Head down to Costa Rica’s biodiverse Southern Zone, to the foothills of Mt. Chirripó, and you’ll find the truly one-of-a-kind Kinkara. It’s a resort, to be sure, but so much more than what you’d expect to find in Cancun or Jamaica.
Kinkara is an experiential luxury resort that’s designed to provide one-of-a-kind activities, personal relaxation, and group adventures. The key word here is experiential. From on-site dining and activities to adventures that take you into the depths of the Costa Rican jungle, you will feel, smell, touch, and taste—truly experience—the essence of the Earth.
This, along with many other elements, makes Kinkara one of our favorite partner hotels to work with. Below, we’ll show you what makes it such an immersive destination that helps you reconnect with the joy of discovery.
Exploring the Property
In total, Kinkara has 31 guest rooms embedded into a natural sanctuary in Costa Rica. Now, these aren’t your typical hotel rooms—far from it. The rooms are designed with the mantra “sleep is the best meditation” in mind (credit to the Dalai Lama).
Guests stay in the Lotus Belle Tents, which are fully furnished and equipped with amenities like solar-powered lights, Wi-Fi, comfy beds, and netted windows. There are options that accommodate two guests, and deluxe options that can accommodate up to four.
Even with the creature comforts accounted for, you’ll still get the sensation that you’re resting in an open-air tent as you drift off to the soft babble of the property’s meandering creek. Plus, the spa-inspired bath houses are only a few steps away.
These baths are prime for starting your morning off clean, or sinking into relaxation after a day adventuring across the lands. Each features oversized vanities, fresh fluffy towels, and hot rainfall showers with windows looking directly into the nearby rainforest.
No matter where you are on the property, you’ll notice that Kinkara draws on the wisdom and ancient knowledge of nature to offer an uplifting and reinvigorating stay. One way that takes shape is in the very food you eat.
Nourish Your Body and Soul
As the team at Kinkara would be quick to tell you, the experience you’ll receive at this resort is largely an edible one. The very food you consume grows adjacent to where you eat, sleep, play, and meet.
At the heart of Kinkara, the Mandala Garden houses over 100 beds of vegetables as well as culinary and medicinal herbs. Not only does this serve as a playground for the culinarily-curious, it’s a permaculture classroom you can explore and learn about (more on that later).
Aside from the Mandala Garden, there’s a Food Forest with a wide variety of fruit trees and extended gardens housing acres of vegetables, grains and beans. The Kinkara team has a goal with all this, aside from nourishing the body and soul of their guests: they want to regenerate the land and watershed here and welcome wildlife to the property.
Your dining options are guaranteed to hold true to the belief that diversity of food is a key contributor to your health, whether you’re staying on-site for food (recommended) or heading off-site for a little adventure.
On-Site Dining
At Kinkara, you can enjoy cuisine from Casa Bulú. It offers what they call “Earth to plate dining,” and is one of Costa Rica’s best gastronomic experiences. The restaurant serves globally inspired local cuisine with influences that range from the Middle East to Thailand, and cover everything in between.
Many of the ingredients are sourced directly from the farm at Kinkara. If it can’t be sourced there, it’s purchased directly from a trusted partner or local farmer’s market. Many guests say dining here is the highlight of their stay.
Go Forth and Play
When you’re not exploring the property or feasting at Kinkara, it’s highly recommended you immerse yourself in the various activities and experiences available. You can fully customize an itinerary that blends the best of the property with the surrounding wonders of the nearby jungle.
No matter what you do, everything from yoga to swimming in a hidden waterfall, you’ll be traversing a path of self-discovery, renewed ideas, and connections with nature. Here’s a sneak peek at what you can experience at Kinkara.
Onsite Activities
Walk the Mandala Gardens alongside Kinkara’s farmers, nibbling your way through 100 edible plant beds. You’ll learn about the organic farming and permaculture that makes the gardens possible, as well as how to farm hand-in-hand with nature.
You might also want to make your impact felt by planting a tree, which is part of Kinkara’s reforestation efforts. Take a seedling plant with your own hands, and cover it with life-sustaining Earth knowing that it will be well taken care of for decades to come.
Or maybe you’re looking to deepen your yoga practice at El Moren, the airy pavilion that doubles as a spacious movement temple at the heart of the Mandala Gardens at this wellness hotel. Or take part in a sacred sweat ritual, participate in a cacao ceremony, sound healing meditation, or simply get a massage alongside the Kinkara Creek. There’s no shortage of adventure close to home.
Offsite Activities
Of course, if you’re looking to go deeper into the wild there’s also no shortage of adventure that way either. Chief among the most popular adventures are excursions to Eco Chontales Waterfall and Nauyaca Waterfall—there’s no better way to cool off than in their cool waters.
Perhaps you’d like to explore the Cloudbridge Nature Reserve, at the foothills of Mt. Chirripó, on a guided hike. There’s also a canopy zip line tour that takes you over 70 meters of treetops of the cloud forest and its many microclimates.
For those looking for a true cultural experience of the region, the Boruca immersion will take you to the 2,600 remaining members of the Boruca community, whose art and almost extinct language have inspired much of Kinkara itself. You’ll spend the day with an artist’s collective painting, making masks, and learning about the cultivation of cotton.
Kinkara Awaits
All this simply scratches the surface of the bounty Kinkara has to offer you. The best way to experience it is to simply book your stay and get down to Costa Rica. From immersive culinary experiences to wild adventures you won’t ever forget, Kinkara is ready and waiting.
No matter your reason for going, whether on a getaway or a business retreat, we’re pretty confident you won’t want to leave. Reach out to us today and book the adventure of a lifetime now.
