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This
2,295-hectare park, 13 km west of the Río Tempisque,
is distinct in the Costa Rican park system. Parque Nacional
Barra Honda is known for its limestone caverns dating
back some 70 million years (42 have been discovered
to date). Remarkably, the caverns have been known to
modern man for only two decades, but skeletons, utensils,
and ornaments dating back to 300 b.c. have been discovered
inside the Nicoya Cave.
The
deepest cavern thus far explored is the Santa Ana
Cave, which is thought to be at least 240 meters deep
(descents have been made to 180 meters). One of its
features is the handsome Hall of Pearls, full of stalactites
and stalagmites. Another cavern with decorative formations
is Terciopelo Cave, named for the eponymous snake
found dead at the bottom of the cave during the first
exploration, and reached via an exciting 30-meter
vertical descent to a sloping plane that leads to
the bottom, 63 meters down.
Mushroom
Hall is named for the shape of its calcareous formations.
The Hall of the Caverns has large Medusa-like formations,
including a figure resembling a lion's head. And columns
in Hall Number Five, and "The Organ" in
Terciopelo, produce musical tones when struck. Beyond
the Hall, at a point called the Summit, you can sign
your name in a book placed there by speleologists
of the University of Costa Rica. Some of the caverns
are frequented by bats, including the Pozo Hediondo
(Fetid Pit) Cave, which is named for the quantity
of excrement accumulated by its abundant bat population.
Blind salamanders and endemic fish species have also
evolved in the caves.
The
caves are not easily accessible and are risky for
those not duly equipped. Groups will need to call
the National Parks office in San José (see
National Parks, in the Introduction chapter), or the
regional headquarters in Bagaces, tel. 671-1062, fax
671-1290, or in Nicoya, tel./fax 686-6760, several
days in advance for authorization to enter the caves.
Descents are allowed during dry season only (although,
reportedly, not during Holy Week).
Above
ground, the hilly dry forest terrain is a refuge for
howler monkeys, deer, macaws, agoutis, peccaries,
kinkajous, anteaters, and many bird species, including
scarlet macaws. The park tops out at Mount Barra Honda
(442 meters), which has intriguing rock formations
and provides an excellent view of the Gulf of Nicoya.
While here, check out Las Cascadas, strange limestone
formations formed by calcareous sedimentation along
a riverbed. Hire a guide; the pathways leading throughout
the park are convoluted. Two German tourists got lost
and died of dehydration in 1993 after setting off
for a short hike without a guide.
In
March 1997, five percent of the park was destroyed
in a devastating fire, so no fooling around with matches.
The Los Laureles ranger station, tel. 685-5667, fax
685-5276, has basic trail maps. Entrance: $6.
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