Cabo Blanco

Technically a Nature Reserve, Cabo Blanco was the first protected area in the country. Located at the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, many visitors consider it to be the most beautiful nature reserve in Costa Rica.

The need to protect the area stemmed from overbuilding in the 1950s, when the Costa Rican government was prompting settlers to “cultivate” the land at the tip of the Peninsula. Swedish immigrant Nicolas Wessberg and his wife Karen recognized the need to save the area and succeeded in having it declared an “Absolute Nature Reserve” in 1963. This was the beginning of the country's National Park system of conservation.

Cabo Blanco encompasses 1,172-hectares of moist tropical forest. The majority of the reserve is secondary forest, which was planted about 40 years ago. Original primary forest accounts for only about 15% of the national park and is found at the highest altitudes.

More than 150 species of trees have been identified inside the park, mostly of the evergreen variety. Look for wild plum trees, gumbo-limbo, trumpet trees, frangipani, and spiny cedar varieties. Cabo Blanco is also home to a large number of animal species, including white-faced, spider, and howler monkeys; anteaters; armadillos; peccary; coyotes; and coatis. Some of the nature reserve's rarer birds include the crested caracara, elegant trogon, the white-bellied chachalaca, and the sulphur-winged parakeet.

Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve also encompasses 18 hectares (45 acres) of ocean, teeming with interesting undersea life. Near the southern tip of the reserve, visitors can also head to Isla Cabo Blanco, a sea bird sanctuary where guests can spy a large concentration of brown boobies as well as laughing gulls, terns, frigate birds, and brown pelicans.

Two trails are reserved for visitors to this park, which was once open only to scientists and park rangers. The Danes Trail is short and easy to navigate while the Sueco Trail can be quite strenuous. Visitors who travel it, however, will be rewarded with a view of beautiful Playa Blanco at the end of the trail and a chance to take a dip in the refreshing waters.