Most tours in Sayulita head out to sea. Natikari heads the other way, into the jungle.

Natikari – Rancho Verde offers small-group hikes, birding tours and donkey tours on private, protected land outside Sayulita. It’s run by Katja Sievers, a biologist who has lived out there for the past five or six years. She knows which birds are singing, where the golden silk orb-weavers hang their webs, and that jaguars still walk the trails.

We sat down with Katja to talk about how she got here, what makes her tours different and why she’d rather you walk slowly.

From a PhD in England to the Jungle in Nayarit

Katja is from Germany. She studied biology there and in Edinburgh, then earned her PhD in biology in England. When she finished, she came to Sayulita for a year to teach surfing. “A reset, basically,” she says.

She kept coming back to visit. On one trip, she met one of the owners of a large piece of private jungle land near town. The owners had always wanted to do something with conservation, and when he showed her around, that was it.

“I fell in love,” Katja says. “He showed me some of the places in the jungle, and I was like, wow. This is where I want to be.”

She left England, moved to Sayulita and started designing the tours. Then COVID hit and set everything back at least a year. Today, the tours are up and running, and Katja gets to combine the things she loves: biology, teaching and being outside with people. She also continues her own scientific work on the land.

Why Eco Tours in Sayulita

Natikari didn’t start with a business plan. It started with an idea from conservation: people protect what they love.

“The best way to do that is telling stories, getting people out there and showing them things,” Katja says.

Sayulita already had whale watching and turtle releases, but nothing that took people properly into the jungle. Natikari adds a new layer: a chance to get into nature, learn about it and slow down. “It’s actually very good for us,” she says.

What Makes Natikari Different

A Biologist as Your Guide

Katja has the scientific background, plus years of living on the land. She runs long-term monitoring there, so she knows the area’s wildlife and how it all fits together.

Private, Protected Land

Some hikes around Sayulita are on open-access trails you can do on your own. Natikari’s tours are on private property, with no buildings and no road noise.

“I do monitoring, so I know we still have a very healthy bird population,” Katja says. “We still have jaguars walking on the trails.”

Every Tour Is Different

Groups are small, and Katja shapes each tour around the people in it. Into plants? You’ll do plants. Want to hunt for mushrooms or bugs? She’ll adjust.

“I’ve got my things I show, because I know where they are,” she says. “But depending on the time of day and what you find, it changes.”

The Tours

Jungle Hike

Expect real jungle: no paved paths, and a bit of a workout depending on the route and the season. Wear good shoes and come ready to explore.

Birding Tour

This is Katja’s favorite. It’s gentle and slow: standing, listening and waiting for the birds to show themselves. Along the way, you’ll often spot lizards, spiders and other wildlife too.

On a typical outing, the group might see around 40 species. With serious bird counts, Katja has recorded 70. The wider area is home to roughly 200 species, thanks to habitats that range from the coast up into the mountains.

Because of the slower pace, the birding tour works for most people, including those who can’t manage the hiking trails anymore.

Donkey Tours

“You don’t go anywhere fast with a donkey,” Katja says. That’s kind of the point.

Custom Requests

If you’re after something specific, just ask. Katja once had a guest from Canada who wanted to spend three days searching for snakes, frogs and reptiles.

Families Welcome

Small kids are welcome. “We go at the pace of the kids,” Katja says, “and they’re quite happy bumbling around.”

Facing Your Fears (Spiders Included)

Plenty of people arrive with a fear of spiders or snakes. Katja doesn’t avoid the topic. She leans into it.

“If someone comes to me scared of spiders, I try to find one, explain what it does and how to avoid being bitten,” she says. “It’s not about how dangerous an animal can be. It’s more about how stupid our behaviour can be.”

She’s watched guests overcome their fear standing next to a golden silk orb-weaver in its giant web. Curiosity and knowledge, she says, make the difference.

Giving Back

Katja also volunteers teaching surfing to local kids through Brisa, a camp where kids earn their place with good grades and do daily rescue, lifeguard and pool training.

Her bigger goal is long-term conservation research. She has been tracking wildlife on the land with cameras for three or four years, and for almost a year with a microphone that records which bird species are around through the day. She hopes to keep the project going for 10 to 20 years and to bring school groups out to learn.

“Then those data sets become very valuable,” she says. “Then you can see the changes, and what has an impact.”

A Morning in Sayulita

These days, Katja mostly comes into town when she has to. Living in the jungle has changed her tolerance for crowds. “I think I de-domesticated myself,” she laughs.

When she does come in, it’s for coffee with a friend, often at Chilaquería, run by friends of hers. “And the chilaquiles…” she says. “They love the people.”

How to Book

The easiest way to support Natikari is simple: go on a tour.

“Come along and do the tours. There’s something for everyone,” Katja says. “Leave a good tip and a good review, and tell all your friends to come too.”

You can book directly on SayulitaLife.com: https://www.sayulitalife.com/business/natikari-rancho-verde