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RNVS Barra del Colorado
Created on July 26, 1985, this wilderness area is located on the border with Nicaragua.
It is a refuge for the manatee or sea cow (Trichechus manatus) , a symbol of Costa Rica’s marine fauna.
Ecological importance:
In the territory of the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge, visitors can find coastal areas, lagoons, rivers, swamps of herbaceous species, flooded forests and forests of small hills with heights that do not exceed 219 meters above sea level. The high precipitation almost all year round makes Barra del Colorado one of the rainiest places in the country, with an average annual relative humidity of 88%, as is typical of the lowlands of the very humid tropics.
Due to its wetland characteristics, it constitutes an area of great importance for the conservation of wild aquatic fauna and flora and of species associated with aquatic habitats.
All of these elements make Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge one of the most biologically diverse areas in the Costa Rican Caribbean region. It is home to a great diversity of species, including one third of the country’s endangered animal species. Its ecosystems generate essential services for the well-being of the communities located around the refuge, while its tourist attractions remain largely undiscovered by Costa Ricans and foreigners.
The site is rich in ecosystems that attract droves of migratory birds. It provides roosting and feeding areas for more than one million birds annually.
It covers 50 km of coastline and 81,177 ha of land, lagoons, rivers, river islands, forests, marshes, yolillales and hills (ancient volcanic cones).
It is home to abundant caimans, crocodiles, gaspar fish, and many other species.
The region’s flora is one of the most diverse in Costa Rica, with 58 species of endemic plants in the sector of the Coronel and Cocorí hills. Palm trees abound.
It is also the habitat of the tapir, jaguar, puma, howler and white- faced monkeys, ocelot, the jaguarundi and the three-toed sloth.
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