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COSTA RICA | Puntarenas, Costa Rica Travel Guide
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
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Carara Biological Reserve
Carara Biological Reserve
The important 5,242-hectare (12,952-acre) Carara Biological Reserve lies along the way down to the beaches of Pacifica south of Orotina, one of the biggest fruit growing areas of Costa Rica. This reserve straddles the transition zone between tropical moist forest and tropical wet lowland forest, with a diverse flora mix that attracts a wide variety of wildlife. The famous and colorful harlequin poison dart frog – solid black with stripes of fluorescent green – can be seen often in daytime. But the most spectacular resident is the scarlet macaw, whose brightly colored feathers are most easily seen from the Tarcole River bridge, early morning or late afternoon when the birds flock to and from the nearby mangroves and the reserve. You can’t miss the bridge; it always has cars parked along its side. Gaping people look down, not for macaws, but for American crocodiles. The big (up to four meters/13 feet!) ugly prehistoric beasts often sun themselves on the muddy banks below the bridge. This is a required stop for tours and should be for you too. Remember to lock your car, or take turns staying with it; luggage theft occurs here. The ranger station and entrance is three km/1.9 miles south of the bridge.
Carara is a bright spot in a part of the country that has been pretty well deforested for agriculture. It was once part of a huge ranch, known as El Coyolar – a ranch so vast that the owner never needed to cut down the tropical wet forest that later became the biological reserve. Before that, evidence points to settlements as early as 300 B.C. Lomas de Entierro is a partially excavated village with funeral zones, dating back to somewhere between 800 and 1500 A.D. on a hilltop facing the Tarcole River. You can overnight comfortably at Dundee Ranch Hotel in poolside cabins on a working dude ranch, next to Río Machuca near Orotina. Or keep going a short way to Playa Herradura or Jacó beach, where you’ll find more options.
See those crocs and other wildlife up close and personal on a Tropical Mangrove River Adventure Tour to nearby Guacalillo estuary. Groups leave from San José led by Grupo Mawamba, the operators of Mawamba Lodge over in Tortuguero. Tours are led by a naturalist guide and may be booked through a local travel agent. Fees start at $850 for a four-night excursion and go up from there.
Last updated October 29, 2010
Posted in Costa Rica | Puntarenas
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