The Kéköldi Biological Station is located at the end of a 2km trail starting from 9°38'48.0"N 82°47'14.2"W. It is a short, but demanding hike! Make sure you come prepared! On the way up it is not uncommon to see poison dart frogs, snakes, basilisks, anoles and sloths hanging about. Keep your camera on hand!

When you arrive at this location, give our local manager Sebastián a call and he will come and pick you up.

How to get there?

The Stenophrys Project is situated close to Puerto Viejo, a very well-known touristical town. Busses and shuttles to this location from all over the country are plentiful. From San José several companies offer shuttles to this location for as low as $11 per person.

Staying over!

The Stenophrys Project is surrounded by primary rainforest and home to hundreds of species of wild fauna and flora. Sloths, kinkajous, opossums, toucans, butterflies, birds of prey, spiders, scorpions, beetles, snakes, lizards and frogs all call this place home. The Kéköldi Indigenous Reserve is one of the most biodiverse regions of the country, an area that every naturalist will enjoy to the fullest. Anyone can visit the Research Center and even stay the night. Traditional meals are prepared for you on the spot by the kitchen staff, wild hiking trails are plenty and naturalists guides are at your disposal to guide you in roam the forests.

Learn all there is to know about the plants growing in the jungle on a jungle hike, go bird watching on the watch tower, aid students and scientists in their data collection or simply relax in the hammocks while looking at the canopy. 

Price per night/person:

Foreign visitor: $55 (including 3 meals + drinks)
Domestic visitor: $32 (including 3 meals + drinks)

Herping

Field herpers are more than welcome to hop by the project to go look for some of the country's most incredible herpetofauna. The reserve is home to many venomous snake species, such as different colorations of eyelash vipers (Bothriechis schlegelii), fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper), hognosed pitvipers (Porthidium nasutum) and coral snakes (Micrurus mosquitensis). Different species of glass frogs, dart frogs, anoles and tree frogs, such as the red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) are a common sight. With some luck even galliwasps (Diploglossus monotropis) and helmeted iguanas (Corytophanes cristatus) can be found roaming around right off the balcony, while Panamanian dwarf boas (Ungaliophis panamensis) and annulated boas (Corallus annulatus) crawl about the supports in the roof.

Of course, since this area is the best place to do so, you can always try your hand at finding your own Central-American Bushmaster (Lachesis stenophrys) or join our students and scientists in tracking a tagged individual.

Anyone can go on a day and even night herping tour with the guides of the project.

Price for a herp tour/person:

Foreign visitor: $40*
Domestic visitor: $30*

*Get 50% off of these tours when you stay the night!

Information on tracking bushmasters?
Click Here!

Students & Volunteers

Are you a student in any natural sciences study and are you interested in studying the Central-American bushmaster? In our project it is possible! You can follow internships or conduct your own studies in our Research Center. We can even appoint you a local promotor that can help you and guide you through your work. As our project is connected to the Instituto Clodomiro Picado, even toxinological studies are a possibility.

If you wish to volunteer in the project, follow an internship and/or conduct your own study, send us a motivational letter or an abstract of what you wish to achieve and we'll help you get over here!

Price per night/person:

Student/Volunteer: $32

(including 3 meals + drinks + activities)