Boat trip
On the Frío River.
Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Hans Hillewaert — CC BY-SA 4.0
A vast refuge of wetlands, rivers and seasonal lagoons in Costa Rica's far north near the Nicaraguan border, one of Central America's most important waterbird habitats and listed under the Ramsar convention as a wetland of international importance. The refuge is explored on a calm boat trip along the Frío River and its channels among flooded trees, seeing great numbers of birds, herons, storks, cormorants, kingfishers and the huge jabiru, plus crocodiles and caimans on the banks, iguanas and turtles on logs, and monkeys and sloths in the trees. The scene shifts with the seasons: in the rainy season the lagoon floods the plains, and in the dry season the water shrinks and birds gather around the pools, making them easier to see, the favourite time for birders. Trips leave in the morning from the small village of Caño Negro, and the sun is hot on the water, so bring a hat and sunscreen. Never feed or touch wild animals and watch them from a distance; feeding harms them and makes them aggressive.
On the Frío River.
A giant stork.
On the banks.
Northern plains near the Nicaraguan border, about an hour and a half north of La Fortuna
The dry season, roughly January to April, when the water shrinks and birds gather around the pools.