DVDs and wi-fi transfers to your device on sale at the photo booth at the end. If the zips don’t offer enough adrenaline the big operations offer other gravity powered thrills like Tarzan swings (basically just the biggest rope swing ever) and bungee jumping.Īll of the big operations offer individual go-pro helmet cams and employ professional videographers and photographers to document your adventure from top to bottom. Face down and head first adds another dimension and a bit more speed since the position is more aerodynamic. If the sight of more than half a mile of cable disappearing into the clear blue sky in the distance pumps you up instead of freaking you out the big commercial operations can up the ante one more time with a “superman” flight. The tour has to provide a guide to walk the tourist out on what can be a challenging and difficult hike – 1 km in 64 seconds “as the crow flies” may translate to 2 or 3 km and a couple of hours walking on very steep trails. If a tourist decides they don’t want to fly down a kilometer (0.6 miles) long cable 200 meters (650 feet) up at 60 kilometers per hour (40 mph) the courses do have bailout trails but it’s very expensive for the operation. Second if you don’t have time to think about it you don’t have time to freak out and bail. First, the faster people fly down the production line the more money the tour makes. You no sooner land on a platform than your pulley is latched to another cable and you’re launched off the other side. The big amusement park style super zip-lines are almost non-stop. All have steel platform towers replacing the trees of the original canopy zip-lines ( see below) and the cables cross entire valleys so high up that the forest looks like a green Berber carpet in the distance. Some include short walks on trails but others (Sky Trek in Arenal and Monteverde) include a ski-lift style gondola to the top of the mountain. Most or all of the “canopy” aspect has been removed from these tours and replaced with thrills. One kilometer zip-line superman launch at Monteverde Other than marketing purposes it doesn’t really matter because they are all very high, fast and long. We have dynamic GPS data on each and know which is telling the truth but aren’t going to make enemies by calling a bluff. There are at least seven competing “-est” zip-lines each claiming to be the longest, highest, and/or fastest in Costa Rica. Longest, Fastest, Highest Amusement Park Rides There are three distinct types and the descriptions below will help you pick which is right for you, or maybe convince you to try all three. Best Places to See Wildlife in Costa RicaĬanopy Zip-Lines Cable, pulley and harnessĪ zip-line is more or less just pulley and harness rig used to slide a tourist along a cable strung between a couple of trees or hillsides but there are big differences between tours.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |