wood-burning stove in the "open wall" kitchen, with rain falling around us, was so surreal yet calming! The space stayed completely dry, despite the rain! We spent a lot of time on the patio, watching hummingbirds at the feeders and other birds (and animals like the Watusi) at the feeder table (bananas and other fruit) which the birds and animals there love! So many different birds singing, but we quickly learned the distinct calls of the Montezuma Oropendola! The trails were well-maintained, easy to hike, and conveniently close to the cabin. A short hike on Manakin Trail led to a stunning lookout with incredible views, and we watched a flock of parrots fly by, squawking loudly. Birdwatching was a highlight! I was thrilled to add the Keel-billed Toucan to my list, one of the first birds I saw. Over the course of 5-6 days, I added 31 new species to my Merlin life list, including six different hummingbirds like the elusive Snowcap. The peacefulness and privacy of the jungle setting were unmatched, and the starry nights were breathtaking. TMR gave us an unforgettable experience with memories to last a lifetime. If you're in the Turrialba area, we highly recommend visiting TMR. For just a $20 donation, you can access the trails with their day pass – be sure to reach out to them in advance though. It’s worth the trip, and as an aside, we recommend hiring a bird guide as well (TMR will help coordinate) – we were able to identify way more birds with one than without! Pura Vida!

Beautiful property with lots of trails that are very easy for walking and birding. You can sit by the house and watch the feeders, which regularly get Little Tinamou, and the flowers around the house/feeders are great for a variety of hummingbird species. Very easy to find local specialties Snowcap and Tawny-Chested Flycatcher. If you are looking for a place to bird near Rancho Naturalista, but are not staying there, Tayutic Mountain Reserve is a great option.

Make sure to reserve in advanced Really kind staff, and an amazing place to relax in secondary Forrest. Trails to explore without being over crowded, highly recommend adding this stop. It was so blissful and peaceful

The best place to see Snowcap, in the country...

(Translated by Google) This place is perfect for spending a peaceful day walking the trails and birdwatching. The trails are short and very well maintained. We would have appreciated some signs along the trails to know where we were going, but we still enjoyed ourselves. We even spotted a tolomuco (a type of antpitta). If you're in the area, don't hesitate to visit this reserve. (Original) Este lugar es perfecto para pasar el día tranquilo caminando los senderos y viendo aves. Los senderos son cortos y están muy bien mantenidos. Nos hubiese gustado algunos rótulos en los senderos para saber hacia dónde nos dirigíamos pero pudimos disfrutar igual. Incluso pudimos observar un tolomuco. Si están en la zona no duden en visitar esta reserva.