Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Parque Nacional Barra Honda Caverns
CAVE
( 2659-1091, 2659-1551; park admission adult/child US$10/1, guided tour per person US$26;
trails 8am-4pm, caverns 8am-1pm)
Arrange for a guide at the ranger station. The descent involves ladders and ropes, so you
should be reasonably fit and must be at least 10 years old. Walk the 2km from the park
gate to the cavern's mouth or opt for a ride in a 4WD. Tours to the caverns on foot last
about four hours. Only groups of five people or less can enter the caverns and they cannot
be entered after 1pm.
The only cave with regular access to the public is the 41m-deep La Terciopelo, which
has the most speleothems - calcite figures that rise and fall in the cave's interior. The best
known of these is El Órgano, which produces several notes when lightly struck. Scientists
and visitors must obtain permits to enter other caves. These include Santa Ana, the deepest
at 161m; Trampa (Trap), 110m deep with a vertical 52m drop; Nicoya, where early human
remains were found; and Pozo Hediondo, or Fetid Pit. It's a cave, not a cavern, famous for
its more than 5000 resident bats, which create mountainous piles of guano.
Activities
Wildlife-Watching
While wildlife-watching underground, you'll have the chance to see such fun-loving
creatures as bats, albino salamander, blind fish and a variety of squiggly invertebrates. On
the surface, howler and white-faced monkeys, armadillo, coati, kinkajou and white-tailed
deer are regularly spotted, as are striped hog-nosed skunk and anteater.
Hiking
The Barra Honda hills have a few hiking trails through deciduous, dry tropical forest
which lead to waterfalls (in the rainy season) adorned with calcium formations. It's also
possible to hike 3.5km to the top of Cerro Barra Honda, which has a
mirador
(lookout
point) with a view of Río Tempisque and Golfo de Nicoya. You won't need a guide to hike
the trails.
