Curu Wildlife Refuge

Curu is a private refuge of around twelve square kilometres on the southern Nicoya peninsula, one of the earliest private conservation areas in Costa Rica, set up by the Schutt family who kept part of a working hacienda under forest from the 1930s and had it declared a refuge in 1983. It holds tropical dry forest, mangrove, and several small coves with calm water backed by trees where howler and white-faced monkeys come down to the beach. Spider monkeys were reintroduced here. Trails run from the entrance through the forest and along the shore. It is a common stop on boat trips from Puntarenas and Montezuma and a good place to see wildlife easily.

History

Federico Schutt de la Croix settled the land in 1933 and built a hacienda, meaning to run it as a self-sufficient farm with selective logging and cattle, and grew rice, beans, maize, plantains, mangoes and teak; over time the family turned towards conserving wildlife. After squatters occupied part of the land in 1974 they asked the government for protection, most of it was declared a protected forest in 1981, and in 1983 the Curú Wildlife Refuge was established, the first private national wildlife refuge in Costa Rica; since then the Schutts have made it a place for ecotourism and research (Wikipedia, Curú Wildlife Refuge).

Highlights

• Beach coves - the calm bays with forest running to the sand.
• Monkeys - howler, white-faced and reintroduced spider monkeys.
• Dry forest trails - the routes through the deciduous woodland.
• Mangrove - the estuary vegetation within the refuge.

When to go

December to April in the dry season, when trails are firm and animals concentrate near water; the forest is leafless then, which makes wildlife easier to see. Early morning is best.

Practical notes

It is a private working property as well as a refuge and cattle are kept in parts. Accommodation on site is very basic. Boat trips arrive in groups mid-morning. The dry forest is bare for much of the season.

Nearby

Paquera lies north; Montezuma is south.

Key facts