.jpg)
Our goal is to create opportunities for the youth of our community to safely and respectfully access the canopy.
​
Climbing trees creates an opportunity unlike any other to connect to the natural world.
By having such an extraordinary experience in nature, we are opened up to new perspectives and ideas. This creates ideal conditions for engaging and meaningful environmental education to occur.
Climbers get to experience pushing past their physical and mental limits while being held by the trees. This creates a connection between the climbers and that forest that will last long into the future, helping to strengthen their overall relationship with nature as a whole.
What kind of trees do we climb?
We primarily climb fig trees of the species Ficus aurea. They are known as strangler figs, ficus trees, higerones, matapalos, and other names and can be found throughout the tropics. The unique way in which these trees grow allows us to climb on the outside, and sometimes also the inside, up into the canopy.
​​
​
How do we climb trees?
We use a climbing technique that have been developed specifically for the climbing of fig trees, using rope systems and nylon slings as anchors. It is similar to traditional rock climbing in that gear is placed as the first climber ascends and is then retrieved by the second climber. Gear is never left in trees. ​​
"But we had an inner urge to go deeper and further. It's always the same, necessity. In order to go deeper, in order to stay longer. I became an inventor by necessity."
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
.jpg){kind=small}
Does climbing impact the trees?
Wherever we go we make an impact, but we try to keep ours as small as possible while spending time in the trees. To do this, respect is the first thing we practice while tree climbing and we follow a set of tree climbing ethics that help us ensure we are minimizing our effect on the environment we are climbing in. We climb barefoot and make conscious choices of what routes to climb based on where other plant life may be growing in the trees.
​​
​
What is it like in the canopy?
The canopy is a completely unique ecosystem that is rarely experienced by humans. Bursting with life, plants and animal can be found growing piled on top of one another, stretched out along the branches of the massive trees. Using our gear to maneuver about the canopy, we are able to explore a typically unseen world and get a peak into what life is like living above the forest floor.
the Palo Vivo Climbing Center
at Riochante Centro Cultural
We were inspired to build this community climbing space as a way to provide access to climbing to local community members during the rainy season. Additionally, this space provides a free and accessible option for those in our community looking to engage with climbing who can't afford expensive climbing gear.
​
This space came to be thanks to local and international donations that made our material and labor commitment possible.
The climbing center is free for community members. We believe that everyone who wants to climb should have the opportunity to do so.