The Piedras Blancas National Park covers 30,000 acres of undisturbed humid tropical lowland primary rainforest and 5,000 acres of secondary forests, pasture land and rivers consisting primarily of hills of varied steepness, over one hundred stream valleys, a river plateau and coastal cliffs and beaches.
The station is not close to town so it is a very isolate placement. The building is next to Piedras Blancas river and the only way to get here is walking or riding a horse. The house does not have electricity 24 hours, they produce their electricity by solar panel. The two story wooden building has a small kitchen and a storage room on the first floor and bedrooms are located on the second floor.
The closest town is Piedras Blancas and Chacarita and they both offer basic services like little supermarkets and little restaurants. There is no banks or ATMs.
The entry for the Piedras Blancas National Park is through the small town of La Gamba, which lies along Costa Rica's southern Pacific coast near Golfito.
The Piedras Blancas National Park, formerly called Esquinas National Park or Corcovado Section II, was established in 1992 as an extension of the Corcovado National Park. The park borders the Golfito Forest Reserve in the East. In the West the park is connected with the Corcovado National Park by a forest corridor (Rincon) that unfortunately is highly threatened by illegal logging.
The Piedras Blancas National Park covers 30,000 acres of undisturbed humid tropical primary rainforest and 5,000 acres of secondary forests, pasture land and rivers consisting primarily of hills of varied steepness, over one hundred stream valleys, a river plateau, coastal cliffs and beaches. A study by Austrian biologists recently revealed that the diversification of tree species, counted in different areas of 10,000 sq.m each, exceeds the variety of trees found in the Corcovado National Park, making this area even more important to conserve.
Geologically the area consists mainly of a base of pillow basalts, 50 to 60 million years old, covered by different types of conglomerates dated an average of 1 to 2 million years old. The streams carry auriferous (containing gold) sands, fortunately with relatively low yields, thus gold mining has been only artisanal; in consequence it has not inflicted serious damage to either the streams or the surrounding forest. A common feature of the area is the abundance of ground water, sometimes found as shallow as 5 or 6 feet.
Different private scientific projects have chosen the remote area of the Piedras Blancas National Park for the reintroduction of the highly endangered scarlet macaw to establish a third self-sustaining population and the release of confiscated ocelots and margays formerly held as pets in private households.
Scientific research revealed that the flora at Piedras Blancas National Park is among the richest on the planet, encompassing several thousand different species of plants and hundreds of species of trees; some very rare and in danger of extinction. The trees are very similar to the Corcovado area and include: ceiba, nazareno, manú, fruta dorada, cristóbal, cedro macho, higuerón, mayo colorado, cerillo, maria, nÃspero, panamá, tostao, botarrama, camÃbar, guabo, lechoso, guayabón, espavel, pochote, etc.
The fauna is composed of approximately 140 species of mammals, 350 species of birds, over 100 species of amphibians and reptiles and several thousands of species of insects. Five species of felines that live in Costa Rica: puma, ocelot, margay, jaguaroundi and jaguar as well as four species of monkeys: howler monkey, spider monkey, white-faced capuchin monkey and squirrel monkey. Further the common raccoon, coati, kinkajou, skunk, anteater, four-eyed opossum, collared and white-lippped peccary, paca, agouti, red-brocket deer, tayra and long-nosed armadillo, etc. More than 330 species of birds have also been identified in the different ecosystems of the area - including chestnut-mandibled toucans, fiery-billed aracari, several species of parrots, hummingbirds and trogons, crested guan, great curassow, king vulture, crested eagle, osprey, laughing falcon, black-cheeked ant-tanager, tiger-bittern, golden-hooded tanager, roseate spoonbill, boat-billed heron, northern jacana, spectacled owl, etc. Reptiles include the cayman, the American crocodile, fer-de-lance snake, bushmaster snake, several coral snakes, various species of poisonous frogs, glass frogs, several kinds of basilisks, ctenosaurus and iguanas are common.
The park neighbors the Golfito National Wildlife Refuge to the north, which itself protects a sizeable amount of evergreen forest. Within the Piedras Blancas National Park, rugged mountains and tropical forests are shaped by the Esquinas and Piedras Blancas rivers, which flow steadily before emptying into the Golfo Dulce. There are many waterfalls, as well as some seriously striking beaches. Just off the coast are many intact coral reefs, providing excellent places to snorkel and swim. Research in the park is ongoing, as there are still many unidentified plant and animal species, as well as findings that have indicated that there may have been several Costa Rican tribes living in the area during the pre-Hispanic period.