Our roots
& Our story today
Our journey has been anything but ordinary.
It has unfolded through adventure, discovery, challenge, and change—shaped by the people who have cared for this place and the land itself. What began as a wild dream has grown through many seasons, each one teaching us how to listen more deeply, move with greater intention, and make room for what wishes to emerge next.
Our history
Diamante Journeys is a family-owned and operated business rooted in adventure, connection, and a deep love for the land.The story began when Jon Chapman’s lifelong search for mountains brought him to Costa Rica in the early 1980s. Although he did not purchase land on that first journey, he met his future wife, Leila Chinchilla. The two married and moved to Monterey, California, where Jon worked as a contractor. Thirteen years later, they returned to Costa Rica with their four children and made their home along the southern Pacific coast.Since 1998, the Chapman family has cared for the land surrounding Diamante Waterfall. Jon and Leila began inviting travelers to explore the area—camping beneath the canyon’s natural rock shelters, hiking through the rainforest, and rappelling down its waterfalls. What began through word of mouth eventually grew into Tree of Life Tours, which became a regional leader in adventure tourism under the guidance of Rescue 3 International safety instructor Phil Perez and the company’s first professional guide, William Fuller.Over time, the guiding family grew. Members of the López family—one of 18 brothers and sisters—joined the company little by little over the following decade. Raised on a rural Costa Rican farm, two hours by foot from the nearest town, the López siblings grew up immersed in the natural world. Their lives as farmers, foragers, and outdoor instructors gave them an extraordinary depth of practical knowledge. Today, several of the brothers and sisters-in-law serve as lead guides, while the Chapman family remains deeply involved in guiding, stewardship, and administration.Our story today
We have moved through many evolutions, allowing each turning season to shape what comes next. Through it all, we continue to listen to the land that holds us, teaches us, and gives us so much.
A new chapter for Diamante
Today, Diamante is in a season of transformation. Our journeys remain small, personal, and deeply connected to the land. We welcome guests into experiences shaped by adventure, education, stillness, and the living rhythms of this place. After many years of welcoming overnight experiences in the cave, we felt it was time to let this remarkable ecosystem enter a season of rest and renewal. Cave overnights have become part of our history, while the cave itself remains a treasured part of the journey. Overnight guests now stay in our garden, where private tents rest beneath a large covered shelter overlooking the mountains and Pacific Ocean. It is a simple and beautiful place to slow down, watch the sunset, and spend more time in relationship with the land. This season is not a pause in our story. It is a time of listening, learning, and laying the groundwork for what comes next.
As we grow, learn, and listen, we adapt. Just as nature moves through seasons of growth and rest, we continually refine our relationship with this land—giving it the time and space it needs to breathe.
where we are going
We are creating a center for rejuvenation, education and play—one that grows both plants and people, restores our relationship with the natural world, and brings us back to the roots that sustain us.
We envision simple, nature-integrated spaces where people can stay longer, learn through direct experience, and explore practices that deepen their relationship with their bodies, one another, and the living world.
Over time, this will make room for retreats, immersive studies, movement and embodiment education, ecological learning, and longer journeys rooted in presence and participation.
We are not growing simply for the sake of becoming bigger. We are growing with intention—allowing what we build to emerge through careful observation, thoughtful experimentation, and continued conversation with the land.
This is the next chapter of Diamante: creating more room for people to land, learn, play, and remember themselves as part of nature.
SUPPORT Whats growing
Love what we’re creating, but can’t make it here just yet? Your contribution helps us care for the land, nurture this evolving vision, and build what comes next. Every gift—large or small—becomes part of the future we’re growing together.
