Southern Costa Rica Guide

Hacienda Baru, National Wildlife Refuge^Featured

Hacienda Bar? National Wildlife Refuge is situated on Costa Rica´s Southern Pacific Coast. This is a region of distinct natural beauty, where forest covered mountains rise up from the dramatic Pacific coastline.

330 hectares (815 acres) have a fantastic variety of habitats, from wetland and secondary forest in the lowlands to primary forest on the highland coastal ridge.

7 Km of walking trails and 3 Km of pristine beach are here to be explored, as well as an orchid garden and butterfly garden.

Bird Watching and Ecological Tours are our specialty. Our excellent naturalist guides will help you discover the wonders of the tropical rainforest, such as leaf cutter ants and sleepy slots. On our tours you can experience Toucan everything from the Rainforest Canopy to Mangrove Swamps or the Jungle at Night.

Our Mission is to protect the wildlife habitats of Hacienda Bar?, while educating our visitors about its biological wealth.

Lodging and Restaurant

Lodging

Our six guest cabins are located with a beautiful view of the forest and within a short walk of the beach. Each cabin is secure and has: two doubles and one single bed, a kitchenette, bathroom with hot-water shower, fans, lock-box and a refrigerator. Continental breakfast is included in the price of the room.

Restaurant

Our breezy open air restaurant allows you to observe the gardens and natural surroundings as you dine. The meals are delicious typical Costa Rican cosine at popular prices.

Activities:

Conservation:

Conservation Hacienda Bar?´s 330 hectares (815 acres) was declared a National Wildlife Refuge in 1995 by the then president of Costa Rica, Jose Figueres. Up until the mid 1980´s around 50% of the Hacienda was farmed, beef and rice and cacao being the main modes of production. In 1985 we planted 8 hectares (20 acres) of teak trees. The remaining land was left as forest, being too steep or too wet to farm.

Today there is little evidence of the Hacienda's former, incarnation, dense secondary forest having grown up where the cattle once roamed. The plantations still exist, but nowadays the Cacao is harvested by the monkeys. The Teak is our source of wood for all construction on the Hacienda; a guaranteed sustainable resource which means we can leave the forest to the wildlife Big Tree .

Areas of forest that were once islands of habitat, separated by open pastures, are now connected by the secondary forest that has grown up across the coastal plain. The Monkeys can now roam freely all over the Hacienda and the Sloths have finally found their way back down into the lowland after nearly 4 decades of absence.

The regeneration of forest on the Hacienda has been a fascinating process to watch. For example how just a single line of trees along a fence can make all the difference to the safe passage of arboreal animals from one forest to another. The line of trees forms a “corridor” meaning the animals do not have to risk the traveling across the ground.

Bird watching Costa Rica Hacienda Bar? itself is now part of a much bigger forest corridor initiative,“The Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor”. This ambitious project stretches 100 Km along the Pacific coast from Corcovado National Park up to Manuel Antonio National Park and Los Santos Forest Reserve. Just as the fence line of trees joined isolated patches of forest together, The Path of the Tapir hopes to create a corridor of forest joining these National Parks and Reserves. Jaguar and Tapir no-longer reside on Hacienda Bar?, but can still be found in Corcovado and Los Santos. The hope is that one day we will see these animals pass through this land once again. The path of the Tapir Biological Corridor initiative is run by local conservation organization ASANA. For more information go to their web page through our LINKS section.

Hacienda Bar? and ASANA welcome scientific research which will support our conservation efforts.

Hacienda Bar? / Jack Ewing
APDO 215-8000
San Isidro de P. Z.
Costa Rica

Tel. (in C. R.): (506) 787-0003
Fax (in C. R.): (506) 787-0057
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