Quillotro Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica

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Quillotro Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica was created on April 26th, 1999, in order to protect forested and beach areas in the Drake Bay region of the Osa Peninsula, Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

It is a very important nucleus for wildlife, allowing conservation and management within a sustainable development while serving as environmental regulator. The refuge is also very important for the management of natural resources, especially for the protection and conservation of living species typical of this type of ecosystem, in addition to being responsible for the integrated management of natural resources by helping to meet regional needs for research, recreation, environmental education and the use of renewable natural resources rationally.

The Quillotro National Wildlife Refuge has an extraordinary forest cover and important protected areas in and around their limits, such as the Terraba-Sierpe National Wetlands, Piedras Blancas National Park, Golfito National Wildlife Refuge, Cano Island Biological Reserve, Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, Pejeperro National Wildlife Refuge, Carate National Wildlife Refuge and Corcovado National Park.

Among the most representative plant species in the area are the guarumo, “cerillo” (Symphonia globulifera), cabbage bark (Andira inermis), “Guapinol” (Hymenaea courbaril), palm (Astrocaryum), purpleheart (Peltogyne purpurea), raffia palms (Raphia), “Guayabón” (Terminalia oblonga), guanandi (Calophyllum brasiliense), Coco Cabuyo (Couratari guianensis), “Cedro macho” (Carapa guianensis), “Cedrillo” (Tapirira myriantha), Tabacon (Triplaris melanadendron), Sapodilla (Manilkara Zapota) “Aceituno” (Simarouba amara), “Ronrón” (Astronium graveolens), “Guácimo” (Guazuma ulmifolia), Gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) and the prehistoric Zamia (Zamia pseudoparasitica).

Due to its proximity to the Corocovado National Park, biodiversity results very similar with animals such as monkeys, squirrels, sloths, raccoons, peccaries, armadillos, agoutis, anteaters, jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi), the ocelot (Leopardus tigrinus) and jaguar (Panthera onca), as well as frogs, glass frogs (Centrolenidae), poisonous frog (Phyllobates vittatus, Dendrobates granuliferus), green and black poison frog (Dendrobates auratus), the iguana (Ctenosaura similis), the lizard (Norop sp), the green iguana (Iguana iguana), the bushmaster (Lachesis muta), the fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper), boa (Boa constrictor), the coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus), Eyelash Viper (Bothriechis schlegelii), the Mexican Vine Snake (Oxybelis aeneus), the tigre snake (Spilotes pullatus) and the rainforest hognosed pitviper (Porthidium nasutum).

The Quillotro National Wildlife Refuge also has a great variety of birds like parrots, macaws, trogons, hummingbirds, toucans, Pale-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis), White-throated Magpie-Jay (Calocitta formosa), Blue-crowned Motmot ( Momotus momota), Pale-vented Pigeon (Patagioenas cayennensis), White-faced Dove (Leptotila megalura), Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens) and Passerini’s Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii), among others.

Getting to Quillotro Wildlife National Refuge:

Take the Interamerican Highway from San Jose to Piedras Blancas until the La Chacarita gas station and then take the exit to your right (dirt road) to Puerto Jimenez, or you can take the exit to Sierpe and then take a boat to Quillotro Wildlife National Refuge which is south of Drake Bay. The trip takes about 395 kilometers (240 miles) by road. The total distance from San Jose takes about 7 hours. Now you can also take the new Caldera Highway (route 27) to Puntarenas and then follow the Pan-American Highway south until you get to Sierpe.

By bus

Take a bus from the route San Jose – Puerto Jimenez, which takes about 8 hours (Transportes Blanco, +506 2771-4744). From here you can rent a taxi to Quillotro Wildlife National Refuge, which takes about 50 minutes.

You can also take a bus from the route San Jose – Puerto Jimenez, which takes about 8 hours, and get off at Palmar Norte (Transportes Blanco, +506 2771-4744). From here go to Sierpe and there take a boat to Drake Bay and then hire another transportation service to Quillotro Wildlife National Refuge.

By plane:

You can also take a flight from the Juan Santamaria Airport to the Puerto Jimenez or Drake Airports, either with Sansa or Aerobell Airlines, both with daily flights. From here you can rent a taxi to Quillotro Wildlife National Refuge, which takes about 50 minutes.

Location: 8 miles north of Corcovado National Park in Drake Bay, district: Sierpe, canton: Osa, province: Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
Drake Bay GPS Coordinates: 8.690428,-83.664175 (8°41’25.54″N, 83°39’51.03″W)
Size: 78 ha (190 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 Drake Bay, Puntarenas, Costa Rica at Google Maps