Page 18 - LIMON TOURIST GUIDE

General tours in Matina Back to contents
Barbilla National Park and the Punta de Lanza indigenous territories
Barbilla National Park protects a region where nature has not been disturbed by humans. The area still has retained a natural state thanks to its hard-to-reach location. A perfect spot for the most adventurous spirits.
The park is part of La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, which was declared to be a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is one of the few places in Costa Rica where it is possible to find five species of wild cats.
Rural community tourism activities are available on tours through the area in Cabécar indigenous communities and trails that take visitors to the edge of Barbilla National Park in the Matina Sector.
Nature and Culture Tour Tiger Heron tour
You’ll enjoy a natural paradise on a tour that will take you to unexplored parts of the Tortuguero canals in the Matina Sector. A boat tour through secondary canals until you reach the Madre de Dios Lagoon in Barra Pacuare, the geographical boundary between Matina and Siquirres.
Its exuberant scenic beauty, situated in a tropical paradise, is full of color and flavor. The day ends with an incredible coconut tour, where you’ll learn how to make artisanal coconut oil.
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Pacuare Reserve
One of the natural jewels of Matina Canton, the Pacuare Forest Reserve is situated amidst lush plant growth, bathed in the waters of the Caribbean Seas, the Madre de Dios Lagoon and the Tortuguero canals of the Matina Sector.
The Pacuare Matina Forest Reserve was created in March 1973 with the aim of protecting the old-growth forests of the central Caribbean coastal lowlands. Comprised of the region between the mouths of the Río Pacuare and the Río Matina, it preserves the region’s last forest area. It is also home to six kilometers of beaches, used for sea turtle conservation.
In 1994, a turtle protection program was set up in the Forest Reserve, with help from volunteers and students, which offers information and orientation on participating in night patrols on foot along the beach to prevent poachers from taking sea turtles or their eggs.
The reserve has no public services or hotel infrastructure, just a hostel at the park center set up to support these conservation activities.
The tropical rainforest flora include the cativo, gavilán, pilón, guaitil, sangregao, guaba mecate, cedro macho and yolillo palms.
The reserve also protects sea turtles like the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill and green turtle due to its importance as a nesting site. Leatherback turtles arrive to the coast between May and June, while green turtles come between June and September. Both species are endangered.
The reserve’s canals are also home to fish species such as sea bass, guapote, tilapia and guabina. The Tortuguero canals crisscross the reserve.
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