When I started to look into the possibilities to visit one of the national parks, the climb up to Chirripo came out as the most attractive option. To properly enjoy the guarrapo, a principal characteristic of the world heritage site, one needs an overnight at the mountain guesthouse. When I checked the site around New Year, there was just one night available in March. I booked this quickly and then planned the rest of my trip around it.

One first books and pays the park entrance at the SINAC website, then one sends a whatsapp message to the mountain hut organisation with the SINAC reservation number. They will send a payment link for the accommodation The day before the climb one has to register at the SINAC office in San Gerardo de Rivas before 16.00h and book the meals at the mountain lodge office opposite. There are just few buses daily from San Isidro del General and I was in for a 2,5 hour wait there, luckily the square is quite lively and there are places for lunch.

When I arrived at the village, there was a heavy rain shower and I asked at the park office if I should be prepared for more rain, but the ranger said it was only the second shower this year, and it is very dry up in the mountains.

It is a climb of 2000 meters and 14 kilometers to the lodge which is at 3300 meters. I stayed at a hostel in the village and there was a family that went up with a guide starting at 2.30 am. I asked them why they start so early and they just said 'the guide likes to get up early'. I left around 6.30h and arrived at the lodge around 14.00h. It was a cloudy day and it wasn't so hot, next day it was much warmer, even at a height of 3800 meters. There is a halfway cafe where there is a tap with drinking water, so carrying a one liter bottle was enough.

The next day is meant for the climb of 500 more meters and 6 kilometer to the top. The path is easy until the last 50 meters to the top, this is a scramble and I didn't do this as I have a light fear of heights. Most others go up in the dark to watch the sunset, so it probably isn't that difficult.

The track starts in the lower parts where it is wet and sometimes slightly muddy, but once out of the forest it is dry, and the loose stones made the path a bit slippery in the steeper parts. The first day there were a lot of annoying flies in the wet part. They were not present next day, so probably it had to do with the recent rain.

The upper part, which is the guarrapo, is not unlike the European high mountain areas, and the views are very beautiful. I found the walking up quite exhausting due to the high altitude, and it didn't seem like I was the only one.

Then there is the long way down of 20 kilometers and 2500 height meters. The last 10 kilometers I found a bit dull, I just started to think about the shower and bed that waited for me down in the village.