Costa Rica Canopy Tours

Canopy Tours and Walkways

There are hundreds of zip-line tours across five continents to date,but are particularly popular in Costa Rica, Thailand, Brazil and other countries with jungles or rainforests. Costa Rica was one of the original locations for canopy tours and as such there are a high number available there. Canopy tours are available in other areas throughout North America, Europe, Africa and Australasia.

Canopy tours often include a jeep or hike tour to the zipline site during which a guide tells you about wildlife and flora. At some mountain resorts, the ziplines are near the base of summer-green ski slopes and the first zipline is reached via a chairlift.[3] These guided tours often last from one to three days depending on the tour company. It will often include accommodation, meals, transport other activities such as rafting, mountain climbing, hiking and mountain biking.

Ecology and Conservation

Canopy tours are part of the burgeoning ecotourism industry and are often marketed as being environmentally-friendly. They require the construction of several platforms being nailed to trees far above the ground, however sometimes wooden nails can be used. Some canopy tours have taken extra steps to not only prevent harm but to give back to the environment.

Canopy walkways are bridges between and in the canopy of a forest; mostly linked up with platforms inside or around the trees. They were originally intended as access to the upper regions of ancient forests for scientist who conduct canopy research. After they turned out to provide a limited one-dimensional access to the trees, they were abandoned for canopy cranes. Today they serve as ecotourism attractions, such as the canopy boardwalk in Dhlinza Forest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.