Manuel Antonio National Park

Listen for a moment. Beneath the hiss of the surf there is a deeper sound, a low roar that rolls through the trees like distant wind. It is not wind. It is a howler monkey, somewhere above you in the canopy, calling across the forest. The air is warm and heavy. It smells of wet leaves, salt, and ripe fruit. Underfoot, the path is soft and damp. Welcome to Manuel Antonio National Park, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

This park sits just south of the town of Quepos, and it surprises almost everyone in the same way. By the standards of Costa Rica, it is very small. You can walk its main trails in a single morning. Yet it is one of the most visited protected areas in the country. The reason is simple. Here the rainforest runs straight down to the sea. Within a few minutes you can move from deep green shade to white sand and turquoise water.

The park was created in 1972. Its story begins with the beaches themselves. In the years before protection, there were plans to develop this coastline and limit public access. Local residents pushed back. They wanted these beaches to stay open to everyone, not fenced off for a few. Their campaign helped bring national protection to the area. So the sand you walk on today is, in a real sense, a public space that people fought to keep.

The name itself carries a small mystery. Locals tell a story about a Spanish sailor or settler called Manuel Antonio, said to be buried somewhere on this coast. It is a popular tale, but it is folklore rather than documented history. Nobody can point to a grave. The name of the nearby town is better grounded. Quepos comes from the Quepoa, the Indigenous people who lived along this stretch of coast long before Europeans arrived.

Those earlier inhabitants left a trace you can still see. On Playa Manuel Antonio, at low tide, look for lines of rocks near the shore. Many researchers believe these are the remains of turtle traps built by Indigenous fishers. Sea turtles would swim in on the high tide. When the water dropped, they were caught behind the stones. It is easy to walk right past them. Once you know what they are, though, the beach feels very different.

Now look up into the trees. The animals are the main reason most people come here. White-faced capuchin monkeys move through the branches in noisy groups. Mantled howler monkeys rest higher up, slow and heavy. And if you are lucky, you may see the Central American squirrel monkey. It is small, with an orange back and a pale face. This species lives only in a narrow part of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama.

Then there are the sloths. Both the two-toed and the three-toed sloth live in this forest. They are hard to spot. A sloth often looks like a clump of brown leaves or a knot in a branch. They move so little that algae can grow in their fur, which gives them a faint green colour. This is why you will see guides at the trailheads with telescopes on tripods. A good guide can find a sleeping sloth that you would never notice alone.

On the ground, the life is just as busy. Coatis, relatives of the raccoon with long striped tails, trot along the paths with their noses down. Agoutis, which look a bit like large guinea pigs, freeze and then dash into the undergrowth. Big iguanas warm themselves on rocks and fallen logs. Small crabs scuttle into holes in the sand. Stand still for a full minute, and you will usually notice something that was there all along.

One warning is worth hearing clearly. Some of these animals have learned that visitors carry food. Capuchin monkeys and raccoons will open unattended bags in seconds. They can unzip pockets and carry off whole packs. Feeding wildlife is not allowed, and for good reason. Human food makes the animals sick, and it teaches them to steal. Keep your bag closed and close to you, especially when you sit down on the beach.

As you walk, watch for one particular tree near the sand. It is the manchineel, and it is one of the most toxic trees in the Americas. Its small green fruit looks like a little apple. Do not touch it, and do not shelter under the tree in the rain. The sap can burn the skin and the eyes. The park marks many of these trees with signs. It is a sharp reminder that this beautiful coast is still a wild place.

At the heart of the park rises Punta Catedral, a forested headland that pushes out into the ocean. It was once an island. Over a very long time, sand built up between the island and the mainland, and formed a natural bridge. Geologists call this kind of sand bridge a tombolo. Today it holds the beach on either side. A trail loops around the headland and climbs to viewpoints over the open Pacific and the small rocky islands offshore.

The park is not only land. A large protected area extends out into the sea. Around the islands, seabirds nest on the rocks, and brown pelicans glide low over the waves. In the right season, people sometimes see dolphins and whales from boats along this coast. Back on shore, the beaches inside the park are calm in places, good for a gentle swim. The water is warm, and the forest throws shade almost to the edge of the tide.

Now take a breath, and look around you. Notice the line where the green ends and the sand begins. Listen again for the howlers, and for the soft crash of the waves on the rocks. This small piece of coast stays open to all of us because people chose to protect it. As you walk back toward the entrance, move slowly. Look up into the branches one more time. Something is almost certainly looking back at you.