Agua Buena Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica

Agua Buena Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica

Location: on Osa Peninsula in southern Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Puerto Jimenez GPS Coordinates: 8.535819,-83.303914 (8°32’08.95″N, 83°18’14.09″W)
Size: 182 ha (450 acres)
Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA) Telephone: +506 2735-5580 / +506 2735-5276
INFOTUR Tourist Information: 1192

Address map: Click here to view directions from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), Alajuela, Costa Rica TO Palmar Norte and Palmar Sur Intersection, Puntarenas, Costa Rica at Google Maps

Agua Buena Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica was created on June 22nd, 1995 to protect forested rural areas inland of the Golfo Dulce, in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

Agua Buena Wildlife Refuge is located in a rugged wilderness area with very heavy rains, and dense evergreen forest, making it, undoubtedly, one of the wettest places in the world, as the region receives an average annual rainfall of 5076mm (200 in). Rainfall is abundant all year long but in October it can rain over 700mm, which feeds innumerable waterways and encourages the growth of very tall trees laden with epiphytes. This is why the forest in the refuge is thick and evergreen.

Due to its proximity with Corcovado National Park, Agua Buena National Wildlife Refuge has a very similar diversity of flora and fauna , where a wide range of mammals can be seen. All four species of Costa Rican monkeys live here, plus raccoons, agouties, coaties, pacas, kinkajous, deers, anteaters, sloths, collared peccaries and some wildcats, such as the margay, ocelot, jaguar and the jaguarondi. There are also various species of snakes, frogs, crocodiles, caimans, basilisks, iguanas, lizards, butterflies and bats. Nearly 150 species of birds have been identified at the refuge, including macaws (Scarlet Macaw), parrots, brown pelicans, ibis, herons, owls, Barn Owls, as well as Yellow-billed Cotinga, Orange-collared Manakin, Golden-naped Woodpecker, Riverside Wren and Baird’s Trogon. The refuge also covers part of Golfo Dulce, where ghost crabs can be seen along the beach, as well as dolphins and whales in the migration season.

There are no public facilities at Agua Buena National Wildlife Refuge. Other nearby parks includes Carate Wildlife Refuge, Corcovado National Park, Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve and Piedras Blancas National Park.

Getting to Agua Buena National Wildlife Refuge:

From San Jose, take the Interamerican Highway to Piedras Blancas until the Sierpe and then take the exit to Agua Buena National Wildlife Refuge. The total distance from San Jose is about 7 hours.

By bus

You can take a bus from the route San Jose – Golfito, which takes about 8 hours (Tracopa-Alfaro, +506 2221-4214). From here you can take a taxi to Agua Buena National Wildlife Refuge, which takes about 30 minutes. We recommend buying the ticket a day earlier to be sure your seat is saved.

By plane

You can also take a flight from the Juan Santamaria Airport to the Golfito Airport, either with Sansa or Aerobell Airlines, both with daily flights. From here you can rent a car and drive or take a taxi to Agua Buena National Wildlife Refuge, which takes about 20 minutes.