Cabo Blanco National Park in Costa Rica
The reserve of Cabo Blanco is located in Puntarenas, south of the Peninsula of Nicoya. It has an area of 1172 hectares in the terrestrial and 1790 hectares at the marina, including the island of Cabo Blanco located 1.6 km from the coast. It was established on October 21, 1963.
Cabo Blanco is the oldest protected forest area of Costa Rica. It is considered a haven for the unique flora and fauna of the dry Pacific and for a large number of marine species. It has great importance for its scenic beauty by being located within the zone of life of the tropical rain forest.
A feature of this reserve is it there are four management programs:
• The Research Program aims to develop research, as well as establishing and implementing the necessary measures for its control and supervision.
• Maintenance Program, which was established for the improvement and construction of facilities inside the reserve.
• The Agenda for Protection prevents illegal actions inside the reserve as hunting, fishing, fire and any extraction of forest products.
• The Environmental Education Program supports community relations to create a favorable atmosphere between the inhabitants of the area surrounding the reserve. It also ensures the attention of national and foreign tourists who visit the reservation.
If you want to see animals in their environment as the pelicans hunting you have to go the reserve of Cabo Blanco. The dry forests without many leaves are typical of the area. Cabo Blanco is accessible only by roads in poor condition and mostly in 4×4 vehicles. But it really worth a try: you can see red macaws in their environment, you can enjoy surfing and horseback riding on stunning beaches like those of Santa Teresita and Malpais that are located near the place- are something special for those who enjoy riding the waves. At night you can venture to the nearby beach of Montezuma where you can enjoy a beautiful night with people from around the world. The fauna in the reserve is not very diverse; however, there are species of mammals such as deer, congo monkeys, red-faced monkeys, the porcupine, the guatusa, the tepezcuinte, the martilla, the coyote, the armadillo or cusuco and the ocelot among others.
The seabirds are very numerous, particularly brown pelicans, the Frigate bird, reidoras gulls, the terns, and the brown boobies. For its part, the land birds that are most common are the toledo, the magpie, the cattle egret, the bearded vulture, the red widow, the green cattle and the chachalaca among many others. Within the marine environments, you can see large numbers of fish of all kinds, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, clams and many other species.
To reach the reserve, the most convenient route is San Jose-Puntarenas-Paquera (using the ferry)-Coban-Cabuya. There is the bus service Nicoya-Paquera, Paquera-Coban, and Coban-Cabuya, and the taxi service Cabuya-Coban. The nearest population is Cabuya at 2.5 kilometers of the administration, where you can find hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets. The dry season is from December to April and the rainy season from May to November. The average temperature is 27 degrees C. The refuge is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and offers services such as administration and information office, parking, lunch areas, health services, showers, drinking water, swimming areas, trails, and lookout. The fee for nonresident aliens is $ 10 and ¢ 1600 for nationals and residents.