Palo Verde National Park

Palo Verde National Park

Normally tourists visiting Guanacaste go to "Palo Verde" by boat. Actually the Palo Verde Tours almost never go into Palo Verde National Park. They enter from the Western side of the Tempique River and travel by boat into private reserve land but never go into Palo Verde National Park.

To get to the Park go South on the Interamerican Highway from Liberia to Bagaces and turn right at the gas station and head Southwest on a well-maintained dirt road until you come to the entrance of the park. The park encompasses 45,492 acres and houses 15 different topographical zones from evergreen forests to mangrove swamps.

Birds spotted regularly in the park include Great Curassows, Scarlet Macaws, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbills, Anhingas, Jabirus, and Wood Storks among many others. At one point the park was home to some 60 different species of birds but over recent years and invasive marsh grass lowered that number.

For the last 2 years, an effort has been in place to clear the invasive marsh grass with a specialized tractor equipped to till under the grass so it dies. Since the effort has been in place, over 40 bird species have been spotted indicating that the efforts to reclaim the mangrove have been successful.