The Solo Scale:

---

WARNING: There’s a photo of a snake later in this post, so if you have a phobia, don’t scroll too far down.

Costa Rica is an adventurer’s paradise. There’s zip lining, hiking, river rafting, and hot springs to soak your sore body in after a long day. There’s also the hanging bridges of Mistico Park in Arenal, which is both fun, a little burst of exertion, and gives you more of that famous Costa Rica wildlife. If your cardio isn’t amazing, this is definitely going to be a bit of a trek. However, the reward is fantastic views. Plus, everyone will be a little out of breath.

You’ll start your journey with a (hopefully) wonderful view of Arenal. Often, the volcano is clouded over, so if you happen to get a sunny day, count yourself lucky for it. Once you have your tickets, you’ll head inside. When you buy your tickets, you can opt for a general admission or for a tour. I opted to take the tour, which is a small group of under ten. Once the group is together, we set off through the paths.

Within the first few moments, we were already seeing incredible flora and fauna. This ranged from howler monkeys to snakes to leaf-cutter ants and stingless bees. There would be more monkeys along the way. The oddest encounter was when we came across a crab in the wild, protected by multiple armed soldiers.

Apart from the wildlife, the draw of Mistico is the hanging bridges. These all have fun names, like Anthill and Tarantula Bridge. If you’re afraid of heights, you might end up clutching the railings especially when the bridges start to wobble. If you can overcome your fear of heights, look out toward the fantastic view which shows you Arenal volcano on a clear day.

There are multiple bridges for you to cross as you do the circular loop that will bring you right back to where you started. With luck, you won’t run into any other large groups, giving you the bridges to yourself!

Near the end of the trail, you can head down for a view of the waterfall. Admittedly, this is a bit of a hike, so make sure you have the energy! Once you’re done admiring the waterfall, you have to do the climb back to the top to walk to the finishing point.

The guide you’ll have is fantastic through this experience. They were extremely informative in an interesting way, kept a great pace, and offered options like heading down to hike and see the waterfall. You could walk ahead of the guide too, not tied to them, and they also helped you to get close-up views of the monkeys through binoculars.

If you’re ready to hang around Mistico, check out the website here. You can also check out the map here to see what kind of sights you might get to see during your trip!

---