Forbes Spotlights Costa Rica Oxcart Painting Workshop

Instead of buying a generic souvenir, travelers to Costa Rica can now take home something they made with their own hands while learning about a centuries-old artistic tradition.

Forbes recently featured an oxcart-painting workshop at El Silencio Lodge & Spa in its global roundup of craft experiences where visitors create keepsakes alongside local artisans. The lodge sits in the cloud forest of Bajos del Toro, about 65 kilometers northwest of the international airport.

Kenneth, an eco-concierge and local artist, guides guests through the bright geometric shapes and floral details that make Costa Rica's oxcart paintings instantly recognizable. Participants create a small wooden mandala inspired by traditional oxcart patterns and the surrounding forest, something practical enough to frame at home rather than wrestling an actual oxcart wheel into a suitcase.

The tradition started with function, not fashion. Costa Rica's elaborately painted oxcarts began as working vehicles hauling coffee and crops across rough roads. By the early 1900s, owners decorated their carts with distinctive patterns and colors that identified their home regions.

What started as farm equipment evolved into a powerful expression of Costa Rican identity. UNESCO added the country's oxherding and oxcart traditions to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

The Ripple Effect

The Forbes recognition reflects a bigger shift in what many travelers want from their trips. Cultural workshops, cooking classes, and time with local craftspeople let visitors participate in traditions instead of just observing them.

These experiences create income for artisans and give hotels reason to preserve skills that younger generations might otherwise abandon. For Costa Rica, it expands the country's appeal beyond beaches and wildlife into its agricultural history and artistic heritage.

The country joined nine other destinations in the Forbes selection, including recycled-glass jewelry making in Namibia, Maasai beadwork in Kenya, and Berber pottery in Morocco. Each workshop produces something physical, but the real value is the time spent with craftspeople learning why their traditions matter.

El Silencio Lodge currently holds two Michelin Keys, recognizing exceptional properties for their design, service, and connection to their surroundings. Beyond oxcart painting, the lodge offers waterfall hikes, birdwatching, coffee tasting, cooking classes, and visits to nearby rural communities.

Travelers leave with more than a painted piece—they carry home the story of how and where it was made.