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Punta Rio Claro National Wildlife Refuge

Quick Facts

  • Location : 2 miles south of Drake Bay
  • Note : No marked trails; no public facilities

Trek at slow pace admiring wildlife, cliff dive on waterfalls, and float or kayak down the Claro River in the Punta Rio Claro National Refuge.

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One hundred-and-forty-foot tall trees draped with hundred's species of ferns, bromeliads and orchids inside this low rainforest with palms swamps and mangroves stand all together as a testament to the wonders of the natural world providing you a place for inspiration and quiet self-reflection.

Jaguars, giant anteaters, tapirs white-lipped peccaries, howler monkeys, scarlet macaws, and hundreds of birds dwell in this privately own 1,230 acre reserve. Traveling just two miles south of Drake Bay and close to San Josecito Beach.

Punta Rio Claro National Wildlife Refuge offers you the best experience when with a guide – the trails are not clearly. Hire a guide with a captain from the town of Sierpe or Drake Bay and boat to the river mouth of Rio Claro and start your journey. Or, hike from Drake Bay down the coastal trail to the reserve. You will need to make previous arrangements to have a guide meet you there with a kayak.

The reserve features a small open-air stand where you can buy local handcrafts, rent kayaks to go on your own, and a small open-air greenhouse to protect turtle eggs.

Punta Rio Claro National Wildlife Refuge in Pictures

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