Desafio Adventure Company

La Fortuna, San Carlos, Costa Rica Sight-Seeing Tours

Activity/Tour

Lost Canyon Adventures Canyoneering… Are you ready to go BIG!?!

Canyoneering is a brand new sport that’s becoming very popular the world over! Near the Arenal Volcano, our rugged, mountainous terrain is ideal for incredible canyoneering options & huge, breathtaking waterfalls!
This unique, multi-sport adventure combines rappelling, down-climbing and river tracing in a deep, tropical canyon. Our Lost Canyon Adventure is an experience of a lifetime – go where very few have had the privilege to roam! Imagine yourself in the midst of thick rainforest at the top of a magical canyon full of tropical waterfalls with surprises each step of the way.

The best half-day class 2-3 rafting closest to the Arenal Volcano!

Challenge yourself as you paddle through fun & safe rolling rapids with names like "Morning Coffee" & "Rock around the Croc" and then play around in tranquil river pools in an isolated rainforest river canyon! And only 30 minutes from La Fortuna!
Your professional, experienced bilingual guides will give you a safety talk and paddling instruction, lifejackets, helmets & then you're off…
Hopefully you'll get to see lots of wildlife like monkeys, sloths and tropical birds such as ospreys, oropendolas and toucans. This unique river trip is the best way to combine adventure and nature.

Rio Toro Class 3 & 4
The Río Toro offers over 45-continuous rapids along more than 16 kilometers of deep-canyon gorges and waterfalls where we often see sloths, monkeys and tropical birds, such as toucans and the Montezuma Oropendula. We operate small, personalized and private tours and we are the only company who runs the Río Toro!
This thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime adventure leaves at 8:30am from our office in La Fortuna. The Río Toro is the closest class 3-4 river to La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano – only 1 hour away!
Once at the river, our experienced guides will give you a thorough safety talk, get you set up with your helmet, life jacket and paddle and then you're off – you'll be paddling for more than 2½ hours – we'll stop along the way for a nice, tropical fruit break and afterward we take you out for a typical Costa Rican “casado” lunch. You'll return to La Fortuna and the Arenal Area around 3:30-4:00pm (the Río Toro is located only 1 hour from La Fortuna – it is much closer than the Sarapiqui).
Rafters should be ages 13 to 55 and in good physical condition. Although you don't need experience, rafters should know how to swim. Secure shoes and dry clothes to change into.

Liquid Lava Arenal Volcano Hike
To start the famous Desafío Liquid Lava tour, your naturalist guide will pick you up from your hotel and then drive to the El Silencio private reserve, right at the edge of the Arenal Volcano National Park.
Along this informative, beautiful walk, you’ll learn about the behemoth Arenal Volcano, the secondary and primary tropical forest surrounding it and the interesting wildlife of the area. Once we finish the walk, we’ll head to the active side to see if we can spot some of the bright red, molten rock falling from the volcano. And it's here you can partake in sharing some Liquid Lava (a mix of local "fire water" and natural drink.) We always say: "If you can't see the lava, at least you'll be able to feel it..."
For those who wish to finish off the night relaxing in natural hot springs, we have two options: Baldí hot springs with over 22 different temperature pools, swim-up bars, locker rooms, restaurant and a more-lively atmosphere. Or the ultra-luxury and beautiful The Springs Resort and Spa. Read more below...

MAMBO COMBO #1 Rappel & Raft!

Make the most of your limited vacation time! Combine the exciting Lost Canyon Adventures Canyoneering and Rafting on the Beautiful Río Balsa – For a full-day of pure adrenaline… you’ll get to rappel, down-climb amazing waterfalls and river trace along a pristine, rainforest canyon and then go rafting on the beautiful class 2-3 Río Balsa. This is the perfect blend of whitewater and wildlife, fun, rolling rapids and vibrant jungle. We guarantee more wildlife than any other rafting trip in Costa Rica! You’ll finish off this fun-filled day with a delicious lunch.
This unique tour includes the Lost Canyon Adventures Canyoneering, rafting on the Río Balsa and a delicious, homecooked lunch.

Typical Day

Arenal Volcano
Monteverde
Samara Beach

Age range, type of group

Desafío Adventure Company is Costa Rica's leading adventure company specializing in unique, high-quality adventure and nature activities throughout Costa Rica. Legendary "Adventure Pioneer" Suresh Krishnan started Desafío (which means "challenge" in Spanish) way back in 1992 by doing first descents on local rivers & canyons and igniting adventure tourism in the wet and wild Northern Zone.

Policies & Restrictions

DESAFIO ADVENTURE CONNECTION… TRANSPORT + RAFTING = Save $$$ & Save Time!
Adventure Connections -- Get your Transport included when you go:
RAFTING from San Jose to the Arenal Volcano
HORSEBACK RIDING or MOUNTAIN BIKING from Arenal Volcano to Monteverde
STAND UP PADDLING Monteverde to Playa Samara or Playa Carrillo

Need to get from San José to the Arenal Volcano? Go rafting on the way and get your transport included!

* San José + Río Toro + Arenal Volcano = $95
* San José + Río Balsa + Arenal Volcano = $75

We pick you up in San José, take you rafting & you’re checking into your hotel in Arenal before 4pm – what a great travel day!!
For either of our rafting tours, you’ll be on the water for exactly the same amount of time as our normal rafting excursions that leave out of La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano. In fact, you’ll meet up with the rest of the rafters from La Fortuna at our private put-in for each tour.
You’ll receive a safety talk, get your gear all set (helmet, life-jacket and paddle) and you’ll have the time of your life paddling down Costa Rica’s best rivers! You’ll be on the water for about 2 to 2.5 hours.
You’ll finish up with a delicious spread of fresh, tropical fruit and then we take you to our river house for an exclusive, home-made, natural, buffet lunch.
You’ll get to your Arenal Volcano hotel by 4pm.
Includes: transport from San José (please indicate hotel o we can confirm pick-up time); rafting tour (choice of Río Toro class 3-4 or Río Balsa class 2-3); excellent raft guides; fruit break; delicious lunch; transfer to La Fortuna hotel.

La Fortuna, San Carlos, Costa Rica Sight-Seeing Tours

La Fortuna, San Carlos, Costa Rica Sight-Seeing Tours

Desafio Adventure Company (View My Profile)
Desafío Adventure Company was the first high-adventure company to open its doors back in 1992 in Costa Rica's tropical Northern Zone. Its founder, California-native, Suresh Krishnan, an experienced whitewater rafting guide and kayaker who spent 6 years in the U.S. military, was invited to Costa Rica to work as a raft guide.

Suresh recognized early-on the potential for adventure tourism in the Northern Zone of Costa Rica. He opened his adventure headquarters in La Fortuna, at the base of the Arenal Volcano and another office in the cloud forests of Monteverde. Both offices now offer a full-spectrum of adventure activities and transportation in the fast-growing adventure tourism market of Costa Rica.

Desafío Adventure Company is well-known in Costa Rican as being on the cutting edge of adventure and consistently offering unique, personalized tours like its brand-new Lost Canyon Adventures 8 waterfall rappel canyoneering tour.

In fact, with Suresh at its helm, Desafío Adventure Company has had many firsts:

* First to operate rafting tours on the Peñas Blancas Class 3-4 (which has since been dammed and no longer has sufficient water levels for rafting).
* First company to commercially raft the Class 4 Río Toro.
* First and only company to raft and kayak the Class 2-3 Río Arenal.
* First company to commercially raft the Class 2-3 Río Balsa.
* First rafting company in Costa Rica to develop a comprehensive evacuation plan for its river operations.
* First company to operate a horseback tour between La Fortuna and Monteverde that serves as a unique and adventurous way to travel between two of Costa Rica's most-popular tourist destinations and part of one of the important biological corridors in the world.
* First company to have 2 offices in the Northern Zone (one in La Fortuna and the other in Monteverde).
* First and only company operating canyoneering with SETENA government permissions.