Preciosa Platanares Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica

Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Preciosa Platanares Costa Rica

Preciosa Platanares Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica was created on April 20th 1998, to protect forested and beach areas on the Osa Peninsula in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

The Platanares Preciosa Wildlife Refuge is a protected coastal-marine area, belonging to the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA), which is a very important center for the conservation of wildlife and natural resources of a very particular ecosystem. This refuge is also a biological corridor between Corcovado National Park and Golfo Dulce reserve.

The Preciosa Platanares National Wildlife Refuge mangroves are both relaxing and amazing. The mangroves are intense environments where wildlife shows in many different ways. You will learn about the ecosystem while sailing in calm waters, and at the same time, visitors can enjoy watching dolphins, sea turtles, fish, crabs, crocodiles, caimans, ocean birds and coatis, anteaters, raccoons, monkeys, iguanas, Jesus Christ lizards, snakes and butterflies hiding in the forest.

The refuge has the same climate that prevails in the Osa Peninsula, very humid with heavy rains, evergreen forests and an average temperature of 25ºC (70ºF), so the Preciosa and Platanares beaches have a unique vegetation with a variety of “Piñuelas” or “Piros” (Bromelia plumieri).

Immerse yourself in indescribable wild and silent beauty, where nature reveals its life. This trip explores the mangrove estuaries near the Platanares River in the Preciosa Platanares National Wildlife Refuge.

There are no public facilities at Preciosa Platanares National Wildlife Refuge. Other nearby Costa Rican Parks include Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, Hacienda Copano Wildlife Refuge, Carate Wildlife Refuge, Lagunazul National Wildlife Refuge, Rio Oro National Wildlife Refuge and Corcovado National Park.

Getting to Preciosa Platanares Wildlife Refuge:

From San Jose, take the Pan-American Highway south towards Panama. At the town of Rio Claro, take the exit to Puerto Jimenez. The refuge is about 22 km south of Puerto Jimenez. The total trip from San Jose takes about 7 hours.

By bus

You can take a bus from the route San Jose – Puerto Jimenez, which takes about 8 hours (Transportes Blanco, 2771-4744). From here you can rent a car and drive or take a taxi to Preciosa Platanares Wildlife Refuge.

You can also take a bus from the route San Jose – Golfito, which takes about 8 hours (Tracopa-Alfaro, 2221-4214). From here you can take rent a car and drive or take a taxi to Preciosa Platanares Wildlife Refuge. In both cases 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 or Puerto Jimenez Airports, either with Sansa or Aerobell Airlines, both with daily flights. From here you can rent a car and drive or take a taxi to Preciosa Platanares Wildlife Refuge, which takes about 20 minutes.

Location: near Platanares River in Osa Peninsula, southern Puntarenas, district: Puerto Jimenez, canton: Golfito, province: Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 60702.
Puerto Jimenez GPS Coordinates: 8.535819,-83.303914 (8°32’08.95″N, 83°18’14.09″W)
Size: 226 ha (558 acres)
Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA) Telephone: +(506) 2735-5580 / 2735-5276
INFOTUR Tourist Information: 1192

Address map: Click here to view directions from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), Alajuela, Costa Rica TO Puerto Jimenez, Puntarenas, Costa Rica at Google Maps