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Barra Honda
National Park:
Travel
to Costa Rica
: Although Barra Honda National Park covers 2,295 ha.,
its reason for being is not what lies on the surface,
but the geological treasure housed below. This is the
only park in the country designed to protect caves.
To date, 19 separate caves have been discovered in
the limestone ridge that makes up the Barra Honda formation.
The entrances to these caves are all vertical. Therefore,
ropes and climbing equipment are necessary for those
who are interested in exploring this subterranean world.
Cave depths vary from 21 to 240 meters.
In addition to stalactites and stalagmites, the wide
variety of other curious geological formations inside
these caves have given rise to the following descriptive
names: soda straws, cave grapes, curtains, terraces,
pearls, flowers, needles, and even fried eggs! Compared
to many other caves with horizontal entrances, the geological
features of Barra Honda are in excellent condition owing
to the difficulty of access.
The natural vegetation that once covered much of the
park is sadly not in as perfect a condition,  due
to deforestation and cattle ranching, nor is there a
well-marked system of trails to the few decent patches
of forest in the park.
Admission policy: To go spelunking in Barra
Honda requires previous permission which can be arranged
through the Park Service offices in San José
(phone: 192).
Getting there: From San José, take the
PanAmerican Highway north to just beyond the entrance
to Las Juntas de Abangares, look for the sign indicating
the left turn to the Tempisque Ferry. Once across the
river, continue on for about 12 km. before taking a
right turn to the village of Barra Honda (also known
as Nacaome). Continue on towards the village of Santa
Ana and follow signs for the park entrance.
Climate: Hot and dry from December through April,
and hot and humid during the rainy season.
History: Over the course of the past 70 million
years, nature has patiently worked to create the remarkable
system of caves at Barra Honda. First, millions of years
were necessary to form the marine limestone deposits
derived from ancient coral reefs. Then, seismic activity
along local fault lines was responsible for raising
the ridge above sea level where rain water and atmospheric
gases could combine to dissolve away portions of the
rock, while also leaving calcium deposits in an endless
pattern of strange shapes inside the still-forming caves.
As recently as 1967, it was still a matter of debate
whether or not Barra Honda Mountain was a volcano. Credibility
was given to this belief by the foul odor and strange
sounds -- likened to the roar of a steam engine -- that
emanated from one of the "craters" on top of the ridge.
As explorations of the caverns continued it became obvious
that volcanism had nothing to do with the formation
of Barra Honda and the opening that produced the smells
and noise turned out to harbor a tremendous quantity
of bats. The odor came from the accumulated guano and
the "roar" was the sound made by the fluttering wings
of tens of thousands of these creatures of the night.
Perhaps even more intriguing is the question, "Why are
there so few bats found in the other caves at Barra
Honda?"
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