In a country where tourism is the number one source of revenue, getting off the beaten track can sometimes be as difficult as finding a hot shower.

And with mega-tourism (luxury resorts, high-rise condos and gated Gringo communities) on the rise along Costa Rica´s Pacific coast - it´s encouraging to see that a number of rural community groups are flying in the face of the economic trend by embracing a form of small-scale tourism that allows them to preserve their land, culture and lifestyle. This is eco-tourism in its truest sense. 

One of Costa Rica´s best rural eco-tourism experiences can be had at the Karen Mogensen Reserve, a 900-hectare nature reserve on the southern Nicoya Peninsula. 

In 1996, a local conservation group called ASEPALECO bought the land from a couple of elderly farmers. They named the reserve after the late Karen Mogensen, a Danish immigrant who together with her husband Olof Wessberg, was instrumental in established the Cabo Blanco Reserve, Costa Rica´s first protected nature reserve.

Since purchasing the reserve, tree planting, fence removal and natural regeneration have all played a role in returning this former patch of farmland back to bona fide jungle. Featuring both primary and secondary transitional dry-humid tropical forest, the Karen Mogensen Reserve protects the headwaters of rivers that provide drinking water to much of the peninsula. The reserve is also a crucial link in an expanding biological corridor that runs from Cabo Blanco Reserve on the peninsula´s southwestern tip to the Barra Honda National Park, 50km north. 

White-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, otters, deer, tapir and even puma abound and close to 250 bird species have been identified here, including the rare great curassow which can reach up to 91 centimetres tall.

It is possible to stay the night in the reserve in the solar-powered Cerro Escondido Lodge ($45 a night including three meals). Getting there is an adventure in itself: it´s a 3km uphill hike to the lodge involving five river crossings or otherwise a 6km horse ride through jungle. For its remoteness, the lodge is surprisingly clean, modern and comfortable, and while - yes - the showers are cold, after such a sweaty journey, you won´t mind one bit. At night, frogs and insects lull you to sleep and in the morning howler monkeys provide an eerie wake-up call. Delectable meals consisting of typical Costa Rican cuisine - rice, beans, plantains, hearty vegetable stews and tropical fruit - are cooked in an adjacent open-air restaurant by Mary, a mother from the local village. Local musicians often provide lively entertainment at night.

The reserve has about 5km of well-maintained hiking trails. One trail leads to Bridal Veil Falls, one of Costa Rica´s most spectacular waterfalls which cascades into a refreshing natural swimming pool. For avid hikers, Mary can also make up a packed lunch - a beans and egg tortilla wrapped in a biodegradable banana leaf.

The lodge is an inspiring and stunning place. Due to the logistical difficulties involved in getting there (including the fact staff have to haul food up the mountain), it is advisable to stay at least two nights. But many people find themselves wanting to stay longer and luckily for them, the Karen Mogensen Reserve welcomes volunteers ($10 a day for food and accommodation) to help with tree planting, seed collecting, trail maintenance, carrying food up the mountain and cleaning the lodge.   

For more information on visiting the Karen Mogensen Reserve, contact ACTUAR, an organisation which overseas community-based rural tourism in Costa Rica.