Barra Honda National Park

Santa Rosa National Park
Central Peninsula
Nicoya Peninsula
Costa Rica
506/686-6760

Type: National Park

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Barra Honda National Park is unique in Costa ica – its 2,295 hectares (5,671 acres) were set aside to protect not the land, but the geological wonders underground. Huge limestone caves are natural phenomena of the park, 14 km/8.7 miles east of Nicoya. Barra Honda Mountain, rising 575 meters/1,891 feet above the dry plain, was thought to be a volcano as late as 1967. Foul odors and strange whooshing sounds coming from the craters that pockmark its slopes convinced local farmers of underground activity. Finally, in 1973, the caves were officially discovered by scientists from the US-based Cave Research Foundation. The strange sounds turned out to be the sounds of millions of bats, and the strong odor came from their thick guano. The spectacular formations inside–descriptively named soda straws, cave grapes, organ pipes, fried eggs – date to the Paleocene epoch, 70 million years ago, and were formed by rainwater dripping through limestone. In the Nicoya cave, speleologists have discovered prehistoric remains and ritual offerings. Terciopelo cave has the best formations, and is quite deep at over 55 meters/181 feet. Each cave is accessed by a vertical descent, so if you want to explore them, make arrangements the day before with the Park Service. Get a tour with Turnisa Tours in San José. Even if you don’t get into spelunking, the white limestone, tabletop mesa at the top of Barra Honda offers breathtaking views of Nicoya, especially from the south edge. Hike up marked trails, but bring plenty of water and stay on the path. With a guide, you can take a six-km/3.7-mile hike on Sendero al Ceibo trail, which leads to a waterfall accented by wispy calcium carbonate formations.