Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo

Introducing Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo

Thick virgin forest, countless waterfalls, swift rivers and deep canyons – it will be difficult to believe that you are only 30 minutes north of San José when you’re walking around this underexplored national park. Braulio Carrillo has an extraordinary biodiversity attributable to the steep range of altitudes, from the misty 2906m cloud-forest camp sites atop massive Volcán Barva to the lush, humid 50m lowlands stretching toward the Caribbean Sea.

The creation of the park was the result of a unique compromise between conservationists and developers. For more than a century, San José’s only link to Puerto Limón was limited to the crumbling railway and a slow rural road. In the 1970s, however, government and industry agreed that a sleek modern highway was required to link the nation’s capital to its most important port. But the only feasible route was through a low pass between Volcán Barva and Volcán Irazú, which was still virgin rain forest – conservationists were not happy campers.

The compromise was simple – Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo (named after Costa Rica’s third president, who conceived the cultivation of coffee) was established in 1978, off-limits to development beyond a single major highway to bisect it. Conservationists rejoiced in the creation of a nearly 48, 000-hectare national park (we’re talking the size of Rhode Island!) that was comprised of 85% primary forest, and protected the watershed for San José. Government and industry rejoiced in the creation of the San José–Guápiles highway, which was completed in 1987, effectively cutting the park into two smaller preserved areas (though it’s still administered as a single unit).

Driving through the park will give you an idea of what Costa Rica looked like prior to the 1950s – rolling hills cloaked in mountain rain forest. About 75% of Costa Rica was rain forest in the 1940s, while today less than a quarter of the country retains its natural vegetative cover.

Last updated: Oct 20, 2009