Cahuita National Park

The Cahuita National Park Tour is a wonderful hiking opportunity to comfortably explore both beach and a tropical rain forest found along the southernmost Caribbean shores of Costa Rica. This national park is part of the La Amistad Conservation Area which is a World Heritage site protecting the local tropical rain forests, beaches, and recovering coral reefs nestled in the sparkling Caribbean waters.

This hiking-only tour begins with transportation from your hotel in Cahuita or Puerto Viejo and includes a bilingual guide who will take you into Cahuita National Park. The park supports a unique wildlife biodiversity that is unmatched in Costa Rica. The well maintained trails along the beach and within the rain forest make hiking in Cahuita’s National Park a leisurely experience with wooden boardwalks and hand rails passing over the wetland areas.

Here is where you may have the opportunity to see sloths, monkeys, iguanas, snakes, Morphos butterflies and more. This particular area is home to many rare and endangered species of mammals including the Ornate Spider Monkey, Baird’s Tapir, Jaguars, Cougars and all the cats of Central America. Your naturalist guide will help you identify any animals you might see while you enjoy hiking in Cahuita.

Prepare yourself to experience the scenic mountain landscapes, rivers and creeks that fashion spectacular waterfalls. Your guide will take you to the best vistas for unique and memorable photographic opportunities.

Walking along the coastline you’ll see several varieties of shore birds and possibly their nesting areas. In the distance will be the skyline of the majestic Talamanca Mountain range with the highest peaks in Costa Rica. These mountains border Panama and have been home for thousands of years to the indigenous peoples still found living here maintaining many of their self sufficient agrarian customs in harmony with nature.

Entering into the rain forest you’ll be surrounded by lush, wet forest vegetation such as giant ferns, bromeliads and numerous orchid species. You will hike on trails that cross rivers and creeks listening to the exotic calls of birds and insect life. Depending on luck, you may encounter monkeys, coatimundis or other social daytime animals. Cats are nocturnal and rarely seen except at night.

After your hike you’ll be treated to a hearty traditional Costa Rican midday meal before returning to your hotel.

Come prepared to maximize your hiking experience with your camera, binoculars, comfortable hiking shoes, insect repellent, sunblock, rain gear, drinking water and snacks.

This hiking tour includes a professional bilingual guide, transportation, park entrance,and lunch. Once you arrive at Cahuita National Park, the park staff combines the tour groups for both hiking and snorkeling so you may find that you’ll have to wait for the other groups to complete their activities before everyone can return to the park entrance and go back to your hotel.

Transportation to the park will take at least 15 minutes from the village of Cahuita and up to 1 hour from Puerto Viejo. The entire tour with round trip transportation and lunch can take between 5.5 and 8 hours depending on the location of your hotel and including up to a 2 hour wait, if any, for additional groups in the park to complete their activities. You can use this time to rest after your hike, write in your travel log, sort through your photos or take a few selfies at one of the most beautiful areas in Central America!