Published Wednesday, June 3, 2020
More National Parks open for tourists

 By  the A.M. Costa Rica  staff

More National Parks and Protected Wild Areas have been reopened to visitors, announced the National System of Conservation Areas on Tuesday.

The opening of national parks and protected wild areas will continue to be carried out progressively, said Grettel Vega-Arce, director of the National System of Conservation Areas.

According to Vega, preventive actions will be carried out, such as allowing only 50% of the capacity of the public to enter, with the goal of safeguarding the health security of park rangers.

Meanwhile, the newest reopened national parks located in Guanacaste Province are: Santa Rosa, Volcan Tenorio, Barra Honda, Diriá and Las Baulas.

Tortuguero Park in Limon Province and Isla del Coco in the Pacific Ocean are also open.

The Wilderness Reserves Areas open to the public in Guanacaste are Cipanci, Ostional, Iguanita, Camaronal and Monte Alto.

The Gandoca-Manzanillo reserve in Limón Province, Cabo Blanco in Puntarenas Province and Grecia Forest Reserve in Alajuela Province.

For the reopening of the aforementioned National Parks, other security measures will continue to be implemented, such as:

• Communal areas still not available to the public: lunch areas, picnic areas, camping areas, trails lacking space to implement social distancing, shops and cafeterias.

• The entrance of people will be done in groups, while maintaining a distance between people of 1.8 meters, during the tours.

• Double distance for parking.

• Visitors will be allowed to enter alone or with family and close friends, as the so-called social bubbles continue to be implemented. A social bubble is defined as a group of people with whom they have close physical contact.

Park tickets can be purchased at the parks box office or online at the website of the National System of National Parks, known as SINAC.

According to the authorities, people detected with flu or similar symptoms to those developed by covid-19 will not be able to enter the parks.

May was the first phase of the opening of national parks and wild reserves to tourists "as part of the effort made to boost economic recovery," said the ministry of Environment in its statement.

Those parks already allowing visitors are Irazú Volcano, Poás Volcano, Arenal Volcano, Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, Guayabo National Monument, Braulio Carrillo National Park, Carara National Park, Corcovado National Park, Manuel Antonio Beach National Park, Cahuita National Park, Tapantí National Park, Los Quetzales National Park and Hermosa- Punta Mala National Wildlife Refuge.

Authorities will continue to closely observe the evolution of the covid-19 in the country, so keeping the natural parks and wilderness areas open will depend on the orders by the Ministry of Health.


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