8 Reasons for visiting Cristal Ballena Hotel and Uvita Area on your next Costa Rican trip

1. Birdwatching: Hotel Cristal Ballena designed 30 acres of their property as a nature park.In Uvita you can admire 500 bird’s species from the big total of 915 birds that you can find in Costa Rica. The perfect season for this activity is from May to November every year.
2. Whales and Dolphin’s Watching: Marino Ballena National Park is one of the world’s most important refuges for endangered humpback whales to reproduce and give birth. The best time to see humpback whales is December to March and from August to October. Many people have heard about the humpback whale, but there are many other species as the pilot whale, killer whale, sei whale among others.
3. Snorkel and ScubaDiving: Isla de Cano is famous for having Costa Rica’s largest concentration of coral-building organisms in the Pacific Ocean and for been the second best spot for scuba diving in Costa Rica after Coco’s Island. Costa Ballena and Marino Ballena National Park are also great spots to enjoy snorkel activities.
4. Corcovado National Park: located on the Southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in the Osa Peninsula, Corcovado has been recognized as “the most biologically intense place on Earth” by National Geographic and one of the top Eco Tourism destination on the planet.
5. Nauyaca Waterfalls: recognized as one of the 10 more beautiful waterfalls in the world and a reference point for nature and adventure lovers. The first part of this tour is a nice horseback riding. Definetely a must visit place.
6. Boruca indigenous region: Boruca’s live on a reserve in the southern region of Costa Rica. They are known for their craftwork and their distinctive carved and painted balsa wood masks. If you are looking for a cultural and an authentic experience this activity is ideal for you.
7. Mangrove’s adventure: by boat or kajak, Damas Island provides one of the best places in Costa Rica to observe wildlife, and Terraba- Sierpe is one of the most important mangrove systems in Central America. Mangroves are home for many species as crocodiles, monkeys, raccoon, egrets, storks, herons, kingfisher and much more.
8. The Misterious Stone Spheres: the indigenous tribes of Costa Rica left little evidence of their culture behind, but hundreds of stone spheres, were found on the Southern Pacific side of Costa Rica. Some of the spheres weigh up to 15 tons and it’s unknown how they were produced, transported and what they were meant for. Finca 6 is now the new museum of Stone Spheres.

Sustainability

Ecogetaways Travel only promotes Hotels that are completely engaged with Sustainability standards and Cristal Ballena is very commited.
The Hotel works very hard everyday with sustainable and social responsability practices in all their operations; we love how they aware and integrate their clients and their staff in all their sustainable iniciatives:

- Energy Saving: the hotel facilities include energy efficient bulbs and air conditioners, solar panels for water heating.
- Conservation of water resources: Cristal Ballena has it’s own water source inside the property. Bathrooms, showers and sinks are equipped with pressure regulators water in all faucets to reduce consumption and use certified biodegradable products.
- Solid waste management: the hotel have trained well the staff in efficient separation of recyclable solid waste, as well, they produce organic fertilizer through composting wastes from their kitchen.
- Social community support: sponsoring projects relating with education, sports, security, biodiversity and culture.
- Supporters of local NGO’s: Cristal Ballena supports social and environmental causes in the area, working very close with ASANA, KETO, PRASCOSUR among others.