Tucked into a rugged cranny midway down the Pacific coast, pocket-size Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio embodies many of the diverse attributes that visitors hope to see in Costa Rica. The popular park offers white-sand beaches, a coral reef, and rain forest teeming with wildlife that loves to put on a song and dance.
The 1,685-acre (682 ha) park is set on a blunt-nosed peninsula backed by forested hills; it also includes the waters of the Pacific on three sides. The peninsula is in fact a tombolo: a slender, low-slung sand spit connecting two larger sections of land-in this case, a former island called Punta Catedral, which seems to hang on the map like a pearl. You can hike to its summit via a steep trail at the end of Playa Espadilla Sur, a quarter-mile (400 m) scimitar that forms the west side of the tombolo and is one of four white beaches in the park.
On the east side, the smaller Playa Manuel Antonio is the prettiest of the bunch, curling around its deep flask-shaped bay like a shepherd’s crook. A small coral reef a short distance offshore is perfect for snorkeling; dry season months are best, when water-clarity improves. There are plenty of tidal pools too, good for wading out into the crystal clear shallows to spot sea start and crayfish. And Pacific Green and olive Ridley turtles come ashore to lay eggs. Pre-Columbian Native Americans captures them; you can still see traps hollowed into the rocks and exposed at low tide. The turtles swam in a high tide and got caught in the scalloped basins when, exhausted after their exertions ashore, they struggled back to sea with the receding tide.
The park entrance is 60 yards (550 m) east of Manuel Antonio hamlet, at the east en of Playa Espadilla. You will have to wade across the mouth of the Rio Camaronera; a boatman will ferry you across at high tide. Wide, well-maintained trails perfect for wildlife viewing lead into tropical forest. Sightings of certain species are virtually guaranteed by following the easy Sendero Perezoso (“sloth trail”). Cheeky white-faced capuchin monkeys chatter within fingertip reach in the trees that shade the beaches (it is best not to get too close; they can be aggressive). Away from the shore you can see howler monkeys, iguanas, and sloths high up in the trees, while many a hiker reports seeing a coati scamper across their path. Toucans, parrots, and scarlet macaws are commonly seen.
A more adventurous hike along the Mirador Trail (Sendero Mirador) leads into eh farther reaches where with luck you might encounter spider monkeys; Manuel Antonio is home to a population of more than 350. The step trail, which is muddy in wet season, leads to amirador offering fabulous views over the park and out to sea.
The park has proved so popular in recent years that it has begun to feel the adverse effects of all those trampling feet. In 1997, a daily quota of visitors was introduced: no more that 600 are permitted.
The 1,685-acre (682 ha) park is set on a blunt-nosed peninsula backed by forested hills; it also includes the waters of the Pacific on three sides. The peninsula is in fact a tombolo: a slender, low-slung sand spit connecting two larger sections of land-in this case, a former island called Punta Catedral, which seems to hang on the map like a pearl. You can hike to its summit via a steep trail at the end of Playa Espadilla Sur, a quarter-mile (400 m) scimitar that forms the west side of the tombolo and is one of four white beaches in the park.
On the east side, the smaller Playa Manuel Antonio is the prettiest of the bunch, curling around its deep flask-shaped bay like a shepherd’s crook. A small coral reef a short distance offshore is perfect for snorkeling; dry season months are best, when water-clarity improves. There are plenty of tidal pools too, good for wading out into the crystal clear shallows to spot sea start and crayfish. And Pacific Green and olive Ridley turtles come ashore to lay eggs. Pre-Columbian Native Americans captures them; you can still see traps hollowed into the rocks and exposed at low tide. The turtles swam in a high tide and got caught in the scalloped basins when, exhausted after their exertions ashore, they struggled back to sea with the receding tide.
The park entrance is 60 yards (550 m) east of Manuel Antonio hamlet, at the east en of Playa Espadilla. You will have to wade across the mouth of the Rio Camaronera; a boatman will ferry you across at high tide. Wide, well-maintained trails perfect for wildlife viewing lead into tropical forest. Sightings of certain species are virtually guaranteed by following the easy Sendero Perezoso (“sloth trail”). Cheeky white-faced capuchin monkeys chatter within fingertip reach in the trees that shade the beaches (it is best not to get too close; they can be aggressive). Away from the shore you can see howler monkeys, iguanas, and sloths high up in the trees, while many a hiker reports seeing a coati scamper across their path. Toucans, parrots, and scarlet macaws are commonly seen.
A more adventurous hike along the Mirador Trail (Sendero Mirador) leads into eh farther reaches where with luck you might encounter spider monkeys; Manuel Antonio is home to a population of more than 350. The step trail, which is muddy in wet season, leads to amirador offering fabulous views over the park and out to sea.
The park has proved so popular in recent years that it has begun to feel the adverse effects of all those trampling feet. In 1997, a daily quota of visitors was introduced: no more that 600 are permitted.
The road to Manuel Antonio
Manuel Antonio‘s umbilical cord is a narrow serpentine highway that connects it to Quepos, some 4 miles ( 6.4 km) to the north. The forest fringed road clambers over a steep headland and wriggles along the top of the ridge, offering teasing views best enjoyed from one of the scores of hotels and restaurants that command grandstand seats.
A Fairchild C-123 airplane, formerly used by the CIA, stands by the road on top of a hill that is midway between Quepos and Manuel Antonio.
Dirt trails lead down through the forests that cascade into carefully secreted coves. The road drops down to the bustling hamlet of Manuel Antonio, which clings to the edge of Playa Espadilla, a popular hangout, and then dead ends at the park entrance.
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