On the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, between Limón and Puerto Viejo, you'll find a tiny town called Cahuita, which pretty much just consists of a couple of houses and a national park. But that national park is, hands-down, one of the most beautiful places i have ever been to!
There is no entrance fee to get into the park, although donations at the entrance are welcomed. The trail of the national park starts at a beach close to the town of Cahuita. From there you can follow the trail around 8 km one way, then hike back or walk another kilometre to the next town from where you can try to get a bus or a lift with a car.
The trail leads along the coast, through the jungle and past the most beautiful beaches. The highlight of the walk was definitely, at least for me, the Playa Blanca, a stunning beach with white sand, turquoise water and palm trees, just like we know them from postcards. The thing that is incredibly beautiful here at the beaches of Cahuita national park, is that the beach is directly connected to the jungle. You can step pretty much right out of the woods into the ocean which is really fantastic!
In the park you will see all kind of exotic flowers and plants, as well as meet some animals like sloths, snakes, frogs, toucans and monkeys. But be aware of the white-faced monkeys! When me and my friends were laying on Playa Blanca, just relaxing, a white-faced monkey came and tried to steal my camera. Luckily we got the camera back and the monkey fled onto a tree with a package of cookies. (He ate them all in front of us, I bet he had a stomach ache afterwards! ) Since too many tourists have been feeding them, which is of course forbidden, they got really sneaky and are not afraid of humans anymore.
Also, the national park is one of the most beautiful places to do snorkelling. It is the home of the biggest coral reef of Costa Rica and countless colourful fishes, rays and harmless sharks. It is advised to book a snorkelling tour with a guide that knows the best and safest places to go into the water.
The park is known by tourists but as it is quite big you don't see many of them. Actually when I was there (February) we just met maybe 5-10 people on the whole way, so most of the time you get to enjoy the place pretty much by yourself. Especially the feeling on laying on the Playa Blanca all by yourself makes you feel like being on a lonely island in paradise.
So if you go for snorkelling, or like I did, just for a walk through the national park, the views, the lonely beaches and the untouched nature will take your breath away and the trip to this national park will be an unforgettable experience for sure!
