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But since La Marta Wildlife Refuge is a bit under the radar, it’s not super busy or crowded which is incredibly nice. As we were leaving, we saw a German family come in and that was it! And we visited on a Sunday morning, normally a day where any attraction would be packed with foreigners and locals. The trails are fairly well maintained and laid out, there are signs every few hundred meters or so with information about the various flora and fauna in the wildlife refuge.ĭuring the entire time we were there, there was only one other couple in the refuge, a Tico couple. It does get a little step when you go up the Mirador so take your time going up and down. It took us total about 2.5 hours and the trails were relatively easy. We decided to go on the Historical trail, follow the river and head up to the Mirador and back. We noticed that some signs had trails that weren’t on the map and it got a little confusing. We didn’t get a map when we entered the refuge so I highly recommend taking a picture on your phone and using this post as a reference as the signage in the refuge is okay.
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Since the refuge is in between two rivers, there are trails that go along a river, one that leads to a look out spot and one to the ancient gold mine ruins. There are many trails in the refuge ranging from easy to moderate. Eventually, miners decided to focus on conservation instead of gold and now students and researchers use La Marta to study ecology and the natural habitats. Inside La Marta Wildlife Refuge are remains of an old gold mine and rail system used by donkeys to move gold. La Marta Wildlife Refuge is open every day from 7 AM to 5 PM. Bus schedule for La Marta Wildlife Refuge courtesy of La Marta website Entrance Fee and Hours There is a bus from Cartago to the wildlife refuge. Roads are not paved when you enter Pejibaye but 4×4 is not necessary. La Marta Wildlife Refuge is located in the Pejibaye district of Cartago. Here is all you need to know about visiting. If you are visiting Turrialba and looking for a nature hike without many visitors, head to La Marta Wildlife Refuge. Visitors can hike the many trails in the wildlife refuge, camp and take a guided tour to experience the rich nature of La Marta. This 1518 hectares of protected land is the first private wildlife refuge in Costa Rica with 60% primary forest and 40% secondary forest and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, La Amistad International Park (in Costa Rica and Panama). One of these is La Marta Wildlife Refuge in Turrialba. Though most travelers opt for visiting the national parks, there are many lesser known reserves and refuges that offer an equally incredible experience hiking in the rain forest and observing wildlife. Did you know that Costa Rica has over 50 wildlife refuges? Add that to the list of 31 national parks, 8 biological reserves and 13 forest reserves and you can understand why Costa Rica is such a hot destination for eco-tourism and nature.