LONGEST Zipline in Latin America!
- Sabrina Shen
- Apr 14, 2016
- 6 min read
5,260 ft. Almost a mile long and the longest zipline in Latin America. It's with 100% Aventura in Monteverde, Costa Rica. I can sum up this whole experience with three words. Fun, fun, FUN! For us, the crazy day started at 7am. The 100% Aventura shuttle comes and picks you up right at your hotel/ hostel. The ride up the mountain to the Aventura headquarters is actually quite beautiful. Green everywhere you look, mountainside pastures with grazing cows, cute, humble & colorful traditional Costa Rican homes, towering trees everywhere you look... I grabbed some spectacular pictures just on the ride up. Zip lining is really quite amazing. I've been a few times before, once with this company and a couple of times in other countries. This one is still my favorite. If only for the simple reason that the scenery you're flying above is truly spectacular!
WHERE: MONTEVERDE, COSTA RICA
HIGHLIGHTS: LONGEST ZIPLINE, SUPERMAN, TARZAN SWING
PAY: 100% AVENTURA
COST: $50 PP
TOTAL TIME: APPROX 3 HRS
PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY: MODERATE HIKING INVOLVED (JUST PACE YOURSELF ON THE UPHILL CLIMBS AND YOU SHOULD BE FINE)
WHAT TO BRING: YOU CAN'T REALLY TAKE ANYTHING WITH YOU EXCEPT MAYBE A HEAD-MOUNTED GO-PRO (THEY HAVE SOME HELMETS WITH GO-PRO MOUNTS ALREADY ON THEM, WE WERE LUCKY TO GRAB ONE) OR A SMALL CAMERA (THEY LET A GUY AHEAD OF US TAKE A SMALL HANDHELD SELFIE STICK BUT HE KIND OF BEGGED SO IT'S def NOT GUARANTEED). AS FAR AS ANYTHING ELSE, YOU LEAVE IT IN THE OFFICE BEHIND THE COUNTER. I STRONGLY SUGGEST DRINKING A LOT OF WATER BEFOREHAND AND PUTTING AN EXTRA BOTTLE IN YOUR BAG FOR RIGHT AFTER, AS THERE IS QUITE A BIT HIKING INVOLVED. ALSO DEFINITELY USE THE RESTROOM (LOCATED WHERE YOU GET GEARED UP) BEFORE YOU START.
WHAT'S PROVIDED: TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM YOUR HOTEL/HOSTEL, FULL HARNESS AND HELMET, SAFETY BRIEFING AND ZIPLINING INSTRUCTIONS, STORAGE FOR A BAG AND LOADS AND LOADS OF FUN!!!
After getting completely geared up (which is always super fun for me, I just imagine I'm a new Superhero every time!) you're herded up some stairs into a really pretty opening for zip lining instructions and a safety briefing. All the Costa Rican guides I've ever had are always super funny with a really down to earth, dry sense of humor. This one was no different. After educating us while simultaneously making us laugh, we're ushered off to the first zipline! There are 7 ziplines (where you're sitting in your harness), one short rappel, 2 superman ziplines (where you're literally in the flying position and one Tarzan swing (139 ft).
The first zipline is the shortest and the lowest and they steadily build up from there. Even though the first one is relatively short in comparison to the others, you can't help but feel giddy and excited as it is the FIRST and it's you're first time experiencing the thrill of flying through the rainforest with nothing but cool, fresh air rushing past you. It doesn't matter how many times I do it, I'm always surprised by the speed at which I'm moving. In my world, that's a good thing.
Between 7 exhilarating ziplines, there's also really quick but fun rappel straight down from the top of a tree. FYI, there's really no indication that you're about to do a rappel, it's that quick. You literally unhook from a zipline and before you know it, you're hooked into a rope and the guy's practically shoving you off. For me the suddenness just made it that much more exciting. I just laughed the whole way down. Here's a shot of D coming down through the leaves... definitely good times :)
And before you know it...It's SUPERMAN time!
For me, this was the best part of the entire day. They strap you in so you're literally positioned to fly like Superman, pull you back, give you a good shove and off you go!!! Look at D's perfect Super Hero posture! It's like he was born for this! What's crazy is not only does this position take the thrill factor (that was already pretty intense) up by about 50%, once you're through the tree canopy (see the opening in the middle?) you are really, really high. I mean, you need to consciously remember to breathe high as you'll see in the next pic. But hey, isn't that the whole point? lol :)
OK. See that tiny little shadow? The one to the left just starting to cross the lake? That's D's shadow. He's about 230 ft high. For me, this was the most breathtaking zipline. And it's so long that towards the end your chest actually starts hurting from the strain of the harness holding up your weight... but who cares? You just came the closest you ever will to flying like Superman! Whom I desperately wanted to marry when I was 8 by the way :)
In between all the zipline adrenaline bursts there are also nice hanging bridges that you'll cross here and there. These offer great views and unique scenic photo opportunities!
And then before you know it, it's here. The moment that everyone's been dreading while at the same time nervously looking forward too. The adrenaline highlight of the day... the infamous "Tarzan Swing" 140 ft sheer fall, straight down with the weight of your body creating a pendulum, swinging you straight back up and out until you finally come to a stop at ground level. Hence the name "Tarzan Swing" Almost everybody yells. I heard grown men shriek like little girls and saw a giant 6ft man turn and come back at the end of the hanging bridge (Which for me, was just as intimidating to walk across as the swing itself.
And these smiling faces are the ones you see at the end of your long, harrowing walk. By this point I'm pretty sure they were laughing at me, the look of terror on my face and the constant stream of prayers coming out of my mouth. In fact, I'm sure they were pretty amused by all of us. I seriously don't think they do this for the pay but for the sadistic joy of watching us all practically pee our pants by the time we get to the end of the gnarly hanging walkway.
Either way, they were the last two faces I knew I would see alive so I did my best to joke with them. Again. Pretty sure they were laughing at me, not with me.
And then, the moment was here. After talking multiple strangers in our group who said they weren't going to jump into jumping, now it was my turn. And at that moment, I realized how sane those people were and how I must be missing a critical gene that tells you jumping off a perfectly good 140ft platform is simply not conducive to survival. So I did what I always do when faced with a situation like this. I shut my brain off (which is really hard for an asian btw) and jumped.
And then, screamed and screamed and screamed some more. I'm sure all the local monkeys moved to another rainforest. And then, as always is with adrenaline rushes, I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. Then, it was D's turn :)
See that tiny blurry figure in the middle top of the screen? Yeah, that's D. And no, he didn't scream. At all. But he also didn't know if he was strapped in for the first 4 seconds of free fall. Because he jumped before they told him too. So that was running through his head. Thankfully, he was strapped in so I got to high five him instead of write his eulogy. Regardless, he freakin loved it! If you watch our video it's hilarious to watch the facial expressions play across his face from serious, "Am I actually strapped in?' to WOOHOO!!! Yeah man!!! Lets do it again!!!
So that's it folks! Zip lining in Costa Rica 101. Fun, unique and super thrilling to say the least. It is definitely an adventure I highly recommend. Now, just so you're prepared. When you get to Monteverde, there are two main zip lining companies you can book with. 100% Aventura and Extremo. They're both great. The main reason I went with 100% Aventura is because they had the longest zipline in Latin America and their Tarzan swing is almost twice as high as Extremo. BUT, that being said, Extremo has a BUNGEE jump and Aventura doesn't. As well as their Ziplines are a little higher (which to me translated into more hiking and because I'm lazy, just pushed me to 100% Aventura even more. I prefer much longer than a little higher and 230ft was more than high enough :) So there you have it! Hope you enjoyed my blog and like always, feel free to contact us directly via e-mail if you have any specific questions! Of course, we will do our utmost to help answer them! Gracias!
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