It is located south of Lake Cocibolca, in the municipality of San Carlos in the department of Rio San Juan. It has an area of 43,750 hectares. It was declared a protected area through Decree 527, published in the official gazette La Gaceta No. 78 on April 17, 1990. It belongs to the list of wetlands of international importance of the Ramsar Convention, since a total of twelve rivers flow , the most important being the Papaturro river.
It is a territory occupied mainly by the tropical humid forest with predominant species such as the poponjoche, helequeme, oak, custard apple, genizaro, yolillo, jobos, mahogany, cedar, camíbar, hawk, guácimo and male cedar; There are also a total of 315 species of plants, highlighting among the same 130 different species of orchids.
Regarding the fauna; A wealth of 326 species of birds was found, among them herons and storks, pig duck, needle duck, redfish, bell bird, scarlet macaw, hot dog; As for the reptiles, they are represented by the cuajipal, lizard, ñoca turtle, broken chest and lizard turtle; Likewise, it is possible to find species such as iguana, garrobo, basilisk, lizard and snakes; on the other hand, the presence of mammals is represented by species such as guardatinaja, white-tailed deer, cusuco, saino, pizote, sloth, congo monkey, spider monkey, tapir, mountain pig, horse bear, jaguar and puma.
Activities
- kayaking, in the estuary of the Papaturro river.
- Trekking, up to the 180 meter long suspension bridge, from which you can appreciate nature from the height of the treetops.
- Observation of flora and fauna, when visiting the zoo-hatchery of alligators and turtles, the butterfly farm and orchid garden.
- visit Ecological Center of Los Guatuzos, research center that offers guided tours, excursions and accommodation.
