Cahuita National Park
A five-minute walk from the sleepy center of Cahuita, this national park and wildlife preserve is a wonderful white sand respite from the party-hardy atmosphere of Puerto Viejo. The park is full of capuchin and howler monkeys, sloths, a number of different types of butterflies and some of the cooler birds Costa Rica has to offer (like the Montezuma oriole — a personal favorite). There is an 8km trail leading from Cahuita to the Puerto Vargas entrance that takes you along the coast and out to Cahuita Point. From the Puerto Vargas entrance you can walk to the road and catch a bus back to Puerto Viejo. We highly recommend treating yourself to a beer while you wait at the laid-back Boca Chica restaurant between the Puerto Vargas guardhouse and the road.
If you enter from Puerto Vargas or the Puerto Viejo end of the park, there is a $10USD entrance fee. However, if you enter from the Cahuita side of the park you pay no entrance fee (though donations are appreciated, of course). What this means is that you can take the bus from Puerto Viejo and back (total cost, 1.420CRC or $2.85USD) and still save $7.15USD per person vs. paying the entrance fee.
GETTING // GOING • SLEEPING • DOING