River trip
Crocodiles and birds.
FlightEditor — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paul Kehrer — CC BY 2.0 · Paul Kehrer — CC BY 2.0 · Paul Kehrer — CC BY 2.0
A park of wetlands, marshes and dry forest on the banks of the Tempisque River in Guanacaste, one of Central America's key waterbird sites, where tens of thousands of birds gather around the pools and seasonal lagoons in the dry season. The best way to explore it is a boat trip on the Tempisque, seeing huge crocodiles basking on the banks, green iguanas on branches, flocks of white egrets, storks, the giant jabiru, pink roseate spoonbills, night herons and howler monkeys in the trees. The park has trails and lookouts over the flooded plains, and a research station. It also protects rare tropical dry forest that sheds its leaves in the dry season, making animals easier to spot among bare branches. The best time for birds is December to April. The sun is fierce, so bring a hat, sunscreen and water. Never feed or touch wild animals and watch them from a distance; feeding harms them and makes them aggressive.
Crocodiles and birds.
And jabirus.
Bare branches.
Banks of the Tempisque River, about an hour south of Liberia
The dry season, December to April, when birds gather around the pools and are easy to see from boat and lookouts.