The lessons to learn from this green hostel

West Australian

25-05-2025

Dos Brazos de Rio Tigre, a small village in the south-eastern Pacific region of Costa Rica, has everything its wild Osa Peninsula is well-known for: wildlife such as tapirs and scarlet macaws, quieter towns, and an incredible array of marine life, plus a truly authentic vibe and unique history. Dos Brazos became one of the most important gold mining communities thanks to the bounty of the Rio Tigre's exceptionally high-grade natural gold, which still uniquely accumulates on riverbanks in the form of sedimentary gold.
It's hidden beyond this village that already feels like its own well-kept secret in Costa Rica's otherwise very exploited tourism industry, that travellers can find Bolita Hostel — a gem of true blue eco-sustainable accommodation rarely found elsewhere.
There's no motorable road to Bolita. No shops, spotty wi-fi and electric power generated exclusively using solar panels. I don't think they are needed: follow a narrow trail up through the rainforest, and arrive sweaty, silent and surrounded by green on all sides. By then, you've already left a version of the 'modern' world behind, and you have stepped into true nature — and that's exactly how Ronnie Engel likes it.
Founded by Canadians Ronnie Engel and Val Rosiana 20 years ago, Bolita (
bolita.org
) is not just a beautiful solar-powered eco-hostel where everything is built and maintained by Ron and a group of rotating volunteers, but an excellent alternative to the Osa jungle experience at a fraction of Corcovado National Park's prices.
It all started when Ronnie and Val, once a couple, came to vacation in Costa Rica from Toronto in 2001. By 2003, they had already sold everything they owned back in Canada and moved permanently to Costa Rica. They found Dos Brazos and the land where Bolita stands in 2003, and at first, the place was also their home for three years.
Their original plan was to build a luxury eco-resort to be tentatively called 'Bola' (which means 'ball' in Spanish), 'but as it would have cost too much money and needed too many permits to open, we changed plans,' says Ronnie. 'At the same time, people had started coming and we thought that we could set it up as a hostel instead, and that's how we have been here for the last 19 years.
With the downscale of a big ball, here came a little one:
bolita
. 'We really thought that either we needed to have a destination in itself, or we needed to be near one,' says Val Rosiana. Over the years, Ron and Val planted trees, dug trails, and built a hostel not on the land but with it. No square edges. No concrete scars. Just simple wooden (and sometimes, metallic sheet and concrete) buildings that breathe with the jungle. 'I think we managed to have both: we have the trails at Bolita, and of course, there's Corcovado National Park nearby. Other people have also opened more places to stay in Dos Brazos over the years, so it has become more of a destination in itself,' says Val.
Bolita is awesome, but not for everybody. The first reason is because of its remoteness. Set on a lush hill on the westernmost limits of Dos Brazos, it rubs borders with the national park's limits and hence 'inherits' all its population of animals and birds. There's a small reception/office on the western end of the village — and this is where guests can leave their heaviest stuff — but one first has to walk 10 minutes to a river crossing, and then another 20 minutes uphill through a forest trail before reaching the accommodation.
It's a mix of delightful partitioned doubles with mosquito-net draped beds, all with only three walls and with one side opened above lush rainforest and the sunset, or a cluster of dorm beds, all using communal bathrooms and showers. All food and everything you need must be carried up by yourself, no exceptions, and cooked at one of Bolita's two well-equipped kitchen areas.
This far-off location is also a consequence of what sets Bolita apart from every other hostel in the region — something that Ronnie 'had in mind since I was ten years old,' he tells me. This eco-friendly hilltop hostel is, in fact, the only clothing-optional hostel in the whole of Costa Rica, and possibly Central America. In other words, at Bolita you may (and you will) come across other people in the nude.
'There's nothing sexual about it, it's just my way and vision to be one with nature, and that's pretty much all about it,' says Ronnie. 'It's a safe space where those who share this vision can feel at ease among themselves and nature,' he says.
Even those who are not interested in taking their clothes off are absolutely welcome to stay — provided they have an open mind. Otherwise, Bolita's trails remain open to anyone for a lifetime access fee that Ronnie has set at just $10.
Besides the abundance of birds and potential for animal sightings, including frogs and snakes, the beauty at Bolita is 15km of hiking trails that snake across the property's 60 sprawling and very wild hectares. They include four different waterfalls and two viewpoints with views stretching to the Baru Volcano in Panama. Ron will tell you which are best depending on the time of day and the weather.
The perfect three hour-long loop starts right at the hostel, following the Banana and the Big Banana trails to the Valle Frijol junction and then proceeding upwards, snaking around a creek for excellent views of the jungle stretching to the Pacific.
The southwestern junction leads on the Bonanza trail until the two namesake waterfalls (Bonanza 1 and 2), of which the 10m-high Bonanza 2 is the grandest. Remember, you have to walk into the water and up the creek to the left as soon as you reach the river. Slog back up, then take the Fila Quemada trail to the Go-to viewpoint, soak in the views, and descend to headquarters.
Bolita isn't polished, as it's not meant to be. It's not curated — it's just what happens when there's little cell signal, no bar, and nothing to sell. But if you're willing to trade convenience for connection, if you don't mind ants in the sink and the occasional spider in your shoe, you'll find something here that sticks with you. At night, the hostel glows faintly with solar-powered lights, people speak softly as stars fill the gaps in the canopy. Just don't forget your headlamp — and when Ron tells you the sunset trail is worth it, believe him.