Sarapiqui Attractions
SARAPIQUÍ: THE GREEN JEWEL OF THE RAINFOREST
In Sarapiqui one can be overwhelmed by the extreme lushness of landscape, as if everything before the eyes is part of a giant green canvas. The Sarapiqui region is where adventures are lived out to the fullest and everyday holds a new lesson about ecology and nature.
The Sarapiqui region makes up 85% of the province of Heredia, directly north of San Jose. Its proximity to the northern slope of the central mountain range coupled with a long river basin has sustained this area as an important eco-tourism destination in Costa Rica, satisfying those who came to admire its intense biodiversity as well as those who came for the adrenalin pumping activities.
The town of Puerto Viejo, the district capital, is located at the confluence of the Sarapiqui and Puerto Viejo Rivers at an elevation of 37 meters above sea level, and is surrounded by agricultural plantations and magnificent forests. Being in the Northern Plain, it is closer to the Nicaraguan border, 30 km away, than the nearest Costa Rican city, Heredia in the Central Valley, which is 70 km away.
The Sarapiqui region is dotted with natural reserves, including La Selva Biological Station, which is part of the Braulio Carillo National Park, and Rara Avis, one of the first private reserves established to protect the primary forest. Both of these protected areas boast virgin tropical forests and provide shelter to a multitude of small wildlife. La Selva, created in 1954, is one of the area’s oldest reserves.
Near the little town of La Virgen de Sarapiqui, the MARIA EUGENIA BOZZOLI MUSEUM displays a thousand years of the history of indigenous civilization. This museum is the only one of its kind in the country, located in a large complex that includes a hotel, a reproduction of an indigenous town and burial ground, a botanical garden and a nature reserve. The movie theatre in the museum and its large quantity of audio-visual material will satisfy anyone’s curiosity. The interior tour of the museum usually includes a documentary that depicts the Pre-Columbian era in Costa Rica.
Outside the museum, the ALMA ATA ARCHEOLOGICAL PARK dates back to as recently as October 1999 when workers on the Sarapiqui Neotropical Center discovered a pre-Columbian site; by May of the following year excavation was underway, led the National Museum of Costa Rica. More than 70 tombs, containing exquisite stones and ceramic works were uncovered in the burial grounds. To date, 12 of the tombs are open to the public together with an indigenous rancho, stone sculptures, petroglyphs and trails.
In the same area, the CHESTER BOTANICAL GARDEN was designed by the Belgium National Botanical Gardens which has more than 150 years of history in the tropics. Here visitors can appreciate Costa Rica’s natural heritage in abundance; plants are grouped according to various themes, such as prehistoric plants, medicinal plants, plants that produce fibers, rubber and dyes, decorative plants, aromatic plants and nutritional plants.
Adjacent to the museum, archeological site and botanical garden is the TIRIMBINA BIOLOGICAL RESERVE which covers 300 hectares of tropical forest dedicated to the preservation of nature.
LA SELVA BIOLOGICAL STATION
Visitors become aware of the enormous biodiversity of the tropical forest as soon as they enter the La Selva Biological Station. The reserve includes 1900 plant species, 330 tree species, 436 bird species and 450 ant species. Toucans, parrots, trogans and hummingbirds are frequently spotted, as are mammals such as monkeys, peccaries, agoutis and coatis. The reserve also offers a night tour with a special feature on bats.
There are half-day and full-day tours led by the best naturalist guides in the country. There are also birdwatching tours and river tours on offer. On land, the walking trails are handicap-accessible.
PLANTATION TOURS
Tourists can opt to participate in the daily work going on in various plantations located in the Sarapiqui region. For instance, a tour of the Corsicana pineapple farm takes you through a plantation that is in continual operation. The tour is conducted in a comfortable wagon designed especially for this purpose. You will learn about the cultivation and harvesting techniques of this fruit, watch the packing process and the fruit’s many uses. A delicious pineapple drink, such as Pina Colada, awaits visitors at the end of the tour.
Another plantation tour introduces the Cacao plant which produces chocolate. Although the production process has evolved with modern technology, here they have maintained the traditional method. From the fermented seeds that are dried and toasted in the sun comes a chocolate paste. The cacao seed was once so important during the colonial era that they were used as money.
One of the most entertaining plantation tours available is dedicated to bananas, once the most important crop of the country. The tour is based on watching a play presented by a group of local actors who narrate and portray historical facts about banana cultivation and the world that revolves around it.
