Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge

Introducing Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge

Located on the Pacific coast 3km northeast of Dominical on the road to Quepos, Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge (787 0003; www.haciendabaru.com; admission US$6, each subsequent day US$2) forms a key link in a major biological corridor called ‘The Path of the Tapir.’ It is comprised of more than 330 hectares of private and state owned land that has been protected from hunting since 1976. The range of tropical habitats that may be observed there include pristine beaches, river banks, mangrove estuaries, wetlands, selectively logged forests, secondary for­ests, primary forests, tree plantations and pastures. This diversity of habitat plus its key position in the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor accounts for the multitude of species that have been identified on Hacienda Barú. As of January 2006, these included 351 birds, 69 mammals, 94 reptiles and amphibians, 87 butterflies and 158 species of trees, some of them over 8.5m (27.5ft) in circumference. Ecological tourism provides this wildlife refuge with its only source of funds with which to maintain its protected status, so guests are assured that money spent there will be used to further the conservation of tropical rain forest.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009