Hitoy - Cerere Biological Reserve

Location: 219 km (136 mi) from San Jose; 60 km (37 mi.) from Limon

See South Caribbean Tourism Region

Size: 22,613 acres, (9,155 Ha.)

Date of Creation: April 1978

Part of:  Caribbean La Amistad Conservation Area

About:

The Park was named by the Bri-Bri Indians, "Hitoy" for "woolly" and "Cerere" for "clear waters" - Fleecy Clear Water National Park. This was the Indian way of saying it rains here all the time. There is no dry season. There is only a less wet season.

Or, the Bri-Bris' "woolly" might have been referring to pretty, mossy rocks found here, or to the many white water rivers in the area, rapids and waterfalls as big as a house, some with water falling from ten meters (33 feet) in the sky.

The rain pays off with magnificent evergreen forests growing in the area, thick with as the crabwood, wild tamarind, silk cotton, possum-woods, nargusta and cow trees, many towering 30 meters, some more than fifty meters (100 to 200 ft.) into the air.

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Weather:

Average temperature: 29 C (84 F)
Annual Average Rainfall: 3,500 mm (137 in.)

Activities:

Hiking is available in largely unexplored and undeveloped territory. Camping is not permitted.

Facilities:

There is only a ranger station at the entrance and no other facilities.

Trails:

Hiking is on very strenuous, unmarked trails to pristine waterfalls.  A good path through the park is along the Espavel Trail, a 9 km (6 mi.) track leading southward along the bottomlands to the ranger station. You'll see many creeks and waterfalls and some lovely views of the Talamanca mountain system.

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Flora & Fauna:

Tree tops in these forests constitute a rich and rarely seen world of canopy-dwelling, largely nocturnal animals: the three-toed sloth, silky anteater, four-eyed opossum, howler and white-faced monkeys.

Closer to the earth, visitors can commune with no tropical river otter, tayra, jaguar, tiger cat, tapir, red brocket deer, collared peccary, and 115 species of birds that call the trees home, including the Montezuma oropendola, vulture, chizo parrot, slaty-tailed trogon, red-fronted parrotlet and hummingbirds. Frogs such as the poison dart frog and toads are abundant.

Fees and Schedule:

Schedule: Open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Getting There:

The Reserve is about 1one and a half hours from Cahuita. 

Take the bus from Limon to Valle la Estrella, ask the driver to drop you off at Fortuna or Finca Seis. From here you will have to walk 15 km (9 mi.) through a number of banana plantations until you reach the Reserve. A four wheel drive taxi will take you to the park for around $25, and will pick you up again at a time of your choosing.

Nearby Parks:

Cahuita National Park

Gandoca - Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge

Aviarios del Caribe Wildlife Refuge see our travel blog

Cuenca Rio Banano Protected Zone.

Contact Info:

ACLA-C: Caribbean La Amistad Conservation Area
506-2-758-3170


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