Size: 1,067 hectares
Distance from San Jose: 211 kilometers
Dry season: January through March
Camping: Permitted
Cahuita National Park
Established as a national monument in 1970 and made a national park in 1978, this wilderness area protects 1,067 hectares of land, 600 hectares of coral reef and 22,400 hectares of marine territory. Its two main areas, Cahuita and Puerto Vargas, feature highly scenic beaches as well as the largest fringing coral reef in the Costa Rican Caribbean. Various species of marine life may be seen here, including coral (brain, moose- and deer-horn, fire, rose and lettuce), mollusks, crustaceans, turtles, multicolored fish (angelfish, isabelitas, etc.) and many others.
The park also protects its distinctive plant life, both marsh and coastal, as well as wildlife such as monkeys, sloths, squirrels, coatis and many birds and insects. Light-sand beaches, thousands of coconut palms, turquoise-blue seas and a coral reef make this one of the most scenically beautiful areas in the country. The park offers various activities, such as hiking, swimming, diving, sunbathing, beach volleyball, observing the wealth of biodiversity or simply doing nothing and enjoying the marvelous scenery. To make visits enjoyable, Cahuita offers the following visitor services: information, drinking water, restrooms and showers, picnic tables, trails and a camping area.
Cahuita is one of the most beautiful regions in the country. Its main attractions are the white sandy beaches, thousands of palm trees and a sea of clear crystal waters and a coral reef.
Cahuita comes from the words "kawe" that means mahogany, and "ta" that means point) This National Park was created in 1970 to protect the country's largest coral reef.
This reef stretches out like a fan in front of Cahuita Point between the Perezoso River and Vargas Harbor. It is the only mature reef on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. It is a marginal kind of reef and grows over 240 Ha. It is made up of an underwater platform which is formed by an external ridge and a kind of inner lagoon. The reef is composed of ancient coral debris, sandy patches, stands of live coral and underwater prairies of turtle grass. This grass is an important foodstuff for the green turtle and for many species of fish and mollusks, and it also provides a hiding place for sea urchins and sea snails.
Much of what you see exposed at Punta Cahuita was well under water before the 1991 earthquake, and nowadays you must walk a ways to get to the ocean. The quake constitutes the latest disaster to befall the reef; it has other problems as well. Silt from deforestation in the Talamanca Mountains behind the park, as well as soil and pesticide runoff from the expanding banana industry is killing the reef. Besides outright suffocating the corals polyps, silt also interferes in the symbiotic relationship that many corals have with blue-green algae that live within the animal's tissues and provides it with a good deal of its food. There is still a lot worth saving in Cahuita, and it is hoped that the government will become more interested in the problems that threaten Costa Rica's only mature reef.
Some of the more remarkable features that attract the attention of the naturalist who dives through this underwater garden are the different kinds of coral, such as the Elkhorn, and smooth brain corals, Venus sea fans, sea urchins and an infinite number of brightly colored fish of all sizes.
Cahuita National Park
Two of the most prevalent sea urchins are the red urchin, who is very numerous in the sandy strata, and the long-spined black urchin which mainly feeds on seaweed. Other reef species include the sea cucumber, lobster, sponge, white shrimp, green turtle, and the Alpheus simus crustacean which drills through limestone. To date, 35 species of corals, 140 of mollusk, 44 of crustaceans, 128 of seaweed, 3 of halophilous phanerophytes, and 123 of fresh and saltwater fish have been identified in Cahuita.
Most of Cahuita Point is made up of swampland. Other habitats include unflooded mixed forest, mangrove swamp, and littoral woodland with a thick.
The remains of a slave ship that sank during the second half of the 18th century comprise the most valuable cultural feature in the park. The shipwreck can be seen at the mouth of the Perezoso River.
The most serious environmental problem facing the Cahuita reef is the accumulation of sedimentary deposits made by La Estrella River. It has been demonstrated that the sediments are affecting both individual coral formations and the coral community as a whole.
Camping is allowed at the well-organized campground, which has water, toilets, and grills, but it's quite crowded on weekends and holidays.
Trees found here: sea grapes, cativo, coconut palm, red mangrove, blood wood, banak, copal,
Fish found on the reef: queen angelfish, French angelfish, rock beauty, and blue parrot fish, great barracuda, little stingray, and remora, also 3 species of sharks and 6 of moray eels.
Animals found here: howler monkey, common raccoon, and white-nosed coati, land hermit crab, black land crab, white land crab, and wide red land crab.
Birds found here: green ibis, green-and-rufous kingfisher, yellow-crowned night-heron, and northern boat-billed heron.
Protected Areas 
