The Savegre Mountain Hotel, also known as Cabinas Chacón, is located in San Gerardo
de Dota, a small community in the Talamanca mountains of Costa Rica in the midst of a precious ecosystem...
Here you will find a deep cloud forest filled with massive oaks and other native species. The
woods serve as a sanctuary for a large number of mammals and innumerable species of insects,
amphibians, amazing plants, and colorful birds, a paradise for birdwatchers.
As you wind around Cerro de la Muerte on the Interamerican Highway, you will see the lush
vegetation become stunted and then diminish. The turn off for San Gerardo de Dota is on
Kilometer 80, driving for 9 kilometers down on a well mantained gravel road you reach
this narrow, pristine mountain valley at 2200 meters of altitude (7220 ft). San Gerardo
de Dota has become a paradise for birdwatchers, hikers, and trout fishers.
Don Efraín Chacón and his family arrived here in 1954 and were the first pioneers
settling down in this valley. The Chacón Family not only have developed this wonderul
hotel, but have over the course of the years take advantage of the crisp weather to grow apples,
plums, and peaches, which you sample in meals. Rainbow trout abound in the Savegre River which is
great for fly fishing. Over 170 bird species have been observed in the area and its multiple hiking
trails in the Cloud Forest. This is known as one of the best places in the country to observe
Resplendent Quetzals, who live here year around The Hotel hosts the Quetzal Education Research Center
Complex (QERC), a cooperative venture between the Chacón Family and Southern Nazarene
University in Oklahoma.
