Costa Rica Guide
The Zona Sur
Albergue Mirador de Quetzales
The Albergue Mirador de Quetzales ( 
& 
381-8456; Price: $31-50), also known as Finca Eddie Serrano, sits at a nose-bleed altitude of 8500 feet. This 100-plus acre cloudforest reserve is run by a local family who have many of the quetzals' favourite trees on their land. The albergue itself is cosy and reasonably priced, with an eight-room lodge (shared bathrooms) and several wooden cabinas with private baths overlooking a misty valley. Bedside electric heaters warm you through near freezing nighttime temperatures. You can enjoy delicious home-cooked meals for about $10 extra. El Robledal, the finca's 4km trail, winds past 1500-year-old cypresses and 14-million year old marine fossils, offerings vistas from which to admire the eponymous resplendent quetzal, the bird the Aztecs worshipped. Guided hikes depart at 6am daily. Day visitors can pay $6 to walk the trail. You can also take a horseback-ride past an old plane wreck down to a waterfall.