Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Garraabiito
The area encompassed by Parque Nacional Carara was once home to a legendary indi-
genous hero, a localcacique(chief) named Garabito. Commanding a vast area from the
Golfo de Nicoya to the Central Valley, he led a fierce struggle against the Spanish in the
mid-16th century.
At the time, a favorite tactic of the Spanish conquistadors throughout Latin America to
weaken native resistance was to turn tribes against each other and decapitate the tribal
leadership - literally. Although each story has grisly variations, the fate of capturedca-
ciquesoften involved public humiliation at a show trial, brutal torture and decapitation.
Sometimes, the heads ofcaciqueswould be mounted and displayed.
Garabito was a different story. The popular chieftain constantly disrupted the Spanish
establishment in the Pacific region and, in 1560, Guatemalan high command dispatched
a military force to arrest him. Garabito, who claimed to have never spent two nights in the
same bed, eluded capture, but the Spanish managed to seize his wife, Biriteka, as a host-
age. Garabito countered by having one of his followers dress up as the chieftain and allow
himself to be captured. While the camp celebrated catching who they thought was Gar-
abito, the real Garabito escaped with his wife. The ruse is a celebrated victory of Costa
Rica's indigenous underdogs, but eventually Garabito too had to accept defeat at the
hands of the Spanish. Senior in years and lacking the support that had fueled his earlier
series of rebellions, Garabito surrendered in the 1570s, and was even baptized as a Chris-
tian.
Hiking
Some 600m south of the Crocodile Bridge on the left-hand side is a locked gate leading to
the
Sendero Laguna Meándrica
. This trail penetrates deep into the reserve and passes
through open secondary forest and patches of dense mature forest and wetlands. About
4km from the entrance is Laguna Meándrica, which has large populations of heron,
smoothbill and kingfisher. If you continue past the lagoon, you'll have a good chance of
spotting mammals and the occasional crocodile, though you will have to turn back to exit.
Another 2km south of the trailhead is the
Carara ranger station
.
About 1km further south are two loop trails. The first,
Sendero Las Araceas
, is 1.2km
long and can be combined with the second,
Sendero Quebrada Bonita
(another 1.5km).
Both trails pass through primary forest, which is characteristic of most of the park.
