IT'S ONLY NATURAL

The concept of the eco-lodge-now so prevalent around the world-was perfected in Costa Rica. Almost four decades since the first property of its kind opened in the country, Gina DeCaprio Vercesi meets the new generation of pioneers taking green tourism to the next level.

- Gina DeCaprio Vercesi

SUNLIGHT FILTERED through the treetops as I surrendered my body to the harness. It would soon be time to drop back down to the forest floor, but for now I stayed put, spinning in a slow circle and marveling at the explosion of epiphytesmoss, lichens, and ferns in every shade of green that surrounded me.

I was dangling from an enormous tempisque tree at Savia Monteverde, a 17-acre private reserve in the Costa Rican cloud forest. Savia is the latest project by the owners of Hotel Belmar, the oldest continually operated ecolodge in the town of Monteverde, and my home for the first few nights of a 10-day journey through Costa Rica's Puntarenas province.

The Belmar family designed Savia as a forest immersion: part ecology lesson, part meditation session, part thrill ride, and a tranquil alternative to the high-speed ziplines that scream through the canopy elsewhere in the region. "When we are in the trees, we are in an environment that is not our own," said Savia's cofounder, Andrés Valverde, as he dangled beside me in his own harness. He gestured to the sea of bromeliads that had taken root on the tempisque's mossy branches. "It is like being in a coral reef." On another limb we spotted a cluster of micro-orchids with flowers so small they can only be pollinated by a particular species of tiny, metallic-green bee.

As I began my descent, a blue-throated mountain-gem hummingbird darted into the foliage in an iridescent blur. In the distance, sheaves of mist swirled through the treetops. "We use awe as a catalyst for change," Valverde said. He must have seen the look of wonder on my face. "With seventeen acres, I'm not saving the world. But if every person who passes through here feels that connection, I think they will do something for conservation."