The Journal

Field notes from a regenerated estate on the Nosara River: the land and its wildlife, the craft of the house, and the life of the town around it.

Covered terrace with a brick walkway running alongside planted gardens at The Sanctuary Estate, Nosara, Costa Rica
Nosara · About Nosara3 November 20266 min read

Building versus buying in Nosara in 2026

The real trade-off is not money, it is time. Permitting, seasons, and the one thing on an established property that cannot be built at any speed.

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Gartered trogon perched in dense foliage at The Sanctuary Estate, Nosara, Costa Rica
About Nosara6 min

How Costa Rica pays landowners to keep forest

The PSA programme pays private owners to protect and restore forest. How it works, who qualifies, the parcel minimums, and the figures people routinely misread.
Red postman butterfly, Heliconius erato, with black wings and a red band, on a leaf at The Sanctuary Estate, Nosara, Costa Rica
Wildlife & Birds5 min

The butterflies of the Nosara river valley

Seven butterfly species photographed on the estate — the red postman, gulf fritillary, long-tailed skipper and a cattleheart — and what they say about the planting.
Poolside pavilion surrounded by planted gardens at The Sanctuary Estate, Nosara, Costa Rica
The Residence6 min

A hotel, a retreat, or a home: three futures

Sixteen acres, a two-bedroom house and an established forest can go three very different directions. What each would require, and the honest constraints on each.
Garden fire pit overlooking forested hills at sunset at The Sanctuary Estate, Nosara, Costa Rica
About Nosara6 min

From cattle to canopy: three Nicoya restorations

Degraded pasture becoming forest again on the Nicoya Peninsula — the Eden Project at Matambú, a private reserve on the Nosara River, and this estate.
Indian coral tree, Erythrina variegata, in red flower at The Sanctuary Estate, Nosara, Costa Rica
Gardens5 min

Where the trees came from

A baobab from Africa, a banyan from India, dry-forest natives from Guanacaste. How a collection of 202 species was assembled on one Costa Rican hillside.
Lit stone terrace steps descending through planted gardens at dusk at The Sanctuary Estate, Nosara, Costa Rica
About Nosara7 min

What to check before buying land in Nosara

A due-diligence list for Guanacaste property: water, title, access, the maritime zone, setbacks and utilities — and what a straight answer looks like on each.