Home | Day & Night | gallery | Juan Castro Blanco National Park

Juan Castro Blanco National Park

08 November, 2011 11:17:00 Jim Parisi

One of the youngest of the Costa Rica National Parks, Juan Castro Blanco is also one the most unexplored. There are no facilities but an extensive system of unmarked trails in fairly rugged terrain, adding to the authenticity and adventure this park provides. Covering nearly 3600 acres in the Alajuela Province, the park is geographically sandwiched between Poas and Braulio Carrillo National Parks and is only about sixty miles north of San Jose, extending all the way north to the central Nicaragua border, basically in the center of the Chocosuela Mountain Range. More than half the park is primary cloud rainforest, receiving an average of 140 inches of precipitation each year and comprised of oak, cypress, cedar and quizarra trees. Created in 1992, it houses three main volcanoes (Porvenir, Platanar and El Viejo) that all tower above seven thousand feet. Only Platanar is still active, but there is no record of its last eruption. Orchids abound throughout the park. There have been more than one hundred species of birds sited here, including the peacock, falcon and even the quetzal. In addition, more than fifty species of amphibians and thirty different mammals live here, including armadillos, monkeys, tapir and a variety of felines. Of these collective species, sixty-four are classified as threatened or endangered in Costa Rica, including the aforementioned quetzal, the currasow, red brocket deer and the black guan. The five main rivers of this area (Toro, Platanar, La Vieja, Tres Amigos and Aguas Zarcas) are born here, and being the neighbors of active volcanoes, one byproduct is a large amount of hot springs and heated cisterns throughout the park. The main entrance is near the town of Quesada, also known as San Carlos. Be sure to visit the topiary gardens in front of the Catholic Church there, with local foliage shaped into elephants, birds and even a shrub in the form of an oxcart. The park itself is an excellent glimpse into an ecosystem that would not exist if not for the forethought and care given by this country. Juan Castro Blanco is even the home of archaic ruins that confirm the theory that Costa Rica was a meeting place for indigenous tribes from the northern and southern continents, as archeologists have found in the northernmost part of the park remnants of civilizations from both continents. The area was maintained by the Botos tribe, the most powerful tribe in the area at that time, who served as a kind of liaison and trading crossroad between Mayans and Incans, along with other lesser civilizations in the pre-Colombian Americas. The element of non-development at the park helps keep the authentic, natural surrounding. Without amenities, it is a challenge to visit; you need to bring your own water, for example. But the payoff is spectacular in this secluded national park. If you go, remember: camping is not allowed, so you need to leave early and plan on spending a full day here, to take in a true taste of natural Costa Rica. Enjoy!