Limón’s Cariari Park To Receive Facelift

Officials this week announced a $3.5 million plan to remodel Cariari Park, near the Caribbean port city of Limón, to highlight the region’s natural attractions and provide a recreational center for locals and tourists alike.

The park will be modeled after INBioparque, a nature theme park run by the National-Biodiversity Institute (INBio) in Heredia, north of San José, according to a statement from the Ministry of Inter-Institutional Coordination and Production.

The revamped 14-hectare park will include recreational, cultural and environmental education facilities, and will highlight the Caribbean’s unique blend of jungle and sea. Boat tours, hiking trails, beach access and a small fishing port will be among the offerings available.

According to INBio president Rodrigo Gámez, the project will open its doors for safe, educational recreation for Limón families, schoolchildren and tourists.

The region, he said, is renowned for its rain forest and coral reefs, two of Costa Rica’s premier safeguards of biodiversity, and could be “one of the country’s most beautiful parks,” when complete.

The park harbors species not often found in developed areas, including two species of sloths and various reptiles and amphibians, and is located just five kilometers from Límon, along the road to Moín. It abuts Playa Bonita on the Caribbean Sea.