Stand in San José on a clear day and your eye will be drawn to a row of mountains 40 kilometres to the east. This is the Cordillera Central, a volcanic mountain range against whose slopes the Turrialba Valley lies – and over here, wild and wonderful takes on a new meaning entirely. Miles upon miles of unspoilt jungle covers the landscape, cut through by gin-clear rivers, fields of sugar cane and macadamia nut plantations, and watched over by all 11,000-feet of the towering Turrialba Volcano. The most famous of these rivers is the Pacuare, a winding, tumbling, gushing churn of water that provides some of the best whitewater rafting in the world and (you guessed it) is one of the main attractions of the region. Depending on how wet you’d like to get, book a half-day or day-long trip with a local operator, and enjoy the thrills and spills of the rapids and the twittering wildlife on the banks. Then, when back on dry land, roam the forest in search of black-cheeked woodpeckers and resplendent quetzals, hike the foliage-clad trails, or propel yourself through the canopy on a zipline.