Refugio Nacional Gandoca-Manzanillo — Attraction in Cahuita

Absolutely beautiful. There is parking right along the beach next to the entrance. Don't be surprised when someone approaches and tells you there's a charge to park, you don't actually have to pay it. It's not part of the park, but they allow these people to offer to watch over your vehicle for a fee, and it's probably worth the 3000k or so colones($5usd) they ask for. The fee to enter the park is a donation of whatever you want to pay. You sign a registration sheet with your name address and number of people in your group (I assume this is to be sure you make it out of the park). They check your bags for food that your not allowed to bring in, alcohol, meat(I assume they mean raw meat) and no smoking is allowed in the park. We had a mini cooler that they didn't really dig thru with sandwich meats and lettuce and bread. Just use care not to bring things to contaminate or feed the animals. There's a nice walking path that is cleaned of debris and neatly maintained. About 200 meters in there is a beach area with a place that you can wade/swim but there are rock shelves that surround different areas of the park so you can't go in too far. Then you come to a look out point that is accessible by stairs or a ramp. We had a senior in our group and made it fine to this point and a little further down some wide dirt stairs but stopped here only due to distance. There was a nice beach area perfect for sunbathing and getting your feet wet but not for swimming, too many rocks. There are lots of big spiders to see on the sides of the path, don't worry they aren't dangerous, just creepy! We also saw sloths, monkeys and lots of hermit crabs. But again, due to our limitations we didn't go very far. Do go early if you want to spend some time, the park closes at 4pm and they ask you to begin exiting at 3pm, everyone is...

Warning to Tourists: Dangerous Area at Gandoca Park!

My boyfriend and I visited Gandoca Park five days ago and were robbed at Playa Bite. We arrived at the park around 11:30 AM and encountered many visitors until we reached the lookout point. After that, we were alone for the remainder of our hike to Playa Bite which is about 6 km from the entrance, occasionally passing a few hikers heading in the opposite direction.

When we reached Playa Bite, it was beautiful and completely empty. We took off our packs and muddy shoes, dipped our toes in the water, and enjoyed the scenery. However, when we turned around to leave, our backpacks were gone—only our shoes remained!

We rushed back up the trail and found our backpacks dumped off to the side. While our phones and credit cards were thankfully left behind, the cash from our wallets was stolen—fortunately, it wasn’t much. It seems someone had been hiding in the jungle, watching us and waiting for the right moment. We let our guard down after not seeing anyone for over 40 minutes and thought we had the beach to ourselves, which led to us setting down our belongings.

Since this incident, we’ve read many reviews warning about dangerous and violent incidents along this very trail - numerous reviews of tourists robbed at gun or knife point and several sexual assaults. We now consider ourselves lucky that our experience was not worse. We’ve also spoken with locals from Puerto Viejo, who advise visitors not to go beyond the lookout point without a guide, as this area is known to be dangerous. I wish I knew this beforehand as we would not have continued on this hike. I hope others can learn from our experience and take precautions when visiting or avoid this place...

Beautiful beaches and scenery, but I do NOT recommend this park. My husband and I (and our baby) were robbed here today on the main trail by a man wearing a mask and wielding a large (around 5 ft) machete. He forced us to the ground, demanded we not look at him, and took our iPhone, cash (luckily we did not have much), and my rain jacket. He instructed us to continue walking on the trail deeper into the jungle, not allowing us to travel back on the path toward Manzanillo. After he let us go, we got lost trying to find our way back a different route and ended up in a clearing with a small wooden house, which we later learned is likely linked to the perpetrator. If you encounter this house, DO NOT APPROACH IT. We finally found a path back to town and let the police know. They did a search, but did not find anyone. We later went to the police station and gave a full report (this is the only way it would really go on record).

We want everyone to know that this is not an isolated incident, but a reoccurring pattern in this park -- although we were not harmed, we easily could have been. We cannot understand how the authorities continue to allow people to use the park without any warning whatsoever of this dangerous pattern of armed robbery.

If you have had a similar encounter, please let the police know and give a full report at the station -- this is the only way to build evidence...