There can be few better ways for children to “get in touch with the living world” than a visit to Hacienda Montezuma, says Lydia Bell in Condé Nast Traveller. This country estate in Costa Rica started taking guests seven years ago, and its recent shift from traditional ranching to sustainable cattle farming offers a lesson in “the power of conservation”.
The farm lies in the northern province of Guanacaste, and its 3,700 acres straddle the continental divide, attracting both Caribbean and Pacific birds, from trogons and oropendolas to six kinds of toucan. Indeed, its rainforest species read “like a Who’s Who of Costa Rican wildlife”, including jaguars, pumas, armadillos, sloths and plenty of monkeys.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bird-watching expeditions and rainforest walks are led by an expert biologist, but for equine adventures, the estate offers a different kind of guide. The image of the sabanero, or cowboy, is much the same here as in the American west, and looms equally large in the local culture. Those at Hacienda Montezuma will take you hacking and – if you’re a good enough rider – they will even let you help muster cattle.
On other days, you might harvest malanga from the vegetable garden, visit a nearby rescue centre to meet recent arrivals (ocelots and the like), or laze by a lake, swimming and picnicking. And in the evenings, the riches of the farm and neighbouring estates (including cacao for mousses and ice creams) are put to use in kitchen suppers and “firepit feasts”.
Plan South America (plansouthamerica.com) has one week from £5,517 per person, excluding flights.
-
In Suriname, the spectre of Dutch slave trade lingersUnder the Radar Dutch royal family visit, the first to the South American former colony in nearly 50 years, spotlights role of the Netherlands in transatlantic trade
-
Political cartoons for December 7Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include the Trump-tanic, AI Santa, and the search for a moderate Republican
-
Trump’s poll collapse: can he stop the slide?Talking Point President who promised to ease cost-of-living has found that US economic woes can’t be solved ‘via executive fiat’
-
Wake Up Dead Man: ‘arch and witty’ Knives Out sequelThe Week Recommends Daniel Craig returns for the ‘excellent’ third instalment of the murder mystery film series
-
Zootropolis 2: a ‘perky and amusing’ movieThe Week Recommends The talking animals return in a family-friendly sequel
-
Storyteller: a ‘fitting tribute’ to Robert Louis StevensonThe Week Recommends Leo Damrosch’s ‘valuable’ biography of the man behind Treasure Island
-
The rapid-fire brilliance of Tom StoppardIn the Spotlight The 88-year-old was a playwright of dazzling wit and complex ideas
-
‘Mexico: A 500-Year History’ by Paul Gillingham and ‘When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy’ by David Margolickfeature A chronicle of Mexico’s shifts in power and how Sid Caesar shaped the early days of television
-
Homes by renowned architectsFeature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Film reviews: ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ and ‘Eternity’Feature Grief inspires Shakespeare’s greatest play, a flamboyant sleuth heads to church and a long-married couple faces a postmortem quandary
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
