While fishing is possible at Charrara Sports Park ($8) and in Tapanti National Park ($10) by permit between April and December, visitors to the Orosi area also can enjoy the more unique and economical option of both catching their own fish and eating it for dinner.

Serving the Orosi Valley since 1992, Truchas San Ignacio offers the area’s premier fish-and-cook experience. Featuring attractive gardens and two sufficiently stocked trout ponds, the site includes an on-site restaurant which will cook and serve your catch to your preference.

Prices are 3500 colones per kilo to eat your fish on site or 4500 colones per kilo to take it home. Open on weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and just a two mile drive south from Hotel Reventazon, Truchas San Ignacio also offers fish, chicken, and beef dishes from a set menu. It is located three kilometers south of town off of Calle Juco. Take the main road (Route 224) for about a mile and just after you see Bar Ana on the left, you shouldn’t miss the large billboard guiding you to stay straight for another 1.2 kilometers.

Another restaurant serving fresh fish just caught from an on-site trout pond (for diners not wishing to catch their own) is Pesca de Trucha Mi Ranchito. Owned by a very hospitable and welcoming Tico family and situated in an attractive rustic setting, this highly acclaimed restaurant also serves other comida criollita (traditional Costa Rican dishes) including beef and chicken entrees. It is open between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and is about 4.5 kilometers (a ten minute drive) south of the hotel. Take a right at the Rio Macho Catholic Church, passing the power plant on your right and the free swimming hole on your left. You will find it on your left just before the road changes from asphalt to gravel.