If you are a nature lover and visiting Manuel Antonio, the Damas mangroves are indispensable in your itinerary. It is an astonishing eco-system that grants a time of nature and wildlife that you won’t forget easily.
Damas Mangroves are a fascinating life system, tidal dependant, these forests are composed of brackish flooding waters, trees that have adapted to them in several different ways and abundant wildlife, from the purple and orange “jaibas” to the hyperactive white-faced capuchin monkeys.
Please remember that this tour is tidal dependent. This means that the order of the day may change according to the time of high tide.
We start the tour by picking you up at your hotel and taking you on a short drive to the pier in Damas. As we arrive in Damas Mangroves, you will board a small, comfortable and silent boat that will take you through this pristine and soothing realm of the mangroves.
In the beginning, you will see narrower canals where the flood is more apparent, and you will enjoy watching dozens of different species of crabs hiding in their countless holes in the mud, by the roots of the surreal trees (Tiger face, Marine Crabs and Tropical land crabs).
As well, you will have the chance to see aquatic birds like the green heron, snowy and cattle egrets, crab-eating hawks, ospreys, and kingfishers.
As you advance in the tour, mammals will appear, capuchin monkeys, three and two-toed sloths, and even groups of sleeping bats. You will also witness caymans and crocodiles, iguanas and Jesus-Christ lizards.
After a while, the landscape will open to a calm and rather beautiful area where the forests are framed by the ocean and the mountains in the back.
Our guide will translate the beauty and impressive natural history of this fantastic ecosystem, creating a day in the water that you will not forget.
You will be able to see nature at its daintiest and discover the Costa Rican efforts to protect these endangered ecosystems.
The timing of this tour depends on the tides so let us know what date you are interested in and we will provide more details.