Last Updated: August 19, 2025
San Gerardo de Dota is a little-known destination in the remote mountains south of Costa Rica’s capital city, San Jose. The village is set deep in a valley, but is surrounded by the towering Talamanca mountains. Among the quiet forests of San Gerardo de Dota live a variety of animals and birds, including the famous Resplendent Quetzal and dozens of hummingbird species. Though San Gerardo de Dota is slowly becoming known for its superb bird-watching, it remains home to just a handful of quaint eco-lodges and restaurants, making it the perfect escape. Below we share tips for planning your visit to San Gerardo de Dota, including hotel and activity recommendations.
Location
San Gerardo de Dota is situated in a rural area of Costa Rica about halfway between Dominical on the southern Pacific coast and San Jose. Since it’s only 2-3 hours from the beaches of Dominical and Manuel Antonio, it’s a great place to visit before heading back to San Jose Airport and will show you a completely different life zone: the cloud forest.
Because San Gerardo de Dota is at a high altitude, the climate is much cooler and wetter, and the wildlife varies from what you will find at the lowland beaches.
For important information on driving and packing, see our tips below.
Things to Do in San Gerardo de Dota
Birding
If you’re into birding, be sure to bring your binoculars. Because of its elevation, the San Gerardo de Dota area attracts a multitude of species (over 150 in the Dota valley alone).
On our visits, we have seen a long list of birds, including the Sooty Robin, Acorn Woodpecker, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Emerald Toucanet, Flame-colored Tanager, Wilson’s Warbler, Volcano Hummingbird (pictured in cover photo, above), and Collared Redstart.
We’ve also been lucky to see a Resplendent Quetzal—the stunning green and red bird that put San Gerardo on the map. What makes San Gerardo de Dota different from other forests where the quetzal can be found, like Monteverde, is that in San Gerardo de Dota, quetzals can be spotted any time of year.
Keep in mind that, while it is possible to see a quetzal year-round, there are no guarantees. We had been trying to spot one off and on for over a year before finally getting lucky on one of our visits. This is why we highly recommend hiring a local birding guide to take you on an early morning tour. They know exactly what to look for when trying to spot a quetzal and where they have been spotted recently.
Read our post on Resplendent Quetzals for more information on spotting these beauties.
Hiking
San Gerardo de Dota is undeveloped and there’s lots of great hiking around. Even just walking around town is a hike in itself because it’s so hilly and heavily forested. But if you’re looking for trails, head to the higher elevation Los Quetzales National Park. Los Quetzales has a small network of trails through the cloud forest. See our post all about the park for more details.
Another option is the trail right in town that follows the Rio Savegre through the forest to a lovely waterfall. Although this a shorter hike along fairly flat terrain, it’s a bit of an adventure as there are some bridges to cross that could really use some maintenance. For more information about visiting, read our post on the San Gerardo Waterfall.
Fishing
One of the most interesting things about San Gerardo de Dota is the trout that inhabit its cool rivers and streams. You’re sure to see locals fishing along the riverbanks, and later, you’ll find their catch on restaurant menus.
Trout are not native to Costa Rica but were said to be introduced in Panama by the US military and somehow made their way north. No matter how they got there, today they’re a big part of the local economy, which now farms and sells trout around the country.
Local Artisans Gallery
Perusing the art gallery at Dantica Lodge is always one of the highlights when we are in San Gerardo de Dota.
This place isn’t your normal tourist-trap souvenir shop. The gallery is elegantly designed with welcoming glass walls and carries locally made art and handicrafts. Though modest in size, it has a wide assortment of items, including Boruca masks from Costa Rica, Carnival masks from Colombia, ceramics from Peru, and lots of beautiful jewelry.
Hotels in San Gerardo de Dota
San Gerardo de Dota has only a few lodges and B&Bs but there are still plenty of great choices.
Hotel de Montana Suria
We’ve stayed at Hotel de Montana Suria in the past, a cute family-run place with cabin-style rooms and beautiful gardens. The draw for us was that it’s located at the end of the road in San Gerardo. That made it close to the river, for the best birding, and walking distance to the waterfall trail. Rooms are simple, but comfortable, with space heaters for those crisp cloud-forest nights. $140-170/night. Check Prices and Availability Here.
Trogon Lodge
Another popular option is the Trogon Lodge just up the road from Hotel de Montana Suria. This is a smaller property with clean, comfortable cabins. The grounds abut the river and are gorgeous, with trout ponds and gardens filled with hummingbirds. It has a very good onsite restaurant. Trogon Lodge has room options for both couples and families. $150-200/night. Check Prices and Availability Here.
Dantica Lodge
If you’re looking for a little more comfort, check out Dantica Lodge. Dantica Lodge is located farther up the hill and has ten bungalows set into the steep hillside. One- and two-bedroom options are available. They also now have a larger house called the Terraces, which is set right in the forest. Rooms have modern flair, with clean lines and floor-to-ceiling windows to take advantage of the sweeping mountain and cloud-forest views.
An on-site restaurant serves upscale fare. We enjoyed our stay here.
$160-600/night. Check Prices and Availability Here.
Restaurants in San Gerardo de Dota
Because San Gerardo de Dota is a small town, there aren’t a ton of restaurants. Most hotels have restaurants onsite. Aside from that, there are a few good options. Here are some that we have enjoyed.
Miriam’s Quetzals
This small local restaurant serves up solid traditional Costa Rican food, but the main draw is the bird feeders set up out back. While waiting for your meal, you can watch the many species come and go. It’s a lot of fun even if you aren’t a serious birder.
Cafe Kahawa
Cafe Kahawa is a cute outdoor cafe with creative dishes ranging from beetroot pesto spaghetti with bacon to local trout with coconut sauce. Has several vegetarian choices. Its location beside the beautiful river complete the experience. Open for breakfast and lunch. Also has a playground for kids.
Pizzeria Los Colibries
For delicious pizza and pasta dishes, head to Pizzeria Los Colibries. This small, rustic restaurant has delicious pies and friendly staff. Both the kids and adults in our group loved our veggie and pepperoni pizza.
More Details for Planning Your Visit to San Gerardo de Dota
Directions
San Gerardo de Dota is located off Highway 2, about 2-3 hours from San Jose and 2 hours from Dominical. Like everywhere in Costa Rica, signage is not the best; however, there is a small sign at the turnoff. It helps to keep a lookout for kilometer markers. San Gerardo de Dota is located at kilometer 80.
Once you turn off Highway 2, you’ll descend into the valley for about 15 minutes, maneuvering down several steep switchbacks before arriving in the village. The road is paved, but usually has a lot of deep potholes and uneven terrain so we recommend a vehicle with higher clearance.
Driving Tips
Be sure to leave early in the day for San Gerardo de Dota. Driving after dark on Highway 2 is not recommended. The road is curvy and steep, and visibility can be limited when it rains. It’s often very foggy and clouded in. This area is called Cerro de la Muerte (Hill of Death), in part, because of these conditions.
Learn more about the roads around San Gerardo de Dota with our Road Conditions post or read our guide on Driving in Costa Rica for more tips.
If you need to rent a car for your trip, check out this special discount for our readers to save 10% and get free extras.
Packing
Bring layers, especially for the cooler nights. Temps can get into the 60s ℉ (16 ℃) at night but remain a pleasant 75 ℉ (24 ℃) during the day. On our first visit, we arrived from the beach wearing shorts and T-shirts, not realizing how different the temperature would be a mere two hours away.
Lightweight pants and layers for daytime is recommended and jeans and T-shirts/lightweight sweaters for nighttime.
Bring a raincoat: It’s the cloud forest so it rains a lot, especially in the afternoon.
For more info about packing in general, see our post all about Packing Essentials for Costa Rica.
Supplies and Gas
Fill up your tank and stock up on supplies before you arrive as there’s just one pulperia (small grocery store) in town and no gas station for miles.
Resplendent Quetzal Watching
Visit in late March or April if you can, as this is when the Quetzals are breeding and most active. You may be able to spot one on your own, but because these birds are often hiding behind thick, moss-covered foliage, it’s easiest to hire a guide in town. A guided tour is around $30 per person for 2 hours.
Conclusion
San Gerardo de Dota is unlike any other destination in Costa Rica and we’ve always loved our visits there. Maybe it’s something about the fresh mountain air, but we leave feeling rested and rejuvenated, ready to plan our next visit.
Have you ever visited a cloud forest? What did you think?
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Looking for more information to plan your trip? Check out these posts:
Costa Rica Itinerary with Osa Peninsula – Wondering how to fit San Gerardo into your trip? This sample itinerary can help.
Monteverde: A Forest in the Clouds – Monteverde is a much larger cloud forest destination. See how it compares with this post.
San Isidro de El General – This locals’ town between Dominical and San Gerardo de Dota is a good place to stock up on supplies before you get to Dota.
Destinations: Plan your trip with our Destinations page. We cover more than 50 beach and mountain towns all around the country.
