What makes us different
Before there was a lodge, there was a boat. Forty years on, that first journey still sets our course — and sustainability isn't a label we added, it's the heart of how the lodge runs.
Before there was a lodge, there was a boat. The founders of Mawamba made their first journey to Tortuguero not by road — there was none — but by water. Their vessel, La Mawamba, ran the seven-hour passage from Moín through the canals, long before the lodge existed and long before anyone imagined what it would become.
That boat eventually stopped running. For years it sat anchored in front of the lodge, a quiet witness — until one day it sank. We raised it. It sank again. The jungle, as always, had the last word.
But we saved something. La Mawamba's original helm was rescued and restored, and today it steers the Katonga along the river. Forty years on, the founders' first compass still points the way.
We kept the original welcome sign too — the one that once greeted guests at the entrance. Weathered by decades of Caribbean rain, it hangs on a wall now: a little worn, deeply loved, and a permanent tribute to the family who built all of this from nothing. This year, we celebrate 40 years — and everything we do still flows from that first journey.
One of Tortuguero's pioneers, Mawamba has spent four decades caring for the same stretch of rainforest. We're part of a small Costa Rican family hospitality group, with a sister lodge in San Gerardo de Dota — both run by the same family, many of our team with us for years.
We hire from Tortuguero and the surrounding communities wherever the role allows. The people who welcome you are, for the most part, the people who live here — and that's on purpose.
No cars, no engines, no traffic. You arrive by boat or small plane — a low-impact way in, and the reason the loudest thing on property is the wildlife overhead. The rainforest sets the soundtrack.
We're the only high-end lodge within walking distance of Tortuguero village. You're part of the town — its sodas, its shops, its rhythm — not sealed off from it.
Most guided experiences are led by trained naturalist guides — many grew up on these canals, others bring a full career in Costa Rica's national parks. (The turtle-nesting tour is the exception: there we work with local community guides, by design.)
Our commitments are practical, not promotional — things we actually do, every day.
Mawamba is the only lodge in Tortuguero with its own biodigester — built not because it was easy, but because it was right. Designed with researchers from EARTH University, it turns all of the lodge's wastewater into methane that fuels our kitchens. At least 30% of the gas we cook with comes from our own waste stream. What others send to a septic tank, we turn into energy.
The Katonga — our floating restaurant — runs on one rule: nothing goes into the river. Every bit of waste generated on board is held in tanks beneath the deck and carried back to the lodge for the biodigester. The river gives us everything. We give it nothing but respect.
Mawamba was a founding partner of Tortuguero's community recycling and waste-treatment plant; the lodge's recoverables are sorted and sent there. Protecting this place isn't the national park's job alone — it belongs to every business that lives off it. At reception you'll also find our small "museum" of boats built from sea waste, bought from a local artisan — community support you can hold in your hands.
Our rooms were built on one idea: in Tortuguero you don't need air conditioning if you build thoughtfully. High ceilings let heat rise and escape; quiet, high-efficiency fans keep the air moving; mesh screens instead of glass let the Caribbean breeze through while keeping insects out. The room stays naturally cool — and the lodge skips one of the most energy-hungry machines in tropical hospitality. It's not just greener. It's a more honest way to feel the rainforest.
Zero single-use plastic across the operation: bamboo straws, no plastic jelly or butter blisters, no plastic cutlery, and Rainforest water served in cartons and tin instead of bottles. Guests are welcome to bring their own reusable bottles — you'll find refilling stations with fresh water around the lodge.
The beach in front of Mawamba is part of a sea-turtle nesting corridor; keeping it clean isn't just good practice, it's essential. With Amigos del Océano and the 5 Minute Beach Cleanup initiative — a Costa Rican-born movement helping tourism shrink its mark on the ocean — we invite every guest to grab a bucket and give the beach five minutes before or after a walk. No sign-up, no schedule. Every piece of plastic that never reaches the water is a win for the turtles that nest here.
