Small in size, yet super rich in biodiversity. Conveniently located right along the major highway. Absolutely no reason not to visit this gorgeous national park and explore its well-marked trail systems. We spotted lots of wildlife on our own even though we didn’t contract with a guide. The informational boards along the trails were very educational and equally as impressive as the prestige jungle this park has to offer. They made our self-guided exploration comprehensive! Attn: The park is open daily from 8:00 to 16:00, but at 16:00, they literally close and lock the gate. We were unaware of the closure schedule and assumed that it would remain open until 17:00 or 17:30 given the sunset of 17:18 that day. When we hiked out and returned to the car, we noticed that the gate was locked and that no other cars were left in the parking lot, but ours. We thought we got locked in until the next morning, but one park staff remained at the visitor center just to let us out. We sincerely apologized for the wrong assumption, but be sure to allocate enough time to explore the park and leave by 16:00 not to make the same mistake as we did!

Hiking/Backpacking

Costa Rica, CR, Pura Vida, Carara National Park, Parque Nacional Carara, Senderos Acceso Universal, Quebrada Bonita, Araceas

Tárcoles, Provincia Puntarenas, Costa Rica

time : Dec 9, 2019 1:51 PM

duration : 3h 15m 7s

distance : 4.3 mi

total_ascent : 276 ft

highest_point : 249 ft

avg_speed : 1.4 mi/h

user_id : NomadHeeday

user_firstname : Heeday

user_lastname : Nakahashi

Small in size, yet super rich in biodiversity. Conveniently located right along the major highway. Absolutely no reason not to visit this gorgeous national park and explore its well-marked trail systems. We spotted lots of wildlife on our own even though we didn’t contract with a guide. The informational boards along the trails were very educational and equally as impressive as the prestige jungle this park has to offer. They made our self-guided exploration comprehensive! Attn: The park is open daily from 8:00 to 16:00, but at 16:00, they literally close and lock the gate. We were unaware of the closure schedule and assumed that it would remain open until 17:00 or 17:30 given the sunset of 17:18 that day. When we hiked out and returned to the car, we noticed that the gate was locked and that no other cars were left in the parking lot, but ours. We thought we got locked in until the next morning, but one park staff remained at the visitor center just to let us out. We sincerely apologized for the wrong assumption, but be sure to allocate enough time to explore the park and leave by 16:00 not to make the same mistake as we did!