Esquinas Rainforest Lodge is a small full-board lodge on the edge of Piedras Blancas National Park, outside the village of La Gamba near Golfito. It grew out of an Austrian campaign that bought rainforest and handed it to the park, and it still channels its earnings into local reforestation and village projects. Stay here for birding trails that start at your door, real lowland rainforest and an unusually direct link between your visit and the forest around you.
At a glance
| Location | La Gamba, Golfito canton, on the border of Piedras Blancas National Park |
|---|---|
| Style | Community-linked rainforest lodge with cabin-style rooms, a jungle villa and a pool |
| Setting | Lowland rainforest in the hills above the Golfo Dulce |
| Best for | Birders, nature walkers and travelers who want their stay to fund conservation |
| Getting there | About 30 minutes by road from Golfito’s airstrip; a few miles off the Pan-American Highway |
| CST status | Not in the official CST directory on 2026-Oct-21 (the lodge cites an earlier three-leaf award) |
A lodge born from a land campaign
The story starts with Viennese violinist Michael Schnitzler, who founded the association Regenwald der Österreicher (Rainforest of the Austrians) in 1991. According to the association, it went on to buy about 4,000 hectares of forest and fold it into Piedras Blancas National Park, which was still being assembled at the time. The park’s own SINAC page explains that it was created in 1990 from land once called Bosque Esquinas, then part of Corcovado National Park, and was redrawn in 1994.
Local families who had worked that land needed a living once it was protected. A 2020 article from the UK operator Exodus Travels describes how residents and the Austrian association built the lodge together, completing it in 1994. The University of Vienna opened its La Gamba tropical field station nearby in 1993, also following Schnitzler’s land purchase, and the station and lodge have worked together on community projects ever since.
Where it is and how you arrive
The lodge sits in the La Gamba valley, roughly 2 km from the village, where the park’s forested hills drop toward the farmland around Golfito. Its website places it about three miles off the Pan-American Highway and about 30 minutes by road from the Golfito airstrip, the nearest domestic airfield. Driving from the capital means a long day on the coastal highway south through Dominical and Palmar.
The location also puts the Golfo Dulce within easy reach. Golfito is the jumping-off point for boat trips on the gulf, and the Osa Peninsula lies across the water.
Rooms
The lodge’s website lists 18 rooms, while some older sources mention 14, so the count may have grown over time. Rooms are cabin-style units with private bathrooms, ceiling fans and screened windows, each with a small terrace facing the garden and forest. There’s no air conditioning; the forest setting and fans do the work.
For families or small groups, the Jungle Villa is a separate house on a hill a short walk from the main lodge, with two bedrooms, a kitchen and a veranda over the forest. The lodge also rents out a beach cottage on Playa Cacao, a few minutes by boat from Golfito, by direct request only.
Food
Meals are included in the lodge’s room rates: breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the open restaurant, with a bar alongside. According to Exodus, the lodge grows organic vegetables, fruit and cacao on site. Ask about vegetarian or other diets when you book, since the lodge is remote and shopping runs to Golfito take planning.
What guests do
Most days at Esquinas start on foot. The lodge runs day, night and birding hikes on its own network of trails, which lead straight from the gardens into the forest. Specialist operator Wildlife Worldwide cites more than 300 bird species around the lodge, among them hummingbirds, parrots, aracaris and toucans, and describes the stream-fed pool as the place to cool off after a walk.
Beyond the trails, the lodge’s activity list includes:
- Río Coto mangroves: a boat tour through the estuary channels south of Golfito.
- Golfo Dulce dolphins and whales: a boat trip on the calm waters of the gulf to look for dolphins and, in season, whales.
- Piedras Blancas National Park: SINAC lists trails such as El Tajo, La Ceiba and the Sardinal waterfall path, plus Río Bonito and the beach at San Josecito.
Wildlife in Piedras Blancas
SINAC describes Piedras Blancas as covering 15,147 hectares of land and 1,200 hectares of sea, mostly very wet tropical forest. It’s one of the few parks in the country where all four Costa Rican monkey species live: squirrel, white-faced capuchin, spider and mantled howler monkeys. The park’s forests are also home to ocelots and jaguars, though big cats are seldom seen. SINAC gives March and April as the dry season and May to February as the wet one, so expect rain for much of the year.
Sustainability and community
Esquinas has one of the clearest community stories in the south. According to Exodus, the lodge hires its staff locally, reinvests its profits in La Gamba and has paid for a village water system, a community hall, school improvements, a playground and a police post. It has also funded tree planting in the La Gamba Biological Corridor (COBIGA), the project that the Austrian association now leads to reconnect Piedras Blancas with surrounding forest using more than 200 native tree species. Exodus reports that three former farms have been replanted with some 20,000 trees.
The lodge describes itself as carbon neutral thanks to that reforestation, and its website cites a three-leaf rating under the older version of Costa Rica’s Certification for Sustainable Tourism. It doesn’t appear in the current official CST directory, so treat both claims as the lodge’s own.
Who it suits
Esquinas suits birders, hikers and travelers who care more about forest and community than about polish. It works well as a stop between the Osa Peninsula and the south Pacific coast, or as a quieter alternative to the busier lodges of Drake Bay. Families who book the Jungle Villa get space and a kitchen.
It’s a weaker fit if you want a beach on your doorstep, air conditioning or a lively social scene. For rainforest on the water, look across the gulf at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, reached only by boat, or at Playa Cativo Lodge on the same shore. Browse all our Osa Peninsula eco-lodges, read our Corcovado and Osa Peninsula guide to plan the wider region, and see our birds of Costa Rica guide for what to look for on the trails. The lodge’s own site is at esquinaslodge.com.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Esquinas Rainforest Lodge?
It was built in the early 1990s by La Gamba residents together with the Austrian association Regenwald der Österreicher, and published accounts describe its profits going back into the village and into reforestation. The lodge's current legal ownership isn't stated on the sources checked.
Are meals included at Esquinas?
Yes. The lodge's room rates include three meals a day in its restaurant. With no other restaurants nearby, that's the practical choice anyway.
Can I walk into Piedras Blancas National Park from the lodge?
The lodge's own trails run through forest on the park's edge, and guided hikes leave from the property. For the park's official trails, such as the Sardinal waterfall path or Río Bonito, ask the lodge about transport and timing.
When is the driest time to visit?
SINAC gives March and April as the park's dry season. The rest of the year is wet, so pack rain gear whenever you go; the trails and birding carry on through the rainy months.
What is the La Gamba Biological Corridor?
It's a reforestation project on cleared farmland around La Gamba, led by the Austrian association with scientific support, that aims to link Piedras Blancas to nearby forest. Part of the lodge's income has gone into planting trees there.
