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| Participants in a canopy
tour are provided the unique opportunity of
exploring the forest's treetops from the air. |
| Courtesy ICT |
Have you ever watched a monkey rolling its tail
around a branch before it swings to the next tree?
Ever wondered how it feels to fly from one huge
tree to another, having the entire rainforest right
below? A company in San José, The Original
Canopy Tour, can be your ticket to the treetops.
Rick Graham, a professional biologist and Vice-President
of The Original Canopy Tour, is proud of his company
and its extensive international reputation. “We
have had National Geographic down here a while ago,
and our canopy tour locations have been featured on
Discovery Channel and CNN’s Travel Now.”
You may still be asking yourself, what is this thing
they call a canopy tour? According to the company
it is “a means of allowing visitors with no previous
experience or special training to explore the canopy
of the forest by using high-angle equipment and techniques
to move between platforms suspended in the treetops.”
No nails are used in supporting the platforms. According
to Graham, “We are like epiphytes (air plants),
which just use the tree for support, and we don’t
want or need to become parasites.”
About ten years ago this fond biologist, together
with his partner Darren Hreniuk, a professional climber,
left Canada for Costa Rica. During their hikes through
the rainforest they would often wonder: How can we
conduct a business, that is both unique, and works
to save the rainforest at the same time? An aerial
tram was already in the planning stages, but these
enthusiastic and energetic Canadians were unexcited
by this idea, plus it provided little opportunity
to interact with nature. Something else was needed,
and it took them a total of two years to figure out
what that something special could be.
Darren built a tree platform in Monteverde and, over
a two-year period, tested a variety of dangling and
swinging techniques by hanging in trees and descending
down to earth from the platform. Finally, a few years
ago, the first official tour was opened to the public
in Monteverde.
The Original Canopy Tour is now offered in seven locations
in Costa Rica: Monteverde Cloud Forest Lodge, Mahogany
Park in San Meteo, Termales del Bosque in San Carlos,
Pacuare Lodge in Turrialba, Tabacon Resort at Arenal
Volcano, Rincon de la Vieja in Guanacaste and Drake
Bay in Peninsula de Osa. Tours are also offered in
Mexico and Nicaragua. |
