Where is barra honda national park

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Once you rejoin the main road, continue southwest about 10 km then turn right towards the villages of Barra Honda and also known as Nacaome Santa Ana, and follow signs for the park entrance.

The park headquarters is through the gate closed at dusk less than a mile up a good gravel road 4WD not required on the left. Bus Unfortunately there is not a direct way to reach Barra Honda by bus.

The protected area is 5, acres 2, hectares, 8. Hours The gate is open from a. Hiking trails Maps are available at the ranger station. No animals, no wind, no dirt.

All around you are these amazing formations of stalagmites and stalactites. At the bottom of the entrance you are 35 meters down. We spent about 30 minutes in this area as our guide explained to us the history of the formations and the caves. Then she pointed to a hole down to the right, signaling it was time for us to move onto the next cave. Another descent leads us down a very small hole ends at 60 meters. It brings you to the next cavern, appropriately named la sala de huevos fritos fried eggs cave because of the shape of the stalagmites.

Boy was this one a tight squeeze! Once there, our guide told us to sit down and turn off our headlights. As soon as the last lamp extinguished, the silence and darkness was incredible. You can see literally nothing and you hear nothing.

You feel you are surrounded by… nothing. There is a reason why this is a method of torture. Stick someone in a place with no light, no sounds, no human or animal touch.

OK so creepy, go mentally insane factor aside, it was fascinating. To realize that these formations have been around for hundreds, thousands of years with no wildlife within the caves. Water exists in the tips of the columns, which compose of a variety of formations: flowers, grapes, teeth, human faces.

Coming back up to the surface after exploring the cave was a fulfilling feeling. Knowing you overcame a fear, pushed yourself physically, looked at, touched, smelled a special piece of the earth. We rested a bit and then started our way back down. Along the way, our guide took us to a viewpoint that overlooked all of Nicoya. For someone who is looking to experience something different than beaches, this is perfect for them. Palo Verde National Park. Manuel Antonio National Park.

Poas Volcano National Park. Arenal Volcano National Park. I called Barra Honda at to make a reservation as this article mentioned, and they told me to call for a cave tour reservation. Is there any way to get that cheaper rate while doing a reservation ahead of time as required? I have a car and can drive there. Hello Chris, the national park runs their own cave tours so that should be right. We paid the Costa Rican national price which is cheaper than the foreigner prices not to mention there is also a VAT tax that is added to the price now.

The constant dropping of rainwater on calcium carbonate has then created these underground art galleries — fancies of nature slowly grown over millenniums of years. The cave system was only discovered in the late 60ies. Before that people believed that Barra Honda was a volcano. They took the whirring of bat wings for volcanic activity and the smell of guano for sulfur fumes. Soon after sunset these flying mammals surge from their underground dwelling to swoop into the night.

The caves of Barra Honda are well preserved because their vertical entrances are difficult to negotiate. Nevertheless have human skeletons and pre-Columbian artefacts been found in the 30 m deep Nicoa Cave. The deepest of the Barra Honda caves is Santa Ana which drops to meters below surface, while La Trampa the trap has the deepest precipice — a 30 m vertical entrance. Speleologists and spelunkers from around the world are drawn to Barra Honda. One of the largest and most beautiful caves is Terciopelo which along with la Cuevita, is the only one open to the public.