Ziplining the Costa Rican Canopy, Privately

Glide from platform to platform above the jungle, timed for the early hours when sloths, monkeys and toucans are most active.

Born From Science

Ziplining started as research, not recreation. In 1974 biologist Donald Perry came to a rainforest research station in Costa Rica to study the upper canopy, then thought almost unreachable and called “the last biological frontier.” He fired lines over the tallest trees with a crossbow and rigged ropes and steel pulleys so scientists could glide quietly above the forest floor. The first commercial canopy tour followed in the cloud forest in the mid-1990s, and your private tour works on the same idea, a chain of cables high among the trees.

The Forest From Above

Below you, a carpet of green stretches in every direction, broken only by the odd giant tree poking above the rest. In the cloud forest you ride straight through drifting mist, the forest vanishing and reappearing beneath you; nearer the coast the canopy is lower and thinner, so you can see down into the branches. Sloths hang in the forks of trees, howler and capuchin monkeys move through the canopy, and toucans flash between the platforms.

Platform to Platform

Each cable runs between platforms built into or between the trees, at heights that change along the route, from just above the canopy to well over the tallest trees. Your guide controls the pace and braking at every stop, so you can race along or take it slowly. Early starts coincide with the most active wildlife, before the heat sends animals into the shade.

Time to Actually Look

A private tour can begin in those early hours instead of a fixed group slot later in the day, and there’s time at each platform to search the branches rather than rushing to the next line. A guide who knows the property points out what’s moving as you go, turning the ride into something closer to wildlife watching.

It’s a thrill for friends, couples and families. Costa Rica was the first country in Central America to legalize same-sex marriage, and our Costa Rica guide covers LGBTQ+ rights and practical advice.