Manzanillo, South Caribbean Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages
The village of Manzanillo, named after the ancient towering manzanillo tree that stood on the village plaza until it died in the 1940s, lies 12 kilometers east of Puerto Viejo and forms the gateway to the Gandoca Manzanillo Game Preserve. A trail leads from the village up to Punta Mona (Monkey Point, which is said to have been named by Columbus himself after the many howler monkeys he found there) and Gandoca Lagoon, a 50-meterdeep lagoon with two outlets to the sea. South of the small settlement of Gandoca is an area where rare red mangroves are still to be found. Especially good hikers can continue to the Sixaola River, which forms the border with Panama.
The tiny villages of Manzanillo and Gandoca are within the borders of the huge game reserve, which covers just under 10,000 hectares. Almost half of the park's 4,500 hectares are made up of coastal water, with nine kilometers of beach and a living coral reef that is 200 meters offshore. The reef is a paradise for snorkelers. The land portion of the preserve covers more than 5,000 hectares of meadow land and forest. By hiking and riding through the park you can get acquainted with its tropical plants and animals. The forest, with its impassable undergrowth, contains mahogany trees, which are still felled and sold for a pittance to illegal dealers.
In a swampy area covering 400 hectares near Punta Mona is a grove of holillo palms, loved by tapirs. Red mangroves grow in the Gandoca River estuary and the natural oyster bank attracts Caribbean lobsters. Tarpon, beloved by sports fishermen, lay their eggs in the river. Crocodiles, caimans, margays, sloths, manatees and ocelots represent the fauna. Between January and April sea turtles swim to the beaches of GandocaManzanillo to lay their eggs.
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