Piedras Blancas National Park Voyage Tips and guide

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Piedras Blancas National Park preserves the Esquinas Rainforest and inland gulf beaches on the Golfo Dulce of Costa Rica's South Pacific region.

Piedras Blancas National Park (Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas) was added to the Costa Rica national park system in 1991 by splitting off the Esquinas Sector of Corcovado National Park. The sector is part of the Esquinas Rainforest and was not contiguous with the rest of Corcovado Park. It's a large area, so creating a new park made a lot of sense. Piedras Blancas occupies 34,642 acres (14,019 hectares). It is located within Puntarenas province. Conservation groups are working to establish a contiguous protected corridor between the Piedras Blancas National Park and Corcovado National Park.

Rugged mountains with dense tropical rainforest dominate the park landscape. Two rivers, the Rio Esquinas and the Rio Piedras Blancas, run through the park, emptying into the Golfo Dulce.

Austrian researchers who set up wildlife cameras in the park captured images of 96 species of mammal including raccoons, coati, kinkajou, olingo, skunks, grison, tayra and five species of cats (jaguar, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, and puma). They also spotted northern tamandua and silky anteaters. Several types of monkey were seen including white-face capuchin, squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys, and spider monkeys. Five species of American opossums were recorded, including the Mexican mouse, the gray four-eyed, and the common opossum. Rodents include the agouti paca and several species of mice, squirrels and rats. 53 species of bat were found, including the vampire bat.

The Esquinas rainforest is home to at least 37 amphibian and 42 reptile species of the Esquinas rainforest. That includes the spectacularly colored small frogs like the red-eyed leaf frog, poison-arrow frogs, tree frogs, glass frogs, rain frogs and cane toads. Basilisks and iguanas can be found in the streams. The most common and most dangerous snake is the fer-de-lance, but coral snakes, bushmasters and pit vipers are venomous too. Boa constrictors aren't venomous, but you probably don't want to encounter a big one in the wild. Crocodiles sun themselves along river banks and in the mangrove swamps near the gulf shore while spectacled caimans lurk among the reeds in ponds and still waters.

Birdwatchers will find over 300 species of birds living in the park's forest. Most spectacular are the scarlet macaw and the toucan.

It's a true rainforest so expect rain. The park gets over 200 inches of rainfall annually. Pack the poncho.

From San Jose, take the Carr. Interamericana Pacifica (34) west then south along the Pacific coast to the town of Palmar. It's just over 250 km and will take about 5 hours. About 30 km south of Palmar is a turnoff toward La Gamba / Esquina Rainforest. The park entrance is in the small town of La Gamba.

Tracopa runs hourly buses from San Jose to Palmar. The five hour trip will cost about US$15. From Palmar, you can use a local taxi to get to the park.

• Fee: US$10
• Hours: 8am - 4pm

Here are a few safety tips when visiting Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas:

• Dress appropriately: No shorts and no sandals. Almost 100 kinds of snakes live in the park and at least a dozen of those are venomous. Wear closed shoes and long pants to provide some protection.
• Stay on marked trails: You're more likely to encounter poisonous plants or animals in the wilderness than on a cleared, marked, well trafficked trail.
• Bring water: Potable water is available at the park entrances, but nowhere else in the park. Bring adequate supplies of bottled water with you before entering the park.
• Don't touch the wildlife: Snakes can kill you, frogs can kill you, monkeys bite, other things bite, sting and spread disease. It's a jungle out there (literally).

• Corcovado National Park
• Drake Bay
• Panama