Yorkin Natural Adventures
- Autor: Michelle Fernández
- Category: Rural Experiences
- 10/04/2025
In Costa Rica, we can find eight indigenous peoples inhabiting approximately 24 territories, mainly in the areas of Talamanca in the South Caribbean and the South Pacific. The groups are: the Bribri, Cabécar, Maleku, Huetar, Chorotega, Ngöbe, Térraba and Brunca. The cultural importance of each ethnic group is of great value because it is a unique wealth of their language, traditions, and ways of life. From food, music, religion, and handicrafts, these people have kept alive their cultural legacy despite the challenges of today, which have created an opportunity with the combination of the visitation of people who want to know them favors them in economic growth.
In the South Caribbean area, the Bribris Indigenous group is one of the most numerous groups dedicated to agriculture, fishing, hunting birds, and raising pigs. Among the handicraft products they make are basketry and the manufacture of musical instruments, for which they use natural elements, keeping many of their beliefs and traditions alive. Currently, tourism has been combined with their activities. You can have the opportunity to meet a Bribri Indigenous people, which opens the doors to people who, with respect and following ethical standards, can visit and learn about their way of life.
Aventuras Naturales Yorkin is an Indigenous family project that opens its doors so visitors can experience the cultural richness and the environment it offers. The Yorkin Indigenous territory is a community located in the heart of Talamanca in the upper part of the Yorkin River. The meeting point is the community of Bambú, which is approximately 1 hour from Puerto Viejo Caribe Sur. The local guide will be waiting for you. You will travel along the Yorkin River in an indigenous canoe, observing the lush vegetation of Costa Rica and the Panamanian mountains while enjoying a relaxing and magical trip.
When you arrive at the community, you can walk through the village, which has approximately 300 people; you will see the school, the school and some houses with the characteristic constructions of the culture. After about 15 minutes, we arrive at the project, where the family will take care of you affectionately and teach you the famous greetings in their Bribri language. Among the activities they offer are the process of cocoa, archery, a tour of the garden of medicinal plants and fruit trees, handicrafts, traditional food, suita weaving, which is used on the roof of their homes, and offer accommodation in rooms or also to enjoy more of the environment in cabin tents, inside an Indigenous ranch.
Yorkin is a community whose objective is to maintain their traditions and show the people who visit their daily life with dignity and, in this way, generate economic resources for their personal growth; the tourist activity is an instrument for preserving Nature and saving their traditions. It is good to consider that your visit should have proper behavior; there is no electricity or hot water. Please note that they never work on Saturdays.
You can enjoy the adventure for a full day or spend one or two nights exploring the area’s attractions, such as swimming in the river or walking through the community. It is undoubtedly a magical experience full of culture, which should be done respectfully and with the idea of knowing and enjoying authentic people who show you their culture and their main traditions.
