Caño Negro

The Río Frío spreads out here each wet season into a shallow lake of around eight hundred hectares, and then drains through the dry months until much of it is grassland, which produces one of the most productive wetlands in Central America and a bird list that draws people from across the country. Boat trips run through the flooded forest and along the channels, past caiman, spectacled caiman and the largest concentration of Nicaraguan grackles anywhere, along with jabiru, roseate spoonbills, anhingas, and in the right season enormous numbers of migrant waterfowl. Howler monkeys and sloths use the gallery forest along the river.

What you actually see

• The seasonal lake - filling and draining across the year.
• Waterbirds - jabiru, spoonbills, anhingas and northern migrants.
• Caiman - abundant along the channels.
• The flooded forest - boats running between the trees at high water.

When to go

January to April is when the water is receding and birds concentrate, which is the best viewing. The wet season disperses them. Boat trips leave early in the morning, which is both cooler and better for wildlife.

Honest expectations

It is four hours from San José through unremarkable agricultural country and works best combined with La Fortuna. Boats are open with no shade and the sun on the water is fierce. Some operators run fast trips that see little; ask for a slow wildlife trip. Mosquitoes are heavy at dawn and dusk.

Nearby

Los Chiles is half an hour; La Fortuna and Arenal are two hours south.