Description:
The Barra Honda area of the Tempisque Basin where the Nicoya Peninsula joins the mainland has a limestone foundation. Water has cut extensive caves through the small mountains of the park which provides fantastic spelunking. The park also boasts fantastic well-maintained hiking trails. The protected tropical dry forest, though mostly secondary within its borders, is some of the last in the world and very different from the rain and cloud forests that attract many ecological tourists to Costa Rica.
As you follow your tour guide to the cave entrance, you will begin to anticipate the thrill of your venture underground. You will have the opportunity to see soda straws, pearls, roses, cave grapes, curtains, terraces, stalactites, stalagmites and other calcareous formations of over 40 limestone caverns. The caves are all in relatively good condition due to their vertical entrances being difficult to negotiate. This is also why you need climbing gear, a guide, and permission from the park's service in advance to enter the caves. Only about 50 percent of the complex has been explored to date. The caves range from a few feet to over 780 feet deep.
The Terciopelo cavern will get your pulse up as it is an extremely vertical descent. The abundant variety of cave formations are in pristine condition. Pozo Hediondo (Fetid Pit) Cave was named for the aroma of the guano deposited by the thousands of bats that take residents in the cavern. The caverns of Cerro Barra Honda were not discovered until the late 1960s. Many believed that Barra Honda was a volcano because of the roaring sounds made by the bats as they departed the caverns en masse and the fumes from the caves they occupied. The network of hiking trails used to access the caverns are great for exploring one of the rarest habitats on earth - a tropical dry forest. The juxtaposition of capuchin monkeys and cactus seems odd and some of the trees flower only after they have dropped all their leaves. Any time of year, you can hope to see howler monkeys, deer, raccoons, peccaries, kinkajous, agoutis, and anteaters.
The Barra Honda area of the Tempisque Basin where the Nicoya Peninsula joins the mainland has a limestone foundation. Water has cut extensive caves through the small mountains of the park which provides fantastic spelunking. The park also boasts fantastic well-maintained hiking trails. The protected tropical dry forest, though mostly secondary within its borders, is some of the last in the world and very different from the rain and cloud forests that attract many ecological tourists to Costa Rica.
As you follow your tour guide to the cave entrance, you will begin to anticipate the thrill of your venture underground. You will have the opportunity to see soda straws, pearls, roses, cave grapes, curtains, terraces, stalactites, stalagmites and other calcareous formations of over 40 limestone caverns. The caves are all in relatively good condition due to their vertical entrances being difficult to negotiate. This is also why you need climbing gear, a guide, and permission from the park's service in advance to enter the caves. Only about 50 percent of the complex has been explored to date. The caves range from a few feet to over 780 feet deep.
The Terciopelo cavern will get your pulse up as it is an extremely vertical descent. The abundant variety of cave formations are in pristine condition. Pozo Hediondo (Fetid Pit) Cave was named for the aroma of the guano deposited by the thousands of bats that take residents in the cavern. The caverns of Cerro Barra Honda were not discovered until the late 1960s. Many believed that Barra Honda was a volcano because of the roaring sounds made by the bats as they departed the caverns en masse and the fumes from the caves they occupied. The network of hiking trails used to access the caverns are great for exploring one of the rarest habitats on earth - a tropical dry forest. The juxtaposition of capuchin monkeys and cactus seems odd and some of the trees flower only after they have dropped all their leaves. Any time of year, you can hope to see howler monkeys, deer, raccoons, peccaries, kinkajous, agoutis, and anteaters.
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Price From:
$110 per person | 4 people $150 per person | 2 people Price lowers with more people |
Location:
Tamarindo |
Duration:
9.5 - 10 hours |
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Includes:
Round-trip transportation, tour guides, national park entrance fees, gear/equipment, lunch |
Times:
7:30AM Minimum Person Requirement:
2 Singles can be arranged |
Things to Bring:
Camera, secure close-toed shoes, long pants, bug repellent |
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