Set in a verdant valley near the city of Cartago, the quaint village of Orosi is like stepping back in time to the Costa Rica of yesteryear.

Here, toothless old farmers sell their produce door to door in wheelbarrows, young children play outside well after dark and strangers greet each other in the street with broad smiles and a warm  ¨adios¨ or ¨buenos dias¨. 

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. 

Pronounced ¨la beer hen¨, this northern lowlands town sandwiched between a screeching highway and the jungle-strewn banks of the Sarapiqui River, is a must-stop if you´re a kayaker or white-water rafter.