If you’re aching to spend more time in nature away from your computer, especially during your holidays, a treehouse might be just what you’re looking for. Sure, you can opt for camping or glamping, but there’s something so peaceful about living amongst the trees. Waking up with the sounds of the Costa Rican jungle, this experience allows you to completely immerse yourself in your lush surroundings.

You’ll get to watch animals in their habitat from your bed, tucked away in the mighty branches of a tree that might have been part of this forest for hundreds of years. Soon a feeling of safety, serenity and calm will most likely take over, and you’ll be able to soak up all those benefits you get from spending time in nature:

- Reduced stress and anxiety

- A boost for your immune system

- Improved memory and cognitive function

- Ignited creativity

- Feeling rejuvenated

As a modern traveller you’re probably thinking about your carbon footprint when you’re out on a new adventure. Apart from looking at greener transportation options and supporting local businesses when travelling, you can also opt for sustainable accommodation. Treehouses are in many cases a great way of keeping in line with sustainable travel.

If done well, suspension and stilts minimise the impact the houses have on the trees, ensuring that they can keep growing. Trees that have to be cut down to create space for the treehouse serve as material for the structure itself.

In Costa Rica you can find e.g. the treehouse community Finca Bellavista, powered by solar energy. Inhabitants make use of rainwater, harvest fresh ingredients in their own garden and receive the rest of their supplies from local farmers.

Costa Rica belongs to one of 20 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world, boasting 500,000 different animal and plant species. This makes it a great destination to spend some time in nature and observe local animals. With over 30 national parks, more than 50 wildlife refuges and many biological and forest reserves, Costa Rica offers an incredible opportunity to get close to its abundant wildlife. Roughly 28% of the country was turned into a reserve or a park in order to preserve the lush landscape and protect the thriving animal population. Some of the most popular parks and reserves are Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Tortuguero National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park or Arenal Volcano National Park.

If your treehouse has a little porch with a hammock, there’s no better way to get your sloth (another resident of the Costa Rican jungle) on and watch out for colourful butterflies, sneaky lizards like the black or green iguana or one of over 800 recorded bird species. If you’re lucky, you might also have the chance to see various monkeys like the white-headed capuchin or the mantled howler.

I don’t know many people who never dreamt of staying in a treehouse. Often, this dream slowly perishes in adulthood, but parts of this sense of adventure, this child-like idea of living amongst the trees might still be found in most of us, if we only dig deep enough.

It’s important to nurture and embrace our inner child to keep looking at the world with wonder, awe and joy. Being playful means to allow some time for fun activities like colouring or playing with clay, taking yourself horseback riding, ice-skating or to put on your favourite song and dance like no-one’s watching.

Travel is also a perfect time to let your inner child out. When but on a trip would you be able to zip-line through the Costa Rican jungle like a little tree monkey after waking up nestled in a little home in the midst of dense forest canopy? What if you could get a glimpse of exotic animals in real life instead of TV? An observer within their natural habitat, you could be listening to their unique sounds, day and night.

A stay in a treehouse will allow you to fully indulge in unforgettable moments like these, and it will give you something to dream about, when you’re back in reality.