Costa Rica National Parks / South Pacific / Esquinas & Piedras Blancas

The Piedras Blancas National Park, formerly called Esquinas National Park or Corcovado Section II, was established in 1992 as an extension of the Corcovado National Park. The park borders the Golfito Forest Reserve in the East. In the West the park is connected with the Corcovado National Park by a forest corridor (Rincon) which unfortunately is highly threatened by illegal logging. The Piedras Blancas National Park covers 30'000 acres of undisturbed humid tropical primary rainforest and 5'000 acres of secondary forests, pasture land and rivers consisting primarily of hills of varied steepness, over one hundred stream valleys, a river plateau and coastal cliffs and beaches. A study by Austrian biologists recently revealed that the diversification of tree species counted on different areas of 10'000 sqm. each exceeds the variety of trees found in the Corcovado National Park which makes this area even more important to conserve.

Esquinas Lodge is located about 20km north of Golfito.

Golfito
Golfito is set on the north side of the Golfo Dulce, at the foot of lush green mountains. The setting alone is enough to make this one of the most attractive cities in the country, but Golfito also has a certain charm all its own. Sure, the areas around the municipal park and public dock are kind of seedy and the "downtown" section is quite run-down, but if you go a little bit farther along the bay, you come to the old United Fruit Company housing. Here you'll find well-maintained wooden houses painted bright colors and surrounded by neatly manicured gardens. Toucans are commonly sighted. It's all very lush and green and clean--an altogether different picture from that painted by most port towns in this country. These old homes are experiencing a sort of renaissance, as they become small hotels catering to shoppers visiting the adjacent duty-free shopping center.

Tour Units: T21 - Esquinas Rainforest - 3 days & T21aw Rainforest Adventure Week - 7 days