| This
9154ha reserve sounds like a fascinating place, and being so rarely
visited, it offers a great wilderness experience in an area which
has been little explored. Water is the main feature of this under-explored
reserve that rises into Talamanca mountains from the Valle de
la Estrella.
Hiking is permitted but the steep and slippery terrain and dense
vegetation make it a possibility only for the most fit and determined
hikers. Very moist rainforest laden with epiphytes, towering trees
rising to 50m, ferns, numerous rivers, and extremely high humidity
greet the few visitors who penetrate it. The moss-flanked rivers
have clear bathing pools and spectacular waterfalls.
There
are many different plants, at least 115 species of bird (including
toucans, owls, kingfishers, cuckoos, turkey vultures and the Montezuma
oropendola, whose pendulous nests are common sights). Other inhabitants
include tapirs, jaguars, peccaries, porcupines, anteaters, armadillos,
sloths, opossums, howler and white-faced monkeys, and a large
variety of frogs, snakes and butterflies.
The
name of this reserve derives from the Bribri words meaning respectively
"woolly" (referring to moss that blankets the river boulders)
and "clean water". |
