Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [118]
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Information
There’s a small information and exhibit center (2559-1220; admission US$7; 8am-3:30pm) that provides an overview of what the city may have once looked like. (The best archaeological pieces can be found at the Museo Nacional in San José.) Guided tours are not available, but the very well-maintained trails are well signed.
Camping (per person US$5) is permitted, and services include latrines and running water. Keep in mind that the average annual rainfall is about 3500mm; the best time to go is during the dry season (January to April), though it might still rain. And make sure you pack the insect repellent; it gets mighty buggy.
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Wildlife-Watching
The site currently protects the last remaining premontane forest in the province of Cartago, and although mammals are limited to squirrels, armadillos and coatis, there are good bird-watching opportunities here. Particularly noteworthy among the avifauna are the oropendolas, which colonize the monument by building sacklike nests in the trees. Other birds include toucans and brown jays – the latter are unique among jays in that they have a small, inflatable sac in their chest, which causes the popping sound that is heard at the beginning of their loud and raucous calls.
DAMNING THE RIVERS?
Considered one of the most beautiful white-water rafting rivers in the world, the wild Río Pacuare became the first federally protected river in Central America in 1985. Within two years, however, Costa Rica’s national power company, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), unveiled plans to build a 200m gravity dam at the conveniently narrow and screamingly scenic ravine of Dos Montañas.
The dam would be the cornerstone of the massive Siquirres Hydroelectric Project, which would include four dams in total, linked by a 10km-long tunnel. If built, rising waters on the lower Pacuare would not only flood 12km of rapids up to the Tres Equis put-in, but also parts of the Reserva Indígena Awari and a huge swath of primary rainforest where some 800 animal species have been recorded.
The project was intended to help ICE keep up with the country’s rapidly increasing power demands (per capita consumption of energy in Costa Rica has grown more than 73% since 1975, according to the World Bank). But as the proposal moved from speculation to construction, a coalition of local landowners, indigenous leaders, conservation groups and, yep, white-water rafting outfits organized against it. (Rafael Gallo, of the Fundación Ríos Tropicales, the charitable arm of the venerable rafting company, was a key figure in this fight.)
The group filed for the first Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the region’s history – and won. The move required ICE to seek an independent study of the dam’s environmental impact and economic feasibility, effectively stalling its construction. In the meantime, organizers were able to draw international attention to the situation. In 2005, residents of the Turrialba area held a plebiscite on the issue of the dam. Of the 10,000 residents polled, 97% gave the project a thumbs down – a resounding ‘No.’
As a result of these efforts, the project was shelved – and the lower part of the river is now protected as a forest reserve. But there is talk of, at some point down the line, installing a dam further up the river. For now, it’s nothing more than conjecture. But it’s worth noting that the neighboring Río Reventazón has already lost a third of its Class-V rapids due to the first phase of the Siquirres Project. If you were thinking of going rafting in Costa Rica, the time to do it is now.
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Getting There & Away
It’s easy to get here by car. Head north out of Turrialba and make a right after the metal bridge. The road