Summitting Cerro Chirripó was undoubtedly a highlight of our trip to Costa Rica. At 3,820m*, it’s Costa Rica’s highest mountain – and the highest mountain either of us had attempted by some margin. Whilst it’s not a particularly technical hike, but it does take some forward-planning – so this guide pulls together everything we learnt in the course of planning our trip and reaching the summit.
*Wikipedia will have you believe it’s 3,821m, but I’m going off the elevation on the sign at the summit.
WHEN TO GO
Most guidebooks recommend going in the dry season (late December to April). Whilst this does make sense – for optimal trail conditions and chances of a view from the summit – if your trip doesn’t fall into that window, don’t despair. Ours didn’t. We hiked Cerro Chirripó in mid-July, and still experienced all four seasons in the space of three days.
~6 MONTHS BEFORE
As soon as you make Cerro Chirripó part of your itinerary, reserve your entry permits for Chirripó National Park (Parque Nacional Chirripó). You need to do this online through Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (SINAC) (www.sinac.go.cr), and can do so up to six months in advance. Click ‘online booking’, and then follow the link next to ‘Compra y reserva en línea’ to create an account and book your permits. (The SINAC website is available in Spanish and English.)
In July 2023, adult entry (per day) to Chirripó National Park was $18 (if you’re a Costa Rican citizen, entry costs a fraction of this). You’ll need a permit for each day you are in the park. We opted for three days: this gave us a day to reach Crestones Base Lodge, the following day to summit Cerro Chirripó (with a considerably lighter pack) and explore the surrounding trails, and a final day to descend to San Gerardo de Rivas.
Once you have secured your permits, reserve your bed at Crestones Base Lodge. We didn’t receive an email from Consorcio Aguas Eternas (as our guidebook had indicated), but a quick email to info@chirripo.org resolved that problem.
WHAT TO PACK
Wherever you go in Costa Rica, layers are your friend. Crestones Base Lodge isn’t heated, so you’ll want something warm to sleep in as – unsurprisingly – the nights are cooler at 3,400m above sea level. Here’s what I used (clothes-wise) on this portion of our trip:
- A thin lightweight T-shirt (I like the lightweight running ones from Decathlon)
- A thin, long-sleeved top (again, Decathlon is good for these)
- A fleece
- A pair of zip-off hiking trousers (I bought mine about six years ago from The North Face, and they’re still going strong)
- Thermal top and leggings (to sleep in)
- Sports bra, pants
- Socks (I like to wear a thin pair and a thick pair, and packed enough of each to start each day with dry socks)
- Gloves (it’s pretty darn cold at the summit in the early hours of the morning!)
- A buff
- Waterproof coat
- Sturdy hiking boots
THE DAY BEFORE
You’ve made it to San Gerardo de Rivas, an adventure in itself if you’ve travelled by public transport. You’ve now got two jobs to do before you can set off on your hike:
- Check in at the Chirripó Ranger Station, located about a kilometre downhill from the bus stop (open daily, 08.00-12.00 and 13.00-16.00). Once you’ve shown your ID and confirmed your reservation, you’ll be given a wristband. Do not remove the wristband until you have completed your hike.
- Cross the street to confirm your lodging and select meals at the Consorcio Aguas Eternas office (open daily, 08.00-16.00). We paid 21,811.19₡ (approx. £33.35) per person per night in July 2023; they accept card payment at the office in San Gerardo de Rivas. You can also add meals and snacks for an additional fee. We opted for dinner the day we arrived, breakfast, lunch and dinner on the middle day, and breakfast before we departed on the last day.
DAY 1: SAN GERARDO DE RIVAS TO CRESTONES BASE LODGE
Distance | 20.41km / 13 miles; 2,117m elevation gain. There was definitely a glitch (possibly GPS-related) with my watch on the way up, as the distance it recorded was about 5km further than the trail is – but the elevation gain is accurate, and you will feel every metre of it.
We set our alarms for 05.00, and left Hotel Roca Dura at 05.45. Staying here added an extra kilometre and half-hour walk uphill to our hike; if you stay at Hotel Uran, the trailhead is just across the road.
Much to our surprise, we barely met a soul on the trail. Perhaps we’d simply set off later than those departing from lodgings nearer to the trailhead, and therefore didn’t cross paths until we reached Crestones Base Lodge. For the most part, the trail is flanked by dense cloud forest, but every so often the trees parted to reveal views of the surrounding countryside.
The trail is very well-marked, with distance markers every kilometre. Four kilometres in, the path widened and we reached the entrance to Chirripó National Park.
We don’t have mountains on this scale in Scotland, so we spent a couple of nights in San Gerardo de Rivas beforehand and took the ascent slow and steady (read: a water/snack break every kilometre… and oodles of photo stops) to give us more time to acclimatise.
We reached Llano Bonito, a refuge selling a selection of hot and cold drinks and snacks (cash only), mid-morning. There’s also a tap to refill water bottles, and flushing toilets. We paused here to refuel ahead of the second half of the ascent: orange juice for me, and a coffee and some spicy crisps for Laurence.
From Llano Bonito, the trail climbs mercilessly through the cloud forest to Monte Sin Fe (‘Mountain Without Faith’) at 3,200m.
At this point, the landscape changes: farewell cloud forest, hello páramo (broadly defined as an alpine tundra ecosystem, and typically starting at around 3,000m above sea level). Signs along the trail provide a wealth of information (in Spanish) about the landscape. We were told that 90% of all Central American páramo is found here in Costa Rica – and that Chirripó National Park represents a significant chunk of this. Plants were generally smaller, with different colours and textures; all adaptations which enable them to capture more moisture from the air and photosynthesise more efficiently.
We saw lots of birds on our ascent, including Sooty Thrush, an American Black Vulture and the bright green Sulphur-winged Parakeet (below).
A sign a little further along the route captured our sentiments perfectly:
Before we knew it, the trail rounded a bend and the green roofs of Crestones Base Lodge came into view. We checked in and stowed our stuff (there’s a 2,000₡ deposit for a locker key), then enjoyed the view with a Coke and some lime-flavoured banana crisps (a surprisingly tasty snack). Cash is king at Crestones Base Lodge, so whether you want to make use of the lockers, buy some extra snacks or souvenirs, or rent a towel for the icy showers, make sure you have a stash of colourful Costa Rican colones with you.
We shared a table for tea with V and C, two fellow tourists we’d met at the bus station in San Isidro de El General and bumped into again at Cloudbridge Nature Reserve the previous day. Tea was tasty: a plate of fajita-spiced chicken with crisps and salad (I donated my portion of pumpkin soup to Laurence), washed down with a hot chocolate. We then headed to bed, as our alarms were set for 02.30 the following morning.
DAY 2 (AM): CRESTONES BASE LODGE TO CERRO CHIRRIPÓ
Distance | 13.48km / 8.4 miles; 651m elevation gain.
Most people make an early start in order to watch the sunrise from the summit. Ordinarily, an 02.30 alarm would seem like utter madness, but here it seemed to be the norm (if anything, it verged on the Chirripó equivalent of a lie-in, as we could see from the torches on the trail that plenty of hikers had already set off).
We set off into the darkness, following the steady stream of headtorches across the mountainside. At times, the cloud lifted to reveal lakes and glimpses of the mountains beyond. I found the final approach to the summit quite tough, and felt a wee bit nauseous (whether that was due to altitude sickness or not having eaten breakfast before setting off, I’ll never know).
On clear days, you can see from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea (or so my Lonely Planet guidebook informs me – the summit was encircled by cloud for us). We reached the summit a little after sunrise in the end, but those that had made it up in time reassured us that we hadn’t missed anything.
We took some photos to commemorate the occasion, and then began making our way back down to Crestones Base Lodge.
En route, we took a short detour to Laguna Ditkeri. Neither of us was convinced it was worth it, as all we could see was the edge of the lake:
We parted ways a little further along the path: I returned to Crestones Base Lodge, while Laurence opted to tack on Cerro Terbi and Los Crestones. I did some interview prep back at Crestones Base Lodge. (It took place back over Teams back in San Gerardo de Rivas, at the delightful hour of 03.30 in the morning due to the time difference. Spoiler: I didn’t get that job, but things worked out in the end on the job front.) When Laurence returned, we shared a Coke and a packet of M&Ms before he braved the icy showers. (We hadn’t packed towels, but you can rent one for 5,000₡, equivalent to approx. £7.70.)
DAY 2 (PM): CRESTONES BASE LODGE TO MIRADOR SABANA LOS LEONES
Distance | 4.11km / 2.6 miles; 195m elevation gain.
After lunch – served from 12.30 to 15.00, and consisting of an enormous portion of sticky ribs – we set off for Mirador Sabana Los Leones. After the gruelling trek up Cerro Chirripó, this felt like a walk in the park.
We overshot the mark, which added an extra kilometre to this hike. Keep your eyes peeled for a very narrow path on the right-hand side, at around the 1.5km point. This leads to a rocky outcrop, with views of the surrounding peaks. If you have the time, this is a nice add-on to your time at Crestones Base Lodge.
We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling at Crestones Base Lodge. On the menu that night was fried tilapia, with mixed veg mash plus carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. (Fear not if you’re vegetarian: as previously mentioned, there are three options to select from when you pay for your lodging in San Gerardo de Rivas.) We were tucked up in bed by 18.45 – on the basis that we stood a better chance of staying warm that way!
DAY 3: CRESTONES BASE LODGE TO SAN GERARDO DE RIVAS
Distance | 16.77km / 10.4 miles; 130m elevation gain.
Thunderstorms woke us up around 02.00, and the heavy rain and lightning kept me awake for some time. I must have drifted off again at some point, as the next thing I knew it was 06.00 – our alarm hadn’t yet sounded, but this put us perfectly in sync with our two roommates. We enjoyed our final breakfast at Crestones Base Lodge – pancakes with fruit for me, rice, beans, scrambled egg and toast for Laurence – and hit the trail a little after 07.00.
Needless to say, it was considerably easier going down than it had been coming up!
At Llano Bonito, we saw a couple of horses loaded up with deliveries for Crestones Base Lodge. If you can’t face the idea of carrying your pack up/down, for 2,713.15₡ (£4.20) per kilo the horses can do it for you (prices correct as of July 2023). Obviously, there’s a limit to how much they can carry – so this service is offered on a first come, first served basis.
After some refreshments, we continued our descent. We saw a few colourful birds on this stretch (including a gorgeous bright-yellow bird which I didn’t manage to get a half-decent picture of, and this yellow-chested bird which I did).
We made it into San Gerardo de Rivas shortly after 13.00, and headed straight for Garden House for some fresh lemonade and cake. Much to our surprise, a hummingbird stayed still long enough for us to take some photos!
We spent one last night at Hotel Roca Dura (cue another plate of fajitas) before heading south to the Osa Peninsula.
Up next: Puerto Jimenez.
La Grenouille Anglaise 